Ex-Duchess of York’s charity to close following new Epstein revelations

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) – Sarah’s Trust, a charity of former Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson, has said it will close “for the foreseeable future” days after new details emerged about her ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to media reports on Tuesday.

A spokesperson for the charity told BBC that Sarah’s Trust would shut down “for the foreseeable future” following the release of new Epstein-related files in the US on Friday, which revealed details of Ferguson’s friendship with Epstein.

However, the charity said the decision had been under discussion for several months.

“This has been under discussion and in train for some months,” the spokesperson said.

According to its website, the charity was established in 2020 “to support frontline, grassroots work to address the humanitarian and environmental crisis, the hunger crisis and issues perpetuating cycles of extreme poverty.”

“Our chair Sarah Ferguson and the board of trustees have agreed that with regret the charity will shortly close for the foreseeable future,” the spokesperson was quoted by the BBC as saying.

The latest disclosures show Ferguson describing Epstein as the “brother I have always wished for,” while in another email she appears to congratulate him on the arrival of a “baby boy.”

Earlier revelations about Ferguson’s ties to Epstein led to her being dropped last year as a patron or ambassador by several charities.

Ferguson is the former wife of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, then Prince Andrew, Duke of York, the second son of Queen Elizabeth II and younger brother of King Charles III.

The latest release of Epstein-related files also included photographs of Ferguson’s former husband, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, kneeling over a woman lying on the floor.

In a statement in October last year, Buckingham Palace said Prince Andrew would lose his prince title and vacate Royal Lodge near Windsor Castle amid mounting pressure over his association with Epstein.

The US Department of Justice recently released more than 3 million pages, 2,000 videos and 180,000 images related to Epstein under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed into law by US President Donald Trump last November.

The released material includes photographs, grand jury transcripts and investigative records, although many documents remain heavily redacted.

Epstein was found dead by suicide in a New York City jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges involving underage girls.