Sarah Ferguson has been asked to testify about her “close personal and business ties” with Jeffrey Epstein by a senior US lawmaker.
Congressman Suhas Subramanyam wrote to the former duchess to “respectfully request your cooperation” in appearing before the US congressional committee investigating the convicted paedophile.
While there is no legal mechanism to compel Ms Ferguson to testify, the letter, which was first reported by the BBC, is the most direct form of pressure she has faced since the scandal unfolded.
The letter, which was sent on Thursday and sets a two-week deadline, also asks if she had any knowledge of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s involvement in the disgraced financier’s operations. The former duke has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing over his relationship with Epstein.
It cited the emails she sent to Epstein after his conviction in 2008 for soliciting prostitution for a minor in which she described him as a “legend”, and another where she wrote: “I am at your service. Just marry me.”
In another, she wrote to him to ask for financial assistance and requested to borrow £50,000 or £100,000 to “help get through the small bills that are pushing me over”.
The letter said: “Additionally, while you officially divorced former Prince Andrew in 1996, the committee is interested in learning more about any knowledge of Mr Mountbatten-Windsor's involvement in Mr Epstein’s operations.
“It is clear that you possessed social and business ties to Mr Epstein and have knowledge of information that can assist our investigation,” it went on.
“I request that you cooperate with the committee’s investigation and provide information regarding the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirators.
“Due to the urgency of this matter, I ask that you provide a response no later than 9 April 2026.”
The latest releases from the Epstein files have revealed a close relationship between Ms Ferguson and Epstein, in which she often lavished praise upon him as “the brother I have always wished for”.
It also suggested she took her daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, for lunch with him just days after his release from prison.
Being named in the Epstein files is not an indication of any wrongdoing.
The family of the late Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre has also said they “strongly believed” that the former duchess should testify in the US.
“If Ferguson knows anything, she should testify in the United States immediately,” a representative for Giuffre’s brother, Sky Roberts, told the BBC.
It comes after the City of York Council stripped her of her Freedom of the City of York title during a meeting at the Guildhall on Thursday evening.
Speaking during the debate, Liberal Democrat councillor Darryl Smalley said: “We now know, following the release of thousands of documents, that Sarah Ferguson too had a close friendship with Epstein, which continued well beyond his conviction.
“We don’t expect recipients of York’s highest honour to be saints. We simply do not want them to be best friends of convicted paedophiles.
“We stand with victims. We stand for the rule of the rule of law. We stand for decency.”
He added: “York will have hopefully have etched out our city’s connections to both Andrew and Sarah.”
Six companies linked to the former duchess started winding down in the wake of the publication of the Epstein files, according to Companies House documents.
Sarah’s Trust, a charity she founded, also announced it would close “for the foreseeable future”. Ms Ferguson’s representatives have been approached for comment.
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