Sarah Ferguson appeared to criticize the Royal Family in a blunt email sent to Jeffrey Epstein, according to newly released US government files.
The former Duchess of York wrote to the disgraced financier in July 2010, amid intense scrutiny following a tabloid sting in which she was filmed appearing to agree to cash for access to her then-husband, Prince Andrew.
In the email, Ferguson said she was being “hung out to dry” and claimed, in a stark line, that “no woman has ever left the Royal family with her head”.
The email is part of more than three million documents related to Epstein that were released by US authorities last week. In the messages, Ferguson expressed distress over media coverage and suggested she felt isolated as public pressure mounted.
In one exchange, she asked Epstein for support and a place to stay, writing that she believed the press would have her “exiled” and that she was facing renewed public judgment.
“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 hung yet again. Just as I always said, no woman has ever left the royal family with her head, and the [sic] cannot behead me, therefore they will discredit me. Totally to obliteration. I have no words,” she wrote.
At the time, her finances were being reviewed by accountants following the fallout from the sting.
The files also indicate that Epstein provided Ferguson with financial assistance, including a payment of £15,000 to help cover debts. She later described accepting his help as a “gigantic error”. Emails also show her thanking Epstein for advice and business introductions.
Documents also appear to show that she visited Epstein just days after he was released from prison for sex offences, and emails suggest she took her adult daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, with her.