Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, is facing fresh criticism after a decade-old email praising Jeffrey Epstein has resurfaced, prompting several major charities to distance themselves from her.
The message, written in 2011, contradicts her previous claims of cutting ties with the convicted sex offender and has revived criticism over the royal family’s lingering associations with him.
The revelation centers on correspondence in which Ferguson addressed Epstein directly, apologizing for withdrawing from their friendship after his 2007 arrest.
“You have always been a steadfast, generous and supreme friend to me and my family,” she wrote, while admitting she had felt “paralyzed” into silence by pressure not to engage with him.
The conciliatory tone starkly contrasts with her public remarks from the same year, when she told the Evening Standard that she had made a “gigantic error of judgment” by accepting money from him and vowed never to have further contact, The Independent reports.
Charities that had long counted on Ferguson’s patronage were quick to act once the email came to light.
Julia’s House, a children’s hospice in southern England, confirmed Monday she would no longer serve in any role.
Hours later, the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, the Children’s Literacy Charity and