(NewsNation) — Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, is the latest person with ties to the royal family to be in hot water over connection with Jeffrey Epstein.
An email from Ferguson, the ex-wife of Prince Andrew, to the disgraced financier was leaked, showing her support for Epstein following his conviction of soliciting a minor.
“I know you feel hellaciously let down by me,” Ferguson wrote to Epstein in 2011, according to the U.K.’s Mail on Sunday and the Sun. “You have always been a steadfast, generous and supreme friend to me and my family.”
The letter was reportedly sent weeks after she publicly drew a line between herself and Epstein.
Charities cut ties with Sarah Ferguson
Several charities have cut ties with Ferguson after the emails were published by the papers.
Julia’s House, an English children’s hospice charity, said Ferguson’s correspondence with Epstein was behind the decision: “Julia’s House has taken the decision that it would be inappropriate for her to continue as a patron of the charity. We have advised the Duchess of York of this decision and thank her for her past support.”
Sarah Ferguson poses for photographers upon arrival at the U.K. premiere of the film ‘Marlowe’ in London, March 16, 2023. (Scott Garfitt/Invision/AP, File) 
Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York and Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, attend the Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse on June 21, 2019, in Ascot, England. (Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images) 
Melania Trump, Prince Andrew, Gwendolyn Beck and Jeffrey Epstein at a party at the Mar-a-Lago club, Palm Beach, Florida, on Feb. 12, 2000. (Photo by Davidoff Studios/Getty Images) 
FILE -Prince Andrew leaves after attending the Christmas day service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham in Norfolk, England, Sunday, Dec. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File) 
FILE — This March 28, 2017 photo, provided by the New York State Sex Offender Registry, shows Jeffrey Epstein. (New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP, File) 
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell attend de Grisogono Sponsors The 2005 Wall Street Concert Series Benefitting Wall Street Rising, with a Performance by Rod Stewart at Cipriani Wall Street on March 15, 2005 in New York City. (Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
The food allergy charity, Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, and Prevent Breast Cancer and The Teenage Cancer Trust, the latter with which Ferguson has worked for 35 years, have all severed ties with the Duchess of York, according to the Associated Press.
Sarah Ferguson: Jeffrey Epstein tried to destroy me
Following the revealing email, a rep for Ferguson told The Telegraph that she sent the complimentary email to the sex offender because he tried to “destroy her” in a “Hannibal Lecter-style phone call.”
Ferguson said she sent the email to protect herself and her daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, with whom she shares with Prince Andrew, according to the New York Post.
It’s unclear how the Sun and The Mail on Sunday obtained the email, The Washington Post reports.
A representative for Ferguson said the Duchess regrets her ties with Epstein, according to The Mirror US.
“Like many people, she was taken in by his lies. As soon as she was aware of the extent of the allegations against him, she not only cut off contact but condemned him publicly, to the extent that he then threatened to sue her for defamation for associating him with pedophilia,” her rep added.
Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein’s relationship
Andrew’s controversial relationship with Epstein, who died in 2019 by suicide in his prison cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, has been a persistent headache for the royal family, years after he stepped down from his royal duties.
His past ties with Epstein hit a fever pitch in 2019 when he sat down for a disastrous BBC interview with “Newsnight” to address the friendship and quell public criticism.
During his interview with the BBC, Andrew was questioned as to why he maintained a relationship with the financier following Epstein’s 2009 release from prison after pleading guilty to charges of soliciting a prostitute and of solicitation of prostitution with a minor under the age of 18.
The Duke of York had reportedly ceased contact with Epstein in 2006 after news broke that Epstein was being investigated, but established contact with him in 2010, where he was reportedly seen at Epstein’s NYC mansion, to let him know that their relationship was over, according to The Guardian.
Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to Donald Trump, Peter Mandelson
Last week, President Donald Trump — another onetime associate of Epstein — was welcomed for a historic second state visit to the U.K., where he was treated to pomp, pageantry and little prodding about Epstein’s crimes.
Prior to Trump’s trip across the pond, the British ambassador to the U.S., Peter Mandelson, was fired after his relationship with Epstein was revealed in the pages of a “birthday book.”