Sarah Ferguson thanked Jeffrey Epstein for being the ‘brother I have always wished for’ after he complimented her in front of her daughters Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice, newly-released emails show.
In a message sent on August 3, 2009, she told the late paedophile financier she had ‘never been more touched by a friend’s kindness’.
The former Duchess of York wrote: ‘In just week, after your lunch, it seems the energy has lifted.
‘I have never been more touched by a friends kindness than your compliment to me in front of my girls. Thank you Jeffrey for being the brother I have always wished for.’
Ms Ferguson also described him as ‘a legend’ and said ‘I am so proud of you’ in separate emails sent in November of that year.
Meanwhile, other documents released by the US Department of Justice today show Ms Ferguson invited Epstein to Andrew’s 50th birthday party at St James’s Palace in February 2010.
The email read: ‘Beatrice, Eugenie and I would love to invite you to celebrate the 50 years of Papa/Andrew. It will be on February 26th 2010, from 7.30pm for Drinks and for 8.30pm for Dinner, at St. James’s Palace, London.
‘It will be suits and cocktail dresses, and you know me, mysterious mischief. so bring your presents. your presence and your humour!’
Sarah Ferguson thanked Jeffrey Epstein for being the ‘brother I have always wished for’ after he complimented her in front of her daughters, newly-released emails show
Andrew is seen taking a stroll through Central Park in New York with Jeffrey Epstein in 2010
After being chased for a response on whether or not he could attend the event, Epstein replied ‘not able’ on February 16.
The invite was extended to the sex offender the year after he was released from prison in July 2009 for soliciting prostitution of a minor.
Ms Ferguson’s emails are not indicative of any wrongdoing and being included in the files does not implicate anyone in Epstein’s criminality.
Andrew has also vehemently denied all accusations against him relating to his association with Epstein.
Meanwhile, other emails released today reveal Ghislaine Maxwell agreed ‘Andrew’ should choose to spend time with ‘Sarah and the kids’ instead of visiting ‘the Island’ where ‘5 stunning red heads’ would be.
The correspondence was between an address named ‘The Invisible Man’ and Maxwell in August 2002.
It suggests the Invisible Man may be Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor after Maxwell refers to him as Andrew and mentions his former wife’s name, while previous emails from the account have referred to having a valet and being at Balmoral for the royal family.
In an email signed ‘A’, he says: ‘As the planning is getting more difficult over the bank holiday weekend here I am thinking now I might join Sarah and the kids in Sotogrande for a few days which would be very important and a good thing for the girls, rather than trek across the pond.
‘Please will you give me permission to do so and I am conscious of the ‘better offer’ syndrome but in this case it wouldn’t be that… I think!’
In her reply dated August 24, 2002, Maxwell said ‘Andrew sweet heart – I fully understand if you want to spend time w/Sarah and the kids.
Andrew is pictured with his accuser Virginia Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell
Jeffrey Epstein organised for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to have dinner with a 26-year-old Russian woman in London in 2010, newly-released emails show
Documents that were included in the US Department of Justice’s release of the Jeffrey Epstein files are photographed
‘I will not be remotely offended – sad not to spend time w/you and sad not to see you but at this point w/precious holidays and few days off I agree that this idea of coming to the Island looks less appealing.’
In a follow-up email sent on August 25 2002 after The Invisible Man confirmed he would not be coming, Maxwell said: ‘No problem, (redacted), who is now coming and 5 other stunning red heads will all just have to play with ourselves.’
In a reply on August 27, The Invisible Man said: ‘Look forward to catching up with you before you disappear to some exotic place and please don’t catch anything nasty on your travels!
‘Masses of love and thanks, A xxx’
Andrew and his now ex-wife Sarah Ferguson have two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
In another email addressed to The Invisible Man and sent on March 31 2002, one day after the Queen Mother’s death, Maxwell refers to him as ‘sweat pea’, adding: ‘Sorry you had to rush home, and also under such sad circumstances. However much the passing was to be expected in one so old, it does not make it any less sad.
‘She was wonderful, and I am happy that I managed to meet her and speak with her.
‘We shall reschedule. Love you. Gx’.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Ghislaine Maxwell at the Royal Ascot, Ladies Day, on June 22, 2000
An email addressed to the Invisible Man refers to him as ‘super sperm’
A picture of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor lying across a row of women in a photo during a black-tie event with Ghislaine Maxwell was previously released as part of the Epstein files
In a response sent on April 1, The Invisible Man said: ‘Got your message this morning. Sorry to have missed you yesterday I will ring later today to chat’.
The email response is signed ‘A xxx’.
The documents were released as part of the US ‘Epstein files’ and follow a series of disclosures in December, including an email sent from Balmoral signed ‘A’, which asked Maxwell for ‘inappropriate friends’.
In one email, with no context attached to the document, Maxwell writes to The Invisible Man: ‘It is the year 2032, and a father and his son walk the streets of lower Manhattan.
‘Approaching the site where the (World Trade Centre) used to be in the end of the 20th century, the father sighs and comments, ‘to think that right here used to be the Twin Towers…’
‘The son, not understanding, asks his father: ‘What are the Twin Towers?’
‘The father smiles and looks at the son, and explains, ‘The Twin Towers were two huge buildings that used to be here until 2001, when the Arabs destroyed them’.
‘The son looks up to his father, and asks, ‘And what are the Arabs?”
In an email in March 2003, The Invisible Man writes about feeling isolated and frustrated, and Maxwell replies calling him her ‘best friend’.
In another from The Invisible Man, the sender asks a redacted account if they are having more children and labelling them ‘super sperm’.
Another picture released last year shows Ms Ferguson posing for a photograph with people on the street
Ms Ferguson sits on a sofa in an undated photograph released by the US Department of Justice
The email said: ‘Sorry – I am in LA on my way to Hawaii. Is it true you are having more children? I shall have to refer to you as super sperm!’
The email subject is ‘Re: AKE in New York.’
On September 9, 2005, Maxwell wrote an email to the The Invisible Man saying: ‘Darling Oops!
‘I will be arriving in LA on flight number QF 025 at 1045 on Sunday 2nd October.
‘I am then in your hands (Literally) until Saturday/Sunday, when I have to return to London, either from LA or New York.
‘If you want me to leave any earlier then just let me know and I will change my flight times.
‘Will you be organising internal flights in the US?
‘Let me know if this is OK. Love you A xxx.’
Epstein was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in Manhattan, New York, in August 2019 while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges.
His death was ruled a suicide.
Andrew has faced allegations, which he strenuously denies, that he sexually assaulted a teenage Virginia Giuffre after she was trafficked by Epstein.
He paid millions to Ms Giuffre, a woman he has claimed never to have met, to settle a civil sexual assault claim in 2022.
Andrew stepped down from royal duties in 2019 after an interview on BBC Newsnight, but the publication of Ms Giuffre’s posthumous memoir, and the US government’s release of documents from Epstein’s estate, brought more scrutiny over his relationship with the financier.
It led to the King officially stripping his disgraced brother of both his HRH style and his prince title.
The Daily Mail has contacted Ms Ferguson’s representatives for comment.
She previously said: ‘I personally, on behalf of myself, deeply regret that Jeffrey Epstein became involved in any way with me.
‘I abhor paedophilia and any sexual abuse of children and know that this was a gigantic error of judgment on my behalf. I am just so contrite I cannot say.
‘Whenever I can, I will repay the money and have nothing ever to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again.’
