Newly released documents from the U.S. Department of Justice's trove of Jeffrey Epstein records reveal previously undisclosed email exchanges between Epstein and Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, including a proposal that her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, could hold shares in a business venture intended to help address Ferguson's financial difficulties.
The emails surfaced within millions of documents released as part of the Justice Department's disclosure of materials related to Epstein. The correspondence sheds additional light on the financial and personal relationship between Ferguson and Epstein during a period when the duchess was grappling with mounting debts.
According to the emails, Ferguson approached Epstein in 2010 seeking financial assistance after the collapse of her U.S.-based lifestyle brand Hartmoor, which reportedly left her owing roughly £650,000.
In one message cited in the documents, Ferguson asked Epstein if she could "borrow 50 or 100,000 US dollars" to help cover outstanding bills.
Epstein declined to provide immediate financial support, explaining that his ability to assist directly was restricted. In one email response, he wrote: "i cannot do anything until July at earliest, dictated by current restrictions."
Instead, the correspondence shows Epstein proposing an alternative strategy that involved connecting Ferguson with Keith Frankel, a supplements entrepreneur whose business focused on products such as fish oil.
The idea, outlined in an email Epstein sent to Ferguson early on March 8, 2010, suggested that Ferguson could lend her name to a health products venture. In the same message, Epstein raised the possibility that her daughters might hold ownership stakes.
"Keith just left. We should talk, he was concerned that you had the rights to use your name. He was concerned that someone said you did not want equity, ( the [Beatrice] and [Eugenie] should own the shares )," Epstein wrote.
At the time the message was sent, Princess Beatrice was 21 and Princess Eugenie was 19. The documents contain no indication that either princess was aware of the proposal or that shares were ever created or distributed.
The email exchange also shows Ferguson asking Epstein to approach a mutual acquaintance about financial help. Epstein declined to intervene.
"i could but it would be impolite, you need to address these issues, you are great," he wrote.
The individual referenced in the correspondence is identified as Giuseppe Cipriani, a New York restaurateur known to be a longtime friend of Ferguson.
Other messages in the DOJ files reveal the tone of Ferguson's communications with Epstein during that period. In a January 2010 email cited in the records, Ferguson wrote: "You are a legend. I really don't have the words to describe, my love, gratitude for your generosity and kindness. Xx I am at your service. Just marry me."
Additional exchanges from 2009, when Epstein was serving a 13-month sentence in Florida after pleading guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor, show Ferguson offering assistance arranging visits to prominent British landmarks.
According to the documents, Ferguson offered to "organise anything" for a London tour for the daughter of Epstein's attorney Alan Dershowitz, suggesting possible access to Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle.
Epstein later told associates that Ferguson could arrange tea at royal residences, according to reports cited in the document release.
The emails also touch on Ferguson's later public distancing from Epstein following widespread criticism of his connections to prominent figures.
In a 2011 message included in the files, Ferguson wrote that she "did not" and "would not" describe Epstein as a "paedophile," saying the stance was intended to "protect my own brand."
Epstein enlisted crisis public-relations specialist Mike Sitrick to help craft a public statement after Ferguson gave interviews discussing her relationship with him.
Ferguson has previously acknowledged accepting nearly $20,000 from Epstein to help address financial problems, later describing the decision as a "terrible error of judgment."
The newly disclosed emails add to the extensive body of material released by the Justice Department in connection with the Epstein investigation. Epstein, a financier who maintained relationships with numerous political, business and social figures, died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
