Duchess of York Email to Epstein Described as ‘Supreme Friend’ in 2011

The Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, has been linked to a 2011 email in which she described Jeffrey Epstein as a supreme friend, according to reports published by The Sun and the Mail on Sunday. The message allegedly was sent weeks after Ferguson publicly distanced herself from the disgraced financier and amid allegations he threatened to sue her for defamation. BBC News and other outlets reported that the email formed part of a broader pattern of communication between Ferguson and Epstein that continued after she publicly reflected on the relationship.

The Sun and the Mail on Sunday said the 2011 email was written after Ferguson’s interview in which she acknowledged a serious error of judgment in her association with Epstein and stated she would never again have anything to do with him. In the email, Ferguson reportedly told Epstein that she had not used certain language about him publicly and emphasized that he had been a steadfast, generous, and supreme friend to her and her family. The reports indicate the wording was intended to reassure Epstein rather than indict him, a point the duchess’s representatives later underscored in statements to the press.

A spokesperson for Ferguson described the email as part of a response to Epstein after he threatened to sue for defamation, saying the Duchess sought to calm the situation. The spokesperson emphasized that Ferguson had publicly condemned Epstein and cut off contact as soon as the extent of the allegations against him became clear, adding that she stood by her earlier statements and regretted any past association.

Epstein, a longtime financier with extensive connections, was a convicted sex offender who had previously been jailed for soliciting prostitution from a minor. He died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges related to sex trafficking. The new reporting links the duchess’s 2011 communications with Epstein to a later public narrative in which she reiterated that her involvement with him was a grave misjudgment and that she regrets it in light of his criminal conduct.

The disclosures come as BBC News and other outlets corroborate aspects of the timeline: Ferguson publicly distanced herself from Epstein after his 2008-2009 conviction and later asserted in interviews that her past association was an enormous error. The 2011 email, described by The Sun and Mail on Sunday as a response to Epstein’s defamation threat, adds detail to the record of interactions between Ferguson and Epstein during that period.

In reviewing the episode, observers note the contrast between Ferguson’s public condemnation of Epstein and the apparently ongoing private communications that followed. The duchess’s representatives have maintained that any such messages were sent within the bounds of a complex and troubling situation, and they stress that Ferguson has repeatedly expressed regret for her past connection to Epstein and has since focused on supporting victims of abuse and distancing herself from the financier’s accusers and associates.

This latest reporting does not identify new allegations against Ferguson or Epstein, but it does illuminate how public statements and private communications from high-profile figures can diverge, particularly in the wake of serious criminal allegations. As the BBC and other outlets continue to investigate the broader network surrounding Epstein, Ferguson’s role in the narrative remains a topic of renewed public interest, underscoring the lasting scrutiny of relationships formed in years past and the difficult questions they raise about accountability, reputation, and the protection of victims.