Prince Andrew’s misguided friendship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has made the royal the subject of some damning reports. In August 2021, Andrew was forced to take a step back from his public duties as a member of the royal family, and stripped of the military titles he once held. One of Epstein’s alleged victims, Virginia Giuffre, even brought a civil lawsuit again the prince, alleging that he perpetrated sexual assault against her. Per BBC News, Andrew settled the lawsuit in 2022, reportedly paying out £12 million, which equates to approximately $14.8 million. While Prince Andrew’s connection to Epstein has been explored at length, it’s also been alleged that Sarah Ferguson once accepted money from the convicted pedophile.
In 2011, The Telegraph reported that Ferguson had accepted £15,000 (approximately $18,500) from Epstein, which was paid to her personal assistant and orchestrated by her ex-husband. Responding to the shocking revelation, Fergie said via The Telegraph, “I personally, on behalf of myself, deeply regret that Jeffrey Epstein became involved in any way with me. I abhor pedophilia and any sexual abuse of children and know that this was a gigantic error of judgment on my behalf.” The Duchess of York also promised to repay the money as soon as she could and confirmed that she wouldn’t be associating with Epstein anymore. In August 2019, the disgraced financier was found dead in his prison cell. It was determined that he died by suicide.
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If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
