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Sarah Ferguson’s charity, Sarah’s Trust, has formally closed down after the former Duchess of York was embroiled in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
Days after new revelations emerged about the former duchess’s friendship with the paedophile financier, Sarah Ferguson’s charity announced it would close “for the foreseeable future”.
In a statement made in February, Sarah’s Trust said Ms Ferguson and the board of trustees had agreed “with regret” that the charity would close.
“This has been under discussion and in train for some months,” the statement continued. “We remain extremely proud of the work of the trust over recent years.”
Now, months later, Sarah’s Trust is marked as "removed" on the public register of charities.
The charity, launched in 2020 during the Covid pandemic, provided aid for NHS, care home and hospice staff. It had also secured money to send computers to Ukrainian refugees in Poland.
In February, Sarah’s Trust said Ms Ferguson and the board of trustees had agreed “with regret” that the charity would close (Jordan Pettitt/PA) (PA Wire)The Independent has contacted Ferguson’s representatives for comment on the closure of her charity.
The announcement that the charity would close came just days after more than three million documents were published by the US Department of Justice, which revealed she was in contact with Epstein while he was in prison for soliciting sex from a minor.
Files released by the DoJ suggested that Ms Ferguson visited Epstein with her two daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, just days after Epstein was released from prison for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
In one email dated 28 July 2009, six days after he left prison, Epstein caught up with his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, telling her how many people were billed to visit him that week.
“Ferg and the two girls come yesterday [sic],” he said. “Today [redacted].. tomomwo sultan , yesterday farkas„ sat jarecki, sunday [redacted],, monday novak [sic].”
In other emails, Ms Ferguson said Epstein was the “brother I have always wished for” and later said she needed £20,000 for rent following the collapse of her business venture.
In one email exchange from 2009, the then Duchess of York updated Epstein on potential opportunities for her business brands and books.
“In just one week, after your lunch, it seems the energy has lifted,” she wrote.
“I have never been more touched by a friends [sic] kindness than your compliment to me infront of my girls.
“Thank you Jeffrey for being the brother I have always wished for.”
Being named in the documents does not indicate wrongdoing.
Ms Ferguson lost her duchess title when her ex-husband Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, relinquished his Duke of York title over his links with Epstein.