As Sarah Ferguson’s email to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein rocks the Royal Family once more, the Mirror takes a look at all the times the Duchess has sparked scandal at the palace
Sarah Ferguson’s world has imploded after a resurfaced email revealed she once called convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein a “supreme friend” – despite publicly claiming that she wanted ‘nothing to do with him’.
Dated April 26 2011, this email was sent a matter of weeks after the Duchess, better known by her nickname Fergie, declared she had distanced herself from Epstein in an interview with the Evening Standard, and apologised for accepting £15,000 from the sex offender.
On March 7 of that year, Fergie, now 65, told the publication: “I abhor paedophilia and any sexual abuse of children and know that this was a gigantic error of judgment on my behalf. I am just so contrite, I cannot say. Whenever I can, I will repay the money and have nothing ever to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again.”
However, in the email published by The Sun, the grandmother took a different tone not long after the article went to print, and “humbly apologised” for linking him to paedophilia in the press, and praised him as “steadfast” and “generous”.
Sarah Ferguson’s email to Jeffrey Epstein in full as duchess axed by charity
In her email, Fergie wrote: “I know you feel hellaciously let down by me. And I must humbly apologise to you and your heart for that. You have always been a steadfast, generous and supreme friend to me and my family.” She continued: “I am apologising to you today for not replying to your email or reaching out to you. I was bedridden with fear. I was paralysed.
“I was advised in no uncertain terms, to have nothing to do with you and to not speak or email you. And if I did – I would cause more problems to you, the Duke and myself. I was broken and lost. So please understand. I didn’t want to hurt Andrew one more time. I was in over-riding fear. I am sorry.”
A spokesperson for the Duchess of York has was sent “in the context of advice the duchess was given to try to assuage Epstein and his threats”. However, this revelation has had an impact of the Duchess’s patronages, with Julia’s House – a children’s hospice in Dorset and Wiltshire – stating that it would no longer be appropriate for the royal to continue in her role as patron in light of this controversial correspondence.
Here, the Mirror takes a look at some of the other occasions when Fergie has sparked outrage:
Toe sucking uproar
Fergie famously maintained a close relationship with her ex-husband, Prince Andrew following their separation in 1992, with the pair even living together under the same roof at Windsor’s Royal Lodge. But her relationship with her former in-laws has been rocky to say the least, and there have been times when she’s been pushed out of the inner circle.
Just five months after the Yorks announced their separation, amid rumours of Fergie’s alleged affair with Texan multi-millionaire Steve Wyatt, the Duchess headed off for some sun and relaxation at her villa in St Tropez. And it’s here where some of the most infamous photographs ever taken of a Royal Family member were snapped.
Photographs showed Fergie reclining in a deckchair while her American financial advisor, John Bryan, appeared to kiss and suck her toes and the arch of her foot. Other snaps showed the couple kissing, embracing, and frolicking in the pool, while another image showed the then two-year-old Princess Eugenie looking on as Mr Bryan kissed her mother on the lips.
Somewhat awkwardly, on the morning the photographs hit the front page, Fergie was up at the remote retreat of Balmoral, with her disapproving in-laws. As claimed by Royal writer Richard Kay, in the Daily Mail, Princess Diana herself messaged him the night before the photographs exploded onto newsstands, telling him, “The redhead’s in trouble.”
Apparently, there was one sticking point in particular that irritated Bryan as he read the bombshell article. As per Kay, he insisted: “I wasn’t sucking her toes, I was kissing them!”
That morning, Fergie made a hasty dash from Balmoral to Aberdeen airport with the Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice, and their nanny. In May 1996, after four years of separation and plenty of scandal, Fergie and Prince Andrew announced they would be getting a divorce.
Princess Margaret’s brutal snub
Never one to mince her words, Princess Margaret made it clear exactly what she thought of Fergie when the Duchess attempted to extend the hand of friendship.
The year was 1995, and the Royal Family was still reeling from the St Tropez pics that had made the Firm a laughing stock. The fallout was so intense that the late Prince Philip reportedly refused to be in the same room as his former daughter-in-law.
