New Revelation from Epstein Files: Princess Beatrice Was a 'Witness' to Sarah Ferguson's Controversial Call

In an email exchange, the former Duchess claimed that her daughter was present for a phone call with journalist Geordie Greig and later took part in a conversation about correcting the record regarding Jeffrey Epstein's past conviction.

Newly released US Department of Justice documents have revealed that Princess Beatrice was described as a "witness" to a 2011 phone call between Sarah Ferguson and a journalist, as the former Duchess sought to address mounting scrutiny over her ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

The tranche of files, made public on January 30, 2026, included an April 2011 email exchange between Sarah, Jeffrey, and her then-spokesperson James Henderson.

The correspondence centred on press coverage of her association with Jeffrey, who in 2008 was convicted of procuring a minor for prostitution and soliciting prostitution. At the time, Sarah had been under intense media scrutiny.

In the emails, she denied raising "p." — widely believed to stand for paedophilia based on reporting at the time — and described efforts to clarify remarks made during conversations with journalist Geordie Greig.

Sarah wrote that she had engaged with the press because she "had to protect my own brand," but insisted she "would not want to hurt Jeffrey anymore, by saying such an untruth."

Significantly, she stated that Princess Beatrice, who was 22 at the time, was present for at least one of the calls and later discussed a follow-up with her. Sarah wrote in the email:

"After I hung up from our call with Geordie. Beatrice and I had a discussion and we agreed it was important to call Geordie back and make sure he understood the severity of NOT making a mistake and getting it wrong about Jeffrey [...]."

"Because he was sent to prison for sexual offending, but that he had done his penence [sic] and was out of jail and moving on with his life. And Geordie was NOT in anyway [sic] to go down the P. route. I duly did the call," she added, describing Princess Beatrice as a "witness."

The exchange took place shortly before a March 2011 interview with the London Evening Standard, in which Sarah publicly addressed her connection to Epstein. In that interview, she apologised for accepting money from him.

"I personally, on behalf of myself, deeply regret that Jeffrey Epstein became involved in any way with me," she said. "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 will have nothing ever to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again," the former Duchess continued.

Producer Sam McAlister later described Princess Beatrice's attendance at that meeting as the "curveball of curveballs."

However, in September, it was widely reported that weeks after the Evening Standard interview, Sarah allegedly sent Jeffrey — who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal conspiracy and sex trafficking charges — an effusive email praising him.

Meanwhile, the revelation that Princess Beatrice was there during the 2011 call adds to previous instances in which she has been drawn into the fallout surrounding her parents' links to the American financier.

The princess was reportedly also present at a meeting ahead of her father's 2019 BBC Newsnight interview concerning his relationship with Jeffrey. This appearance ultimately led the disgraced prince to step back from public royal duties.

Producer Sam McAlister later described Princess Beatrice's attendance at that meeting as the "curveball of curveballs." The producer added:

"To have prepared to do this incredibly important negotiation and then have to do it on these sensitive and difficult subjects in front of his young daughter really was taking an already extraordinary experience to the next level."

To compound matters, sources previously revealed that Princess Beatrice and her sister, Princess Eugenie, "feel pretty duped" as further details continue to emerge regarding the extent of their parents' connections to the convicted sex offender.

As we previously reported, newly released documents have shed fresh light on the private communications between Sarah and the late financier and convicted sex offender, revealing a series of emotionally charged messages.

In the exchanges, the former Duchess of York expressed a bleak view of women's treatment within the Royal Family and portrayed herself as isolated, financially exposed, and facing what she described as public extermination.

The files, made public on February 2, 2026, include emails sent in July 2010 in which Sarah told Jeffrey that "no woman has ever left the Royal Family with her head."

The remark was made as she grappled with the fallout from a damaging tabloid sting, mounting debts, and intense media scrutiny that she believed the Palace and its advisers were unwilling or unable to contain.

In a lengthy response, she claimed that the British press was preparing to destroy her and that institutional safeguards had failed.

The correspondence places her comments firmly within a period of crisis. In May 2010, Sarah had been filmed by an undercover reporter, apparently agreeing to accept money in return for access to her ex-husband, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Duke of York.

The footage sparked widespread condemnation and renewed questions about her finances, which she had already discussed publicly in a televised interview with Oprah Winfrey earlier that year.

At the same time, British multinational services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers had been engaged to audit her financial affairs.

