Details About Sarah Ferguson's Relationship With Jeffrey Epstein Revealed

The late convicted sex trafficker, Jeffrey Epstein, has been linked to dozens of influential figures, and Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, is one of them. Throughout the 1990s, the duchess is said to have run in the same social circles as Epstein and his now-imprisoned accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. She vacationed with Epstein in the Bahamas, accepted money from the wealthy American felon, and is reported to have flown on his private jet. Despite the strength of these ties, most royal watchers have focused on juicy exposés about Prince Andrew's friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.

In 2025, however, new information about Sarah Ferguson's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein emerged. Documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice showed that Sarah traveled with Epstein. Transcripts of interviews with Maxwell also show that the American businessman may have inspired romantic interest on the duchess' part. Plus, a tell-all book about the House of York has made some serious allegations about Sarah's involvement with Epstein and Maxwell alike. The result is a perspective on the Duchess of York that threatens her place in royal history.

The 1990s were a busy decade for Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York. In 1990, she and her then-husband, Prince Andrew, welcomed a daughter, Princess Eugenie. Then, just two years later, Sarah and Andrew separated in a scandalous, media-frenzied affair. By 1996, the former royal couple had obtained a divorce, forcing the duchess to become financially independent. It was during this tumultuous decade that most experts believe Sarah met Jeffrey Epstein for the first time.

The details of Sarah and Epstein's initial acquaintance, however, remain up for debate. According to a report in the Daily Mail, Sarah met Epstein through Lynn Forester de Rothschild of the de Rothschild banking fortune. Royal expert, Andrew Lownie, however, maintains that this was not likely. According to his book, "Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York," Sarah ran in the same circles of Epstein's accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. The two women were said to be very popular on the New York scene at the time, and it's been speculated that they crossed paths there. Because of this connection, Lownie believes that Maxwell and Sarah met each other first and that Maxwell was the one to introduce Sarah to Epstein. Regardless of how it all began, however, one thing is clear: By the late 1990s, Sarah knew Epstein well enough to travel to the Bahamas with him.

There has long existed speculation that Ghislaine Maxwell was the one who introduced Prince Andrew to Jeffrey Epstein. However, the convicted British-American socialite has denied those allegations. In a series of interviews conducted by U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Maxwell claimed that she couldn't pinpoint who had made the initial introduction. However, she did say that there was a chance that Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, had played a role. 

Speaking in the aforementioned interview, Maxwell explained, "I did not introduce him [Epstein] to Prince Andrew. That's a flat untruth. Lynn Forester had a house ... and invited Epstein to go and I believe that's where he met Prince Andrew." She then backtracked and said, "However, I believe that before that event he had gone to the Bahamas and had hung out with Sarah Ferguson. And Sarah had called Epstein and had arranged with Lynn. I think Sarah is the one that pushed that." Although Maxwell clearly is not the most reliable narrator, there remains a strong possibility that the duchess was somehow involved in that initial meeting. After all, even in her pre-royal days, Sarah was known for bringing together unlikely people at social events — a characteristic that, at one point, was viewed as a strength.

Regardless of how Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson first connected with Jeffrey Epstein, flight logs show that both members of the royal family grew quite close with the convicted sex trafficker. At different points in time, both Andrew and Sarah separately traveled with Epstein on his private jet. In his book, "Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York," Andrew Lownie noted that Sarah's name appeared in Epstein's flight logs prior to when palace sources say the prince met the wealthy American for the first time. Lownie then proceeded to describe the many instances when Prince Andrew accompanied Epstein on other private flights.

Furthermore, Epstein flight logs released by the U.S. Department of Justice found that after one 1998 flight from Palm Beach to Nassau, Epstein met "Princess Sarah Ferguson and kids on the ground." This means that Sarah had gotten a close view of the famous aircraft that Epstein used to traffic women around the world. Nicknamed "The Lolita Express," the vessel stood as a reference to Vladimir Nabokov's 1955 novel "Lolita" about a French literature professor who kidnaps and sexually abuses a minor. Although it's unclear whether or not Sarah was aware of the aircraft's name, one has to wonder if she ever heard it in passing — or if she could have guessed its horrific meaning.

Although the intricate details of the relationship between Jeffrey Epstein and Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, have yet to be made public, some reports indicate that the duchess was romantically curious about the American businessman. According to Epstein's associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, in an interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Sarah seemed taken with the financier. "And I thought that Sarah was trying to put the moves on Jeffrey, if I'm being honest, and I thought the whole thing was annoying and I was pissed off," Maxwell recalled. When Blanche asked Maxwell why she thought that Sarah was interested in Epstein, the Brit simply replied, "My female intuition."

