Prince Andrew, Sarah Ferguson, and the shadow of Epstein: Can the Yorks ever step back into public life?

Prince Andrew, right, and Sarah Ferguson leave after attending the Easter Matins Service at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, England on March 31, 2024. (Hollie Adams/Pool Photo via AP)

Afua Hagan is a contributor to CTVNews.ca, focusing on the Royal Family. Based in London and Accra, Hagan is a regular commentator on the royals across a variety of international outlets, and is a leading voice on diversity in Britain.

Prince Andrew has long been a figure the Royal Family would prefer to be kept out of the headlines. Yet once again, his name – and now that of his former wife, Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York – is back in the spotlight as fresh allegations emerge from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. For a monarchy trying to modernize and preserve its standing in the 21st century, the renewed scrutiny is deeply unwelcome.

At the heart of the issue is not simply the legal tangle of Epstein’s web, but the reputational damage it continues to inflict on the Windsors. Prince Andrew’s 2019 Newsnight interview was catastrophic enough to effectively end his public life as a working royal. Now, Sarah Ferguson’s links are being dissected, threatening to taint her decades-long effort to rebrand herself as the resilient, relatable duchess who overcame financial woes and scandal.

The Yorks’ predicament also raises a broader question for the Royal Family: How do you manage the fallout when royal figures, even those at arm’s length from the throne, remain entangled in controversies that refuse to fade?

A shocking email obtained by the Mail on Sunday has surfaced showing Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, describing Jeffrey Epstein as a “supreme friend.” The revelation emerged after Epstein’s death by suicide in 2019 while he awaited trial on sex-trafficking charges in New York. The Duchess sent this troubling email in March 2011, three years after Epstein’s jail sentence for soliciting prostitution from a minor.

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The situation became more complicated as Ferguson had claimed she cut all ties with the disgraced financier. The discovery that Epstein gave Ferguson £15,000 before she sent this email raised additional questions. Her statement on March 7, 2011 to the Evening Standard newspaper, “I abhor paedophilia and any sexual abuse of children,” now seems at odds with these newly revealed communications.

The scandal continues to affect the Royal Family, especially with increased scrutiny of Prince Andrew. He later paid a substantial sum to Virginia Giuffre who alleged he abused her when she was 17.

Julia’s House, a children’s hospice charity, has removed the Duchess of York as patron after Ferguson’s email to Epstein came to light. The charity stated: “Julia’s House has taken the decision that it would be inappropriate for her to continue as a patron of the charity.” They also thanked her for her “past support.”

The organization provides support for “families caring for a child with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition.”

• Charities axe Prince Andrew’s ex-wife over Epstein email

Ferguson became patron in November 2018 and had maintained ties with the charity since its first unit opened in 1990. The charity’s website no longer lists Ferguson’s name among other patrons such as football manager Eddie Howe, actor Nigel Havers, and designer Jasper Conran.

Food allergy charity The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, Prevent Breast Cancer, The Teenage Cancer Trust and the Children’s Literacy Charity have also dropped her as a Patron. The British Heart Foundation also said she would no longer be the charity’s ambassador. The charities’ quick response shows their concerns about the Duchess’s Epstein connection.

It’s evident that Prince Andrew has no viable route to resume his public duties. Whilst the late Queen sought to protect her son, King Charles has adopted a more practical stance, removing Andrew from royal responsibilities and restricting his public presence. Each new headline connecting him to Epstein merely validates the decision to keep him away from the spotlight.

For Sarah Ferguson, the matter presents greater nuance. She has dedicated years to methodically restoring her reputation – transforming from the “Duchess of Debt” to an approachable, genuine grandmother who resonates with the public. Her recent health challenges have garnered widespread support and respect. However, the renewed scrutiny of her name in relation to Epstein threatens to undermine these hard-won gains. Though she faces no criminal allegations, reputational impact is measured in subtle shifts of public opinion rather than concrete evidence.

The King is ‘frustrated,’ Prince William is ‘furious’

The King has no say on what Ferguson does publicly or privately, but Palace sources say he is frustrated – to say the least – that the Royal Family keeps being dragged into the seemingly never-ending Epstein scandal and that he is “considering the options” when it comes to Prince Andrew and his ex-wife. Prince William, on the other hand, is said to be “furious” with this latest development, according to sources, and has no sympathy for either Andrew or Sarah.

With Prince Andrew already stripped of his royal titles and patronage and only seen at limited royal events like Christmases and funerals, where could his future lie within the House of Windsor? Could we see him exiled out of the country, as the only solution to the embarrassment that he keeps causing his brother, the King? And what about Ferguson? She was persona non-grata in the Royal Family for years thanks to Prince Philip.

In August of 1992, when the Daily Mirror published a front-page photo of Ferguson having her toes sucked by American financial manager John Bryan as she sunbathed topless on holiday, Prince Philip, incensed by this, banned her from the inner circle of the Royal Family for years. It was only after he died that she was invited back to Christmas at Sandringham. Perhaps we could see Ferguson heading back into the wilderness, out of the inner sanctum of the House of Windsor.

The key worry for the monarchy is that the continuing drama surrounding Andrew and Sarah risks eclipsing King Charles’s meticulously planned agenda of service, duty and modernization – whilst potentially compromising Prince William and Princess Catherine’s endeavours to embody a “streamlined,” progressive monarchy.

One things’ for sure – this Epstein controversy isn’t going away. With each data dump, the Firm hold its breath in anticipation that yet another revelation will dent the Windsor brand. This has evolved beyond Andrew’s personal predicament; each resurgence casts a broader shadow over the reign of King Charles III.

More from Afua Hagan:

• Prince Andrew’s ‘Reckoning’: A royal crisis that won’t go away
• Trump’s royal treatment: When pageantry meets political pragmatism
• Is the Royal Family now ready for Prince Harry’s return?
• Royal whispers and revelations revealed in new tell-all book