Perhaps Fergie thought she might find a sympathetic ear with the Queen’s famously naughty younger sister, who had navigated her own share of controversy as a glamorous headline-stealing young princess. Unfortunately for her, this assumption proved to be woefully inaccurate.
In a gesture of goodwill, Fergie sent the formidable Princess Margaret a bouquet of flowers, only to receive a blistering letter in response. According to a 2010 article in The Telegraph, Margaret wrote: “You have done more to bring shame on this family than could ever have been imagined.”
Then, appearing to make reference to the notorious “toe sucking” pics, she continued: “Not once have you hung your head in embarrassment even for a minute after those disgraceful photographs. Clearly, you have never considered the damage you are causing us all. How dare you discredit us like this, and how dare you send me those flowers?”
Fergie reportedly burst into floods of tears after reading this note and Margaret reportedly wasn’t the only royal to hold a grudge against Fergie, who became persona non grata with The Firm for many years. Her attempts to cash in on her royal title through commercial endeavours, which included Weight Watchers endorsements, were viewed as being far from what was expected of a Duchess.
Indeed, it’s previously been reported that both King Charles and Princess Anne have struggled to get beyond her past antics, which they consider “embarrassing”.
Diana’s fury
As young, newly married royals, Princess Diana and Fergie were once thick as thieves and would even lunch together every week. As Sarah herself wrote in her 1996 autobiography, My Story: “She was two years younger than I, and I strove to support and protect her as I would a younger sister—as I still do today, as a best friend.”
Unfortunately, their friendship took a sharp downward turn after the Duchess allegedly broke her promise not to talk about her sister-in-law in her memoir, which detailed how they bonded over their crumbling fairytale marriages. Fergie recalled: “(1991) was the year we first put words to the unspeakable idea that had been nudging us in the ribs for some time: that one or both of us might leave the Royal Family. We burned the phone wires into the night, trading secrets and jokes that no one else would understand.”
However, it apparently wasn’t this intimate detail that infuriated Diana. The Princess of Wales was reportedly outraged by a decidedly unglamorous anecdote in the candid book, which detailed how Fergie ended up with a verruca after wearing a pair of Diana’s shoes.
It was at this point that Diana reportedly stopped talking to her former ally, and tragically, there was not enough time for the women to patch things up. The following summer, Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris, at the age of just 36 years old.
Following Diana’s death, Fergie opened up about the unhealed rift in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, sharing, “Because we were like siblings… we rowed. And the saddest thing, at the end, we hadn’t spoken for a year. I tried, wrote letters, thinking whatever happened didn’t matter, let’s sort it out,” Ferguson continued. “And I knew she’d come back. In fact, the day before she died, she rang a friend of mine and said, ‘Where’s that Red? I want to talk to her.'”
Prince Andrew scam
In 2010, Fergie once again found herself at the centre of an embarrassing scandal, after being scammed by an investigative journalist from News of the World, Mazher Mahmood. ‘Fake Sheikh’ Mahmood went undercover as an “international tycoon” willing to pay megabucks for an audience with Prince Andrew.
Fergie, whose financial issues have been widely reported, obliged, offering access to her ex-husband for a sum of £500,000. As reported by The Guardian at the time: “That opens up everything you would ever wish for. I can open any door you want, and I will for you. Look after me and he’ll look after you … you’ll get it back tenfold.”
Little did the Duchess know, as the meeting unfolded at a Mayfair apartment, that it was all being secretly filmed, and that the wealthy businessman was in fact a reporter looking for a good scoop. The uproar after the truth came to light was excruciating for the royal family, and none more so than Fergie.
In a statement made at the time, the Duchess said she was “regretful” and “devastated by the situation”, asserting: “I very deeply regret the situation and the embarrassment caused. It is true that my financial situation is under stress; however, that is no excuse for a serious lapse in judgment, and I am very sorry that this has happened.
“I can confirm that the Duke of York was not aware or involved in any of the discussions that occurred. I am sincerely sorry for my actions.”
Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com
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