Sarah Ferguson stripped of freedom of the city of York over Epstein ties
Councilors in York have voted unanimously to strip Sarah Ferguson of her title as Freedom of the City of York over her friendship with pedophilia financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Her ex-husband Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was denied the honor four years ago because of his relationship with the convicted sex offender.
Freedom of the City is the highest recognition given by the City of York Council to an individual or group living within the boundary.
Ms Ferguson was stripped of her title as Duchess of York in October after her ex-husband renounced her own title due to his connection to Epstein.
York City Council stripped him of his title at a meeting at the Guildhall in York on Thursday evening.
The sacking will be a fresh blow to Ms Ferguson, following new revelations about the former duchess’s links to Epstein.
Six companies linked to the former duchess went bankrupt following the release of the Epstein files, according to Companies House documents.
Sarah’s Trust, the charity she founded, has also announced it will close “for the foreseeable future”.
Speaking during the debate, Liberal Democrat councilor Darryl Smalley said: “Following the release of thousands of documents, we now know that Sarah Ferguson also had a close friendship with Epstein and that this friendship continued well beyond his conviction.
“We don’t expect those awarded York’s highest honor to become saints. We just don’t want them to be the best friends of convicted pedophiles.”
“We stand with the victims. We defend the rule of law. We defend integrity.”
Gwen Swinburn, a member of the public, told councilors during the debate that it should not have been a difficult decision to strip the former duchess of her honour.
“The decision before you tonight is whether the freedom of the city will be taken from Ms. Ferguson,” he said. “It shouldn’t be hard. It’s the minimum you need to do.”
Following the release of a two million tranche of documents from the Epstein files at the end of January, new details of Ms Ferguson’s relationship with the disgraced financier showed that their relationship remained close following his conviction in 2008 as a child sex offender who procured a minor for prostitution.
In a 2009 email exchange, the then-Duchess of York called Epstein “the brother I always wished for” while informing him of potential opportunities for her trademarks and books.
Documents released by the US Department of Justice in January also allege that Epstein took his daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, to lunch with him shortly after he was released from prison.
The presence of his name in the files is not an indication of crime.
Calls are growing for Ms. Ferguson to testify to US authorities about her relationship with Epstein; The former duchess has not been seen in public for months.
Ms Ferguson and Mr Mountbatten-Windsor were given the honor as a wedding gift from York during their visit to the city in 1987.
Councilors removed Andrew’s Freedom of the City of York in 2022 and the meeting at the time heard he was the first to have it taken away.
The only motion at Thursday’s meeting stated: “The Council has resolved that, in accordance with Section 249 of the Local Government Act 1972, the City of York Council shall withdraw the status of Honorary Freeman of the City granted to Sarah Ferguson in 1987.”
