Freshly released material from the Epstein Files has dragged Sarah Ferguson back into the spotlight, and not in a way anyone at the Palace will welcome.
The documents paint a picture of an unusually warm, personal relationship between the former Duchess of York and Jeffrey Epstein that continued even after his conviction for child sex offences.
What’s striking isn’t just the contact itself, but the tone: playful, flattering, and at times jaw-droppingly inappropriate given who Epstein was and what he had been jailed for.
Flirtation, Jokes, and a “Single” Woman He Should Meet
Among the newly revealed messages is an email in which Ferguson suggests Epstein meet a “single” female friend she describes as having “a great body.”
In the same exchange, she jokingly floats the idea that Epstein should marry her — and then, astonishingly, suggests the other woman could be taken on as staff.
These messages were sent months after Epstein had completed a 13-month sentence for soliciting sex from underage girls, a detail that makes the casual, teasing tone of the emails all the more unsettling.
The Post-Prison Trip to America
The emails also shed light on a trip Ferguson made to the United States with her daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, just two days after Epstein’s release from prison in July 2009.
An email from Epstein’s assistant asks him to approve nearly $15,000 in flights: business class for Ferguson, economy for the two princesses.
While it’s unclear whether Epstein ultimately paid, the trip did go ahead, with the Yorks travelling from Heathrow to Miami and later returning via New York.
Lunch With Epstein, Daughters in Tow
Those same documents clarify details around a lunch Ferguson attended with Epstein in Florida — accompanied by Beatrice and Eugenie, who were teenagers at the time.
Emails show the plans being arranged with ease and familiarity, down to transport and timing.
Ferguson even mentions borrowing cars, including a backup vehicle “for the policeman,” before confirming it would be herself and both daughters attending the lunch.
“Marry Me”: A Repeated Refrain
The marriage jokes were not a one-off. Across several emails sent in 2009 and 2010, Ferguson repeatedly suggested that Epstein should marry her, often wrapping the idea in gratitude for his support and generosity.
In one message, she thanks him effusively, calling him a “legend” and signing off by saying she was “at your service,” before again urging him to marry her.
The tone borders on fawning — something that has reportedly horrified her daughters now that the messages are public.
Feeling Hounded by the Palace and the Press
The Epstein Files also include a series of anguished messages from Ferguson during one of the darkest periods of her public life.
After being caught in a tabloid sting appearing to accept money in exchange for access to Prince Andrew, she writes to Epstein describing herself as “1000 per cent being hung out to dry.”
She claims the Palace couldn’t “behead” her — a grim historical reference — so would instead destroy her reputation.
In these emails, Epstein is cast as her emotional lifeline, the “pillar” she fears losing as she faces what she calls exile and humiliation in Britain.
Money Troubles and a Controversial Lifeline
At the time, Ferguson was facing severe financial problems and spoke openly about the risk of bankruptcy.
Epstein, it later emerged, helped settle some of her debts — assistance she would eventually describe as a “gigantic error.”
Emails show her thanking him for arranging accommodation in the US and supporting her when she felt abandoned by institutions she believed should have protected her.
Fallout for Beatrice and Eugenie
According to sources close to the York sisters, Beatrice and Eugenie are “aghast” at the volume and tone of their mother’s correspondence with Epstein.
They are said to be embarrassed not only by the emails, but also by photographs and revelations involving their father, Prince Andrew, who also features heavily in the Epstein Files.
Some of the emails reportedly reference Eugenie’s private life in crude terms, adding another layer of discomfort for the sisters as they absorb what has now become public.
A Family Bracing for What Was Still to Come
Sources suggest that senior royals, including King Charles and Prince William, were aware that further damaging revelations were on the way.
William’s carefully guarded comments last year — saying he wished he could speak more but couldn’t — are now being interpreted as signs he had been briefed on what was yet to surface.
Decisions that once seemed harsh, such as pushing Andrew and Ferguson out of Royal Lodge, are now being reassessed in light of the growing scandal.
From Praise to Accusation
The emails also chart a sharp turn in Ferguson’s attitude toward Epstein.
After years of praise and closeness, she later accuses him of using her purely as a route to Prince Andrew and of abandoning her emotionally.
In a bitter 2011 message, she writes that it was “crystal clear” he was only her friend to get close to her ex-husband — an accusation that lands with particular force given everything now known about Epstein’s methods and motives.
A Trail of Messages That Refuse to Go Away
Taken together, the emails form a messy, troubling record of misplaced trust, poor judgment, and intimacy with a man already convicted of serious crimes.
While appearing in the Epstein Files does not in itself imply criminal wrongdoing, the content has reopened painful questions about boundaries, responsibility, and reputation.
For the York family, the damage is already done — and with each new release, it becomes harder to believe that the full story has finished unfolding.
