Charity closure and title loss
Sarah Ferguson's charity, Sarah's Trust, has formally wound up and is marked as "removed" on the public register of charities. The charity, established in 2020 to address humanitarian and environmental crises, announced in February it would close "for the foreseeable future". This came days after new details emerged about her friendship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Last October, Ferguson lost her "Duchess of York" title when her ex-husband, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, relinquished his Duke of York title amid pressure over his links to Epstein.
Emails to Epstein
In 2011, after Epstein's 2008 conviction, Ferguson gave an interview saying she had made a "terrible error" in associating with Epstein. However, in September 2025, an email surfaced showing that shortly after that interview, she emailed Epstein to apologise for badmouthing him, calling him a "supreme friend".
Further emails released by the US Department of Justice show Ferguson was in contact with Epstein while he was in prison. In one, she asked Epstein to pay for her and her daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, to visit him in New York after his release, and later wrote a gushing thank-you note.
She told Epstein: "In just one week, after your lunch, it seems the energy has lifted. I have never been more touched by a friends [sic] kindness than your compliment to me in front of my girls. Thank you Jeffrey for being the brother I have always wished for."
In 2009, after a business venture failed, Ferguson emailed: "I urgently need 20,000 pounds ($27,521) for rent today. The landlord has threatened to go to the newspapers if I don't pay. Any brainwaves?"
Another email from that year read: "You are a legend. I really don't have the words to describe, my love, gratitude for your generosity and kindness. Xx I am at your service. Just marry me."
A final correspondence released by the US government included a note from April 2009: "My dear spectacular and special friend Jeffrey, you are a legend. I am so proud of you." She sent that after Epstein gave her an idea for a charitable initiative called "Mothers' Army".
Ongoing fallout
Ferguson has barely been seen since the email emerged. She and Andrew are to leave their shared Royal Lodge mansion in Windsor. She has not joined him at his new Marsh Farm cottage in Sandringham. Ferguson strenuously denies any wrongdoing.
