Sarah Ferguson visited Epstein in jail twice amid email exchanges: Report

A new report suggests that Sarah Ferguson visited Jeffrey Epstein twice in 2009 during his first prison sentence in Florida.

The former Duchess of York met the late disgraced financier twice at his Palm Beach office, where he was allowed to work outside of his Florida jail, according to The Telegraph.

During his 13-month sentence between 2008 and 2009, the convicted sex offender was allowed to leave his jail six days a week for around 12 hours a day to work at his nearby office as part of a work-release program, which Palm Beach County authorities later discontinued in 2019.

He was serving time after pleading guilty to two state prostitution charges, including one count of soliciting prostitution from a minor.

The ex-wife of former Prince Andrew, now Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, also planned to visit Epstein for a third time before her travel plans fell through at the last minute, The Telegraph reported.

USA TODAY has reached out to Ferguson's representatives for comment.

Ferguson, often referred to as Fergie, has not been accused of any crimes relating to Epstein.

Sarah Ferguson invited Epstein for a 'quick cup of tea' in 2009

Nine months into his Florida sentence, Ferguson reached out to Epstein, asking if she could stop by on April 4, 2009, according to an email available on the Justice Department's website as part of the gradual release of the Epstein files that began on Dec. 19.

"Hello Jeffrey. I am landing in Palm Beach in a couple of hours. Is there any chance on my quick layover, that I can get to have a quick cup of tea," she wrote in the email before signing off, "Love Sarah. The red Head."

A week later, on April 11, 2009, she sent another email to her "dear spectacular friend Jeffrey," where she called him a "legend."

"I am so proud of you," she wrote. "Thank you [for] looking after me so well, and for the brilliance of Yanoush. I have read and devoured your email and am putting into action [what] you said. Then I will come back to you."

She had asked the financier for advice and help as she launched her new venture, Mothers Army. She asked him to have his lawyers trademark the name and asked him which prominent women she should ask to be part of it.

On Jan. 30, 2010, several months after his July 2009 release, she emailed him, writing, "I really don't have the words to describe my love, gratitude for your generosity and kindness. Xx I am at your service . Just marry me."

Sarah Ferguson has said she regrets her friendship with Epstein

Ferguson has previously said she regrets her friendship with Epstein, including in an April 2012 interview with the Evening Standard, where she said: "I abhor pedophilia and any sexual abuse of children and know that this was a gigantic error of judgment on my behalf."

In an email to Epstein sent on April 27, 2011, she apologized to him, writing, "I know you also feel hellaciously let down by me" and "As you know, I did absolutely not say the P. Word about you. But understand it was reported that I did."

Royal biographer Andrew Lownie told NewsNation he spoke to a dog walker who claimed to see Ferguson exiting one of Epstein’s flats as late as 2014, years after claiming to have ended contact.

In a September 2025 statement to the BBC and People, her representatives said she was one of many people who were fooled by Epstein.

"As soon as she was aware of the extent of the allegations against him, she not only cut off contact but condemned him publicly, to the extent that he then threatened to sue her for defamation for associating him with pedophilia," the statement continued.

Multiple charities cut ties with Ferguson in 2025

In September 2025, several charities cut ties with the former duchess following reports of her emails with Epstein.

Ferguson, who divorced Mountbatten-Windsor in 1996, continued to capitalize on the title Duchess of York for years until October, when she stopped using it on her social media pages.

The former prince was ousted as a senior royal following allegations over his connections to Epstein and stripped of the royal title on Oct. 17, just days before the release of a posthumous memoir from accuser Virginia Giuffre.

Contributing: Sarah D. Wire, USA TODAY