While there exists no known evidence of a romantic link between Sarah and Epstein, there have been claims about Maxwell and Andrew. In his book, "Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York," Andrew Lownie alleged that Andrew and Maxwell had engaged in a physical relationship. Apparently, by the time of his 40th birthday, "Andrew had resumed his on-off affair with Maxwell. In [2000] they were spotted holding hands at Nello's restaurant on Madison Avenue before flying to Miami, with model Naomi Campbell and Alexia Wallaert, a Persian art dealer, on the Lolita Express." Despite these allegations of hand-holding, Maxwell has fiercely denied any sort of sexual relationship with Andrew.

As much as Ghislaine Maxwell has denied rumors of a romance with Prince Andrew, she has had to admit that Sarah Ferguson had a problem with her. That problem, apparently, had everything to do with Andrew. On the second day of the aforementioned interview with U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Maxwell described her relationship with Sarah as tense. "I don't know if she liked me ... I think my friendship with her ex-husband, well, sometimes she really did like me and sometimes she didn't," Maxwell said. She went on to assert that the two were "friendly." But, then again, she also called Sarah her "frenemy," adding, "I think there was some latent hostility."

Despite all these tensions, Maxwell did not hesitate to reaffirm that she, the duchess, and Epstein all ran in similar social circles. "I'm English and my close friends are all close friends with Sarah and Andrew," she told Blanche. Clarifying just how tight these circles were, Maxwell added, "I mean, I've seen her many, many times and she's also super, super close with other people I'm very good friends with in England."

While Sarah Ferguson's connection to Jeffrey Epstein may seem like an odd coincidence of overlapping social circles, their relationship was far deeper than just that. Over the years, Sarah has openly struggled with her excessive spending, accruing massive debts as she has tried to maintain an elite lifestyle outside of the royal umbrella. By January 2011, the duchess found herself in a full-blown financial crisis with £5 million worth of debts. Desperate for financial support, Sarah reached out to Epstein for help paying her then-assistant, Johnny O'Sullivan. According to the duchess' account, Epstein agreed to loan her money in installments of £15,000 — the first of which she gladly accepted. When the story of Sarah's debts leaked to the press shortly after, the duchess announced that she would not accept any future installments.

Some sources, however, allege that Sarah had already accepted more funds from the convicted sex trafficker. In "Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York," Andrew Lownie quoted an insider who claimed that the true number allotted to Sarah was a great deal higher. "I think Sarah has actually received hundreds of thousands of dollars," the source said. Sarah has denied accepting this amount from Epstein.

In 2011, when the news of Sarah Ferguson's financial ties to Jeffrey Epstein broke, the public remained unaware of the extent of his crimes. That being said, the American businessman had already pled guilty to charges of soliciting prostitution from a minor. He had also spent 13 months in prison for his crimes. Given Sarah's allegedly close social ties to Epstein, one would think that she might be aware of his legal troubles. However, in a 2012 interview with The Standard, Sarah claimed, "I had no idea of the string of other allegations and court cases against him and I am distraught that I should have allowed myself to get out of debt with any help from him when my judgment was clouded."

In the same conversation, Sarah also apologized for having sought money from a felon like Epstein. "I personally, on behalf of myself, deeply regret that Jeffrey Epstein became involved in any way with me," she told the outlet. The duchess also stressed the importance of family values in her life, reminding audiences that she is a mother. She also tried to assure the public that her association with Epstein wouldn't impact her career as a children's author, stating that her goals moving forward included "being a good mother, a philanthropist for children and also an author of children's books."

As more information about Jeffrey Epstein began to slowly come to light, it became clear that Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, was not the only one associated with the American felon. Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein also had a controversial friendship, and by 2015, Florida court documents alleged that the Duke of York had engaged in intercourse with Virginia Giuffre when she was still a minor.

Buckingham Palace denied the allegations. However, as more evidence about the case emerged, the more royal watcher wondered about Andrew's involvement. Sarah was quick to respond to these claims, denying them on her ex-husband's behalf. In an interview with US TV, Sarah declared, "I won't stand by — because I know what it feels like to have salacious lies made up about you — and not support him so publicly because they are just shockingly accusatory allegations which I don't think is right" (via the BBC). 

