Prince Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson will now go by a new title following the latest fallout from Andrew’s connections to Jeffrey Epstein. The Duke of York has always denied any wrongdoing.
On Friday, Andrew announced that he would give up his titles, confirming that he would “no longer use them.” Sources told The Telegraph that King Charles III was “glad” about his brother’s decision.
Andrew’s announcement also raised new questions about the status of his former wife. Sarah, Duchess of York, will also no longer use her royal titles after being dropped by several charities over an email she once sent to Epstein.
In the 2011 message, written after Epstein had already been convicted of procuring a child for prostitution, Sarah referred to him as her “supreme friend” and appeared to apologise for publicly criticising him. She wrote, “You have always been a steadfast, generous and supreme friend to me and my family.”
Only weeks before sending the email, she had told reporters that her association with Epstein was a “gigantic error of judgement,” adding that “what he did was wrong and for which he was rightly jailed.”
From now on, Sarah will be known simply as Sarah Ferguson when acting in any official capacity. The change marks the end of her long-held title as Duchess of York, which she received upon marrying Prince Andrew in 1986.
The latest scandal surrounding the disgraced royal resurfaced after it was revealed that Andrew had continued to contact Epstein even after publicly claiming to have cut ties.
An email dated February 28, 2011, reportedly shows Andrew writing to Epstein, saying they would “have to rise above it.” The message also mentioned Virginia Giuffre, who has accused Epstein of trafficking her.
Giuffre claimed she was 17 when she was allegedly forced to have sex with Andrew. The Duke of York has repeatedly and strongly denied the allegations.