Sarah Ferguson’s charity to close ‘for foreseeable future’ after Epstein file revelations
Sarah Ferguson’s charity, Sarah’s Trust, has announced it will close “for the foreseeable future”, just days after new revelations emerged about the former duchess’ friendship with pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
On Friday, more than three million documents related to Epstein were released by the US Department of Justice, revealing more about his connection to Andrew and Sarah.
A spokesman for Sarah’s Trust said on Monday evening: “Our chairman, Sarah Ferguson, and the trustees have agreed with regret that the charity will close shortly for the foreseeable future.
The statement continued: “This has been discussed and worked on for several months.” “We are extremely proud of the foundation’s work in recent years.
“We have partnered with more than 60 charities in more than 20 countries, providing education, healthcare, crisis response and environmental projects.
“During the Covid pandemic, we delivered over 150,000 aid parcels, provided medical aid and education to those affected by the war in Ukraine, and educated more than 200 children in Ghana.”
Newly released files reveal that Ms Ferguson visited Mr Epstein with her two young daughters, just days after the underage financier was released from prison on charges of soliciting a minor for prostitution.
Six days after his release from prison, Epstein caught up with his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell in an email dated July 28, 2009, telling her how many people had been billed to visit him that week.
“Ferg and the two girls came yesterday,” he said. “Today [redacted].. tomomwo sultan , yesterday Farkas` sat jarecki, Sunday [redacted],, Monday Novak,”
In an email dated the previous day, July 27, 2009, an account registered under the name ‘Sarah’ emailed Epstein saying she was in Miami and aimed to arrive at his house at 12.30pm for lunch.
An hour before he was scheduled to arrive, he refused the offer of a lift and said: “No, thank you. I made Philip give up his car and a spare car for the police officer.”
He added: “What address should we come to? It will be me, Beatrice and Eugenie. Are we having lunch?”
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie were 20 and 19 years old respectively at the time.
Independent She has approached a representative of the former Duchess of York for comment.
In other emails about Slice, Ms Ferguson said Epstein was “the brother I always wished for” and later said she needed £20,000 for rent following the collapse of her business venture.
In a 2009 email exchange, the then-Duchess of York briefed Epstein on potential opportunities for her trademarks and books.
“After lunch appears to increase energy in just one week,” he wrote.
“I’ve never been this impressed by any of my friends [sic] More kindness than the compliment you gave me in front of my daughters.
“Thank you, Jeffrey, for being the brother I always wished for.”
The new files included emails showing Andrew, who was married to Sarah Ferguson until 1996, maintained regular contact with Epstein for more than two years after he was convicted of child sex crimes.
The files also include images showing Andrew kneeling over an unidentified woman lying on the ground and touching her waist. His face was darkened in the edited images.
The former Duke of York has always denied wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.
Sarah’s Trust has closed months after seven charities stood down as patrons after emails were leaked showing the Duchess of York apologizing to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein for disowning her.
Children’s hospice Julia’s House announced the move on Monday, followed by food allergy charity Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, Breast Cancer Prevention, Teenage Cancer Foundation and the British Heart Foundation.
Both the National Trust for Retired Service Animals (NFRSA) and the Children’s Literacy Charity have also reportedly suspended Ms Ferguson, according to the BBC.
