New Emails Show Fergie Told Epstein Royal Family 'Hung Her Out to Dry': 'They'll Discredit Me'
Fresh documents expose how the Duchess felt abandoned as the walls closed in on her after her cash-for-access scandal.
The newly released Jeffrey Epstein files continue to cast a long and uncomfortable shadow over the royal family, but among the most arresting revelations is a message from Sarah Ferguson. In a private correspondence with Epstein, the former Duchess of York admitted to the disgraced financier how the monarchy was taking a toll on her, writing that “no woman has ever left the royal family with her head.”
At the time, Ferguson was facing intense public scrutiny. Just weeks earlier, she had been caught in a tabloid sting appearing to agree to sell access to the then-Prince Andrew. Around the same period, she had also given a candid television interview to Oprah Winfrey, speaking openly about her mounting financial troubles. The combination triggered a severe media backlash and, according to Ferguson, a near-total collapse of institutional support.
In an exchange with Epstein that July, Ferguson appeared increasingly distressed. “Have you died on me? Don’t.. Please, you are my pillar,” she wrote, suggesting she viewed him as a key source of emotional and practical support. Epstein replied the following day, asking, “I thought you needed a place for the second week?” In response, Fergie wrote a lengthy emotional message, aimed as much at the Palace as at the press. “Dear Jeffrey, yes, I did need a second place for a week? And I thank you so much, but just as I predicted many, many months ago, the British press is ready to exterminate me, and it seems that Price WaterhouseCoopers and the Palace system are not equipped to deal with all of this huge wave of negativity.”
At the time, PricewaterhouseCoopers had been engaged to audit her finances, following growing concerns about her debt and financial management. Ferguson, however, suggested the intervention offered little protection.
“Therefore, I have to return to the UK, and be exterminated and face the thunderous music,” she continued. “I am now 1000 percent being hung out to dry, just as I predicted you would see, the Press will have me exiled. I am totally on my own now.” She got only more bleak. “This is beyond scandalous, and nobody can do anything. I cannot believe what this is all coming to. I have to return to face my judge and jury and be hanged yet again.” It was in this context that Ferguson delivered the line now drawing renewed attention.
“Just as I always said, no woman has ever left the royal family with her head, and they cannot behead me; they will discredit me. Totally to obliteration. I have no words.” Documents show that Epstein provided Ferguson with significant financial assistance. He gave her £15,000 ($20,000) to help clear debts, including money owed to a former member of her staff. Ferguson later acknowledged that accepting the arrangement was 'a gigantic error.'
The files also reveal that she repeatedly thanked Epstein for helping her make business contacts and sought his advice on professional matters. In messages from 2010, she referred to him as a 'legend' and the "brother [she] had always wished for,” even writing at one point: “Just marry me.”