This was not the last time that Sarah expressed her support for Andrew. She also shared a since-deleted Instagram post in 2021 that lauded his character. "I am deeply supportive and proud of this giant of a principled man, that dares to put his shoulder to the wind and stands firm with his sense of honor and truth," Sarah wrote in the caption. Apparently, Sarah hoped that the Epstein connection would become yet another one of the strange things everyone ignores about Prince Andrew.

In some ways, Sarah Ferguson's public opinions of Jeffrey Epstein were confusing. On one hand, she firmly maintained that Prince Andrew's friendship with the American financier was nothing less than proper. On the other, she condemned Epstein's crimes — albeit only after it was discovered that she had asked him for a loan. 

In 2025, things grew even more complicated for Sarah after a 2011 email she sent Epstein was leaked to the press. Records show that, following her condemnation of Epstein's crimes, Sarah had actually reached out to him. In a dramatic message to Epstein, Sarah apologized for having spoken ill of him in public. "I know you feel hellaciously let down by me from what you were either told or read and I must humbly apologize to you and your heart for that," the duchess wrote in the email, per The Sun. "You have always been a steadfast, generous and supreme friend to me and my family." Sarah then asked Epstein to forgive her for not getting in touch earlier. Her explanation was that she was afraid of causing yet another one of the royal family's biggest PR disasters. "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," Sarah wrote.

As soon as Sarah Ferguson's personal correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein hit the press, the consequences came rolling in. Within hours of the news breaking, several of Sarah's favorite charities removed her from their board. A children's hospice known as Julia's House told Time, "It would be inappropriate for her to continue as a patron of the charity" given her association with Epstein. Another one of Sarah's patronages, Teenage Cancer Trust, also told the outlet that they would be discontinuing their relationship with Sarah. Several other organizations — including the British Heart Foundation, Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, and Prevent Breast Cancer — followed suit.

For Sarah, this signals more than just a loss of reputation. It also means that she may encounter financial difficulties moving forward. Experts say that public speaking engagements, book deals, and product endorsements are generally contingent on the pristine image of one's personal brand — an image that Sarah no longer has. "Charities are bellwethers for public trust. If they won't touch her, then publishers, sponsors, and producers won't either. This isn't a PR headache — it's financial destitution dressed up as disgrace," public relations specialist Mark Borkowski told the Mirror. Although it's hard to know if Sarah will really become destitute as a result of the scandal, it is certain that her finances will be affected.

Public reception of Sarah Ferguson's emails to Jeffrey Epstein was overwhelmingly negative. However, some of the duchess' friends have urged royal watchers not to judge her so quickly. Speaking to Channel 5, Lizzie Cundy claimed that she'd spoken to Sarah about the contents of those messages. In her view, the duchess had only sent them to Epstein out of self-preservation. "The fact is, when she did condemn him — she did publicly — it got very, very nasty," Cundy said. "He got huge lawyers on to her as well — she thought it was going to be embarrassing not just for her own family but the rest of the royal family."

Cundy then went on to say that Sarah's correspondence with Epstein stood as nothing more than an attempt to avoid a serious lawsuit. "She felt she had no choice but to try and appease him — she was scared for herself, for her family," she alleged. Apparently, Sarah had never had any knowledge of Epstein's crimes. "She was fooled by him, like many others were — like the Clintons," Cundy added. Bill Clinton's affair with his 22-year-old intern, Monica Lewinsky, in 1995, was a similar public scandal.

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, may no longer be married to Prince Andrew, but that doesn't mean she has removed herself entirely from the British royal family. Despite maintaining their relationship is purely platonic, Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew live together at Royal Lodge. Sarah has also attended a number of royal events along with her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. In 2023, she attended the Christmas church service along with the rest of the royal family in Sandringham. She has also been present for important sacraments like Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding in addition to Queen Elizabeth II's funeral.

Prince William has generally tolerated Sarah's presence at these events, but following the incident of her leaked emails, things have reportedly changed. According to one insider, William feels that Sarah and Andrew's actions have tarnished the monarchy's image. Speaking to the Daily Mail, the source in question dished, "William feels even more strongly than the King that Andrew and Fergie are an embarrassment and will be urging his father to act." King Charles III, meanwhile, is said to be more cautious about the possibility of viewing the couple as "non-persons" — the royal equivalent of pariahs — fearing that Andrew and Sarah might sell a tell-all.