Prince William and King Charles are reportedly at odds over how to handle Sarah Ferguson following the recent fallout over her emails to Jeffrey Epstein.
The 65-year-old Duchess of York has faced backlash after it emerged that she emailed Epstein in 2011, calling him a “steadfast, generous, and supreme friend” just weeks after publicly vowing to cut ties with him.
A spokesperson for Sarah has insisted the email was sent under pressure, claiming Epstein had threatened to sue her for defamation. At the time, Ferguson had accepted £15,000 from Epstein to settle personal debts, and publicly condemned his involvement in sexual abuse. In a 2011 statement to the Evening Standard, she said: “I personally, on behalf of myself, deeply regret that Jeffrey Epstein became involved in any way with me. I abhor paedophilia and any se,xu,al ab,us,e of children and know that this was a gigantic error of judgement on my behalf.”
Yet, weeks later, she sent a private email to Epstein apologizing and referring to him as “a steadfast, generous, and supreme friend” to her and her family.
The revelations have already had consequences. Sarah has been removed as a patron of Julia’s House, a children’s hospice charity, which said it would be inappropriate for her to continue in the role given the correspondence with Epstein.
Reports now suggest tension between father and son over how to respond. According to sources cited by the Daily Mail, William is pushing his father to “disown” both Ferguson and Prince Andrew, pointing to the negative optics of their continued presence at royal events. Andrew, like Ferguson, maintained contact with Epstein despite claiming otherwise.
The King, however, is said to take a different approach. Sources suggest Charles does not want to sever ties with his brother or former sister-in-law, recalling the late Queen’s desire to maintain a connection with Ferguson as the mother of her granddaughters.
Still, the King may take more limited actions, such as barring Ferguson and Andrew from attending the traditional Christmas Day walk. There is also speculation he could evict them from Royal Lodge, their Windsor residence — a move William reportedly sees as the minimum necessary.
The rift highlights the ongoing challenges Charles and William face in balancing family loyalty with public scrutiny, particularly amid sensitive scandals connected to Epstein.
