Duchess’s removal happens in a context of growing public scrutiny over links to Epstein
York Duchess Sarah Ferguson lost the patron of a child charity, after being revealed an email referring to the convict of sexual crimes Jeffrey Epstein as his “supreme friend.”
Julia’s House, an institution that supports families in Dorset and Wilshire, decided that it would be inappropriate to keep Ferguson as a patron, while giving him the support provided in the past.
“Following the shared information this weekend about the correspondence of the York Duchess with Jeffrey Epstein, Julia’s house made the decision that it would be inappropriate for her to continue as a charity patron. We informed the York Duchess of this decision and thank him for his support in the past,” said a spokeswoman for Julia’s house.
The email in question, sent in 2011, comes after Ferguson’s public breakup with Epstein and contains a private message in which the Duchess seems to apologize for publicly rejecting contact with him.
A spokesman for Sarah Ferguson explained that the message aimed to counteract an Epstein defamation-made process threat and did not reflect a continuous relationship.
The departure of the Duchess happens in a context of growing public scrutiny about links to Epstein and days after Trump’s visit to the United Kingdom, which was marked by protests for his relationship with Epstein.
Sarah Ferguson was married to Prince Andrew, one of the views of the case. In 2019, Virginia Giuffre – – publicly claimed that Epstein traced her and forced her to have sex with his friends, including Prince Andrew, when she was 17. He also claimed that the prince knew she was a minor in the US at the time.
The prince, also known as Duke of York, repeatedly denied the allegations.
In 2021, Giuffre brought a lawsuit against Prince André for alleged sexual abuse.
The following year, he reached an extrajudicial agreement with the prince for an unveiled amount.
Andrew later paid the agreement and lawyers on both parties filed a stipulation for the process to be closed.
“Prince André intends to make a substantial donation to Mrs. Giuffre’s charity to support the rights of the victims. Prince André has never intended to defame the character of Mrs. Giuffre and accepts that she has suffered both as proven victim of abuse and as a result of unjust public attacks,” according to a letter submitted to the court.
Epstein was guilty in 2008 of prostitution accusations in the state and in July 2019 was indicted for federal sexual trafficking accusations. Prosecutors accused him of carrying out a scheme of decades of sexual abuse of underage girls, transporting them on private aircraft to their properties in Florida, New York, New Mexico and American virgin islands. He died from suicide in prison before he could be tried.
