Thousands of copies of Sarah Ferguson's new children's book, Flora and Fern: Kindness Along the Way, have been withdrawn from sale and sent for recycling, according to publishing sources. The book, originally scheduled for release on 9 October, was postponed to 20 November before being removed entirely from publication schedules.
A publishing insider told the Daily Mail: 'It's not been delayed, it's being pulped. It's an acknowledgment of the inevitable. No one is going to want to buy it.' The withdrawal has also led to the cancellation of planned readings and bookshop appearances. The title has disappeared from the publisher's website and is no longer listed on major retailers such as Waterstones and Amazon.
The news follows renewed scrutiny over Ferguson's links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In September, the Mail on Sunday published emails from 2011 in which Ferguson described Epstein as her 'supreme friend' and apologised for 'letting him down'. This contradicted her earlier public statements calling her association with Epstein 'a gigantic error of judgment'. A spokesperson for Ferguson said she had been compelled to write the emails because Epstein threatened her.
The scandal has also led to Ferguson losing her title of Sarah, Duchess of York, after King Charles stripped Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor of his remaining titles. She is expected to lose her long-term home at Royal Lodge in Windsor. Several charities have also ended their associations with her.
Ferguson has published over 50 books, mostly children's titles, over several decades. Her latest was a sequel to last year's Flora and Fern: Wonder in the Woods, featuring two rabbits learning about kindness and community. She has not commented publicly on the book's withdrawal.
