Sarah Ferguson with Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice. Sources close to the family say they have no recollection of visiting Jeffrey Epstein after his release from prison. Photo / Getty Images
Sarah Ferguson took Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie to visit Jeffrey Epstein in New York after he was released from prison, according to a leaked email.
Epstein wrote to Paul Tweed, his United Kingdom-based lawyer, in April 2011.
It was a month after Ferguson had given a newspaper interview apologising for the “terrible, terrible error of judgment” in associating with him and accepting his money, promising she would have “nothing ever to do” with him again.
Epstein told Tweed she “should affirmatively state that she was misquoted”, according to the email obtained by the Mail on Sunday.
He went on: “[Ferguson] took apartments in New York. She was the first to celebrate my release with her two daughters in tow.
“She visited me with [a] policeman sitting at my front desk. She has asked for help with her charities.”
A source close to Ferguson insisted that neither she nor her daughters with Prince Andrew had any recollection of such a visit. The princesses would have been 20 and 19 at the time.
In June 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to one count of soliciting prostitution and one count of soliciting prostitution from someone under the age of 18 and was sentenced to 18 months in jail.
He was released in July 2009 and remained under house arrest until July 2010.
Ferguson is known to have received £15,000 ($35,000) from Epstein to pay off her debts but newly unearthed emails suggest she borrowed far more.
During his time under house arrest, the pair are said to have exchanged several emails.
In January 2010, Ferguson wrote: “Is there any chance I could borrow 50 or 100,000 US dollars to help get through the small bills that are pushing me over? Had to ask.”
Epstein, whose bank accounts were being monitored, said he could not help, telling her: “You need to address these issues. You are great.”
Her March 2011 interview with the Evening Standard in which she issued a “heartfelt apology” for accepting the £15,000 loan and described it as “a giant error of judgment”, clearly rattled Epstein.
On the day it was published, he sent an email to his friend, Jean-Luc Brunel, the French modelling agent, complaining: “The duchess that I have financially helped for 15 years said that she wants nothing to do with a paedophile and child sex abuser. It has caused quite a stir.”
Today, a source close to Ferguson denied the suggestion that she had been bankrolled for years by Epstein.
The following month, Ferguson sought to make amends, sending Epstein a message in which she referred to him as a “steadfast, generous and supreme friend”.
She added: “I know you feel hellaciously let down by me”, insisting that she had not used the “p word” [paedophile] in the interview.
It is understood that she had received aggressive threats from Epstein and had been advised to tell him whatever was necessary to prevent him taking legal action against her.
Another email seen by the Mail on Sunday appeared to show Ferguson asking to visit Epstein’s private island Little St James, known by the financier and his friends as “Little St Jeffs”.
On July 10, 2010, she wrote to Epstein: “My friend, am I allowed to visit Little St Jeffs? Or is it unavailable to bankrupts?”
There is no suggestion that Ferguson was bankrupt at the time.
The newspaper reports that Epstein, who was barred from flying for another 11 days until his house arrest was over, responded by saying: “I’ll meet you there. Call me” and gave his mobile number.
The following year, Ferguson is said to have asked Epstein for advice before an appearance on Oprah Winfrey’s talk show.
It is reported that she wrote to the financier on May 5, 2011, saying: “Dear Jeffrey, I just want to make sure you know I am going on Oprah tomorrow.
“And she is going to ask me about my debts, the entrapment of last year and the press about you in Jan.
“It will be quick and at the top of the show, all of 10 seconds, a very small piece.
“I just want to make sure you are aware of this and seek your advice on how you would like me to answer.”
The Mail on Sunday reported that Epstein responded by suggesting that she should say he was “unfairly characterised as a paedophile by the tabloid press” and that he had pleaded guilty to soliciting underage prostitutes “many years ago”.
Referring to himself in the third person as he appeared to tell Ferguson what she should say, he added: “He paid his debt to society and has sought forgiveness. I have nothing more to say.”
On August 1, 2011, Epstein is said to have written: “When you first got in trouble, you said to me, ‘Jeffrey, I know that as I told everyone, you’re either on the team or off. I knew you were always on my team.’ That was right.”
Ferguson responded: “I am on yours and you on mine. With great love and strength.”
Since it emerged last month that Ferguson had referred to Epstein as a “supreme friend”, seven charities have dropped her as a patron or ambassador, including the Teenage Cancer Trust, with which she had worked for 35 years.
Prince Andrew travelled to New York to visit Epstein in December 2010, a trip he insisted he made in order to cut off all contact.
However, recently published emails suggest they stayed in touch.
When his accuser Virginia Giuffre gave a newspaper interview about Epstein and Andrew in February 2011, the Prince emailed Epstein saying: “We’re in this together” and “let’s play again soon”.
Sign up to Herald Premium Editor’s Picks, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday. Editor-in-Chief Murray Kirkness picks the week’s best features, interviews and investigations. Sign up for Herald Premium here.