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Royal Expert's Verdict on Sarah Ferguson's 'Revolting' Epstein Emails: 'I Just Want to Be Sick'

The Epstein Files keep delivering — and Fergie's latest email may be her most indefensible yet.

Image Source: Getty Images | Matt Cardy; (inset) Rick Friedman Photography/Corbis
Image Source: Getty Images | Matt Cardy; (inset) Rick Friedman Photography/Corbis

Trigger Warning: This article contains themes of child sexual abuse that some readers may find distressing.

It takes a particular kind of audacity to declare publicly that you deeply regret your association with a convicted s-- offender — and then, by all appearances, carry on as though nothing had changed. That, according to newly released emails, is precisely what Sarah Ferguson did.

Sarah Ferguson attends the Perfect World Foundation's Honorary Conservation Award ceremony on September 05, 2024 in Gothenburg, Sweden. (Photo by Julia Reinhart/Getty Images)
Sarah Ferguson attends the Perfect World Foundation's Honorary Conservation Award ceremony on September 05, 2024 in Gothenburg, Sweden. (Image Source: Getty Images | Julia Reinhart)

The release of millions of emails by the US Department of Justice as part of the Epstein Files has delivered what can only be described as a masterclass in misjudgment by Fergie. Among the newly surfaced correspondence is a message from Sarah to Epstein, in which she addressed him as "my dear spectacular and special friend Jeffrey" before adding, "You are a legend. I am so proud of you." 

Royal expert Jo Elvin talked about the same to Express, calling Ferguson's language "revolting" and adding: "I mean, I just want to be sick. It's a convicted s-- offender she's writing to. It's hard to believe that she cared at all about his crimes." What makes this email so infuriating is the context in which it was sent. Epstein had already been convicted of procuring a 14-year-old girl for illegal acts by the time Ferguson was apparently composing messages celebrating him as someone she was proud of. 

Sarah Ferguson  attends a Thanksgiving Service for the life of her close friend James Wentworth-Stanley. (Cover Image Source: Tim Graham)
Sarah Ferguson attends a Thanksgiving Service for the life of her close friend James Wentworth-Stanley. ( Image Source: Tim Graham)

And yet, as stomach-turning as this latest revelation is, it does not stand alone. This is the top of a pile of correspondence that tells a deeply uncomfortable story about the former Duchess of York's relationship with one of the most reviled figures in modern American criminal history. In 2011, following Epstein's conviction, Ferguson gave a public interview in which she stated she had made a "terrible error" in "having anything to do with Jeffrey Epstein."

But what followed was problematic. An email that surfaced in September 2025 made clear, was that she apparently could not bring herself to mean it. Shortly after delivering that very interview, she reportedly wrote to Epstein directly to apologize — addressing him as a "supreme friend." It proved that the email was nothing short of a performative contrition. 

Sarah Ferguson, Prince Andrew, Princess Beatrice, and Princess Eugenie attend day 4 of Royal Ascot in 2015. (Image Source: Getty Images| Max Mumby/Indigo)
Sarah Ferguson, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Princess Beatrice, and Princess Eugenie attend day 4 of Royal Ascot in 2015. (Image Source: Getty Images| Max Mumby/Indigo)

But the emails released before this latest batch had already tested the limits of public patience. Ferguson had written to Epstein asking him to cover business-class flights for herself and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie to visit him in New York following his release from prison.

She then followed up with a note gushing over the vegetable lasagna lunch he had provided — and, almost incidentally, expressing gratitude for the airfares he had funded. In it, she told him, "In just one week, after your lunch, it seems the energy has lifted. I have never been more touched by a friends [sic] kindness than your compliment to me in front of my girls. Thank you Jeffrey for being the brother I have always wished for."

If you are being subjected to sexual assault, or know of anyone who is, please call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673)

If you know of any children who are being subjected to abuse, please contact The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at (800) 422-4453

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