Against that backdrop, Sarah turned repeatedly to Jeffrey, whom she portrayed as a source of emotional reassurance, practical support, and financial assistance. In one email sent in July 2010, she appeared distressed by a lack of response from him, writing:

"Have you died on me? Don't.. Please you are my pillar."

The message conveyed a dependence that went beyond casual friendship, framing Jeffrey as a central figure at a moment when she felt abandoned by others.

He replied the following day, asking whether she still required accommodation for a second week. Sarah confirmed that she did, but said events had overtaken her plans.

In a lengthy response, she claimed that the British press was preparing to destroy her and that institutional safeguards had failed.

She wrote that "the [British] press is ready to exterminate me," adding that PricewaterhouseCoopers and "the palace system" were "not equipped" to deal with what she described as an overwhelming wave of negative attention.

"I have to return to the [UK], and be exterminated and face the thunderous music," she typed, later adding that she was "1000 percent being hung out to dry."

Sarah also suggested that exile by the press was unavoidable, stating, "I am totally on my own now. This is beyond scandalous, and nobody can do anything."

Meanwhile, the documents show that Jeffrey was not merely a confidant but also a financial benefactor.

The emails repeatedly framed her situation as a public trial. She said she would have to "face my judge and jury and be hung yet again," language that underscored her sense of grievance and her belief that she was being singled out for relentless humiliation.

It was within this exchange that Sarah made her striking claim about women and royal life. "Just as I always said, no woman has ever left the royal family with her head," she wrote.

She went on to suggest that while she could not be "behead[ed]," she would instead be discredited "totally to obliteration." The message ended with a note of despair that read, "I have no words."

Meanwhile, the documents show that Jeffrey was not merely a confidant but also a financial benefactor. He reportedly provided £15,000 to help settle Sarah's debts, including money owed to her former aide Johnny O'Sullivan.

At the time, the payment enabled her to ease immediate financial pressure and restructure liabilities reported to total £5 million.

Sarah would later publicly acknowledge that accepting the money had been a serious mistake, describing it as a "gigantic error" of judgment. However, the newly released files demonstrate that, privately, she expressed deep gratitude for Jeffrey's help and continued to seek his advice.

In multiple emails, she thanked him profusely for assisting her with business contacts and opportunities. Her language was effusive and intensely personal. She described him as a "legend" and as "the brother I have always wished for." In one message sent in 2010, she wrote:

"Just marry me."

The tone of the correspondence has drawn renewed scrutiny in light of Jeffrey's criminal history. The documents indicate that Sarah visited him just five days after his release from a Florida prison, where he had served 13 months of an 18-month sentence for soliciting prostitution from minors.

Despite her private reliance on Jeffrey, Sarah attempted to publicly distance herself from him the following year. In an interview published on March 7, 2011, she apologised for having accepted the £15,000 and said she abhorred paedophilia and any sexual abuse of children.

She stated that she intended to repay the money and vowed never to have anything to do with him again. However, the files show that this public stance was followed by a very different private exchange.

On April 26, 2011, just over a month after the interview, Sarah emailed Jeffrey from her personal account to apologise for having linked him to paedophilia. "As you know I did not, absolutely not, say the P word about you," she wrote. In the same email, she offered a grovelling apology, telling him:

"I know you feel hellaciously let down by me. And I must humbly apologise to you and your heart for that."

She went on to praise him as a "steadfast, generous and supreme friend" to her and her family. Sarah explained that she had been "bedridden with fear" and "paralysed," saying she had been advised not to contact him because doing so could cause further problems for herself, Andrew, and others.

A close friend later said Sarah sent the email after being threatened with aggressive legal action by Jeffrey, who was said to be furious that she had publicly condemned him. According to the friend, she felt she had no choice but to attempt to appease him in the hope that the threats would stop.

Another email from January 22, 2011, sent after Jeffrey's payment to Sarah's former aide, further illustrated the closeness of their relationship at the time.

Jeffrey was then arrested again in July 2019 and charged with sex trafficking offences that carried a potential sentence of up to 45 years in prison.

"How can I thank you enough?" she wrote. "You are a friend indeed and one day I will give it to you back." She added, "Sometimes the heart speaks better than the words. You have my heart." The message was signed "S xxx."

The revelations form part of a wider examination of Jeffrey's relationships with figures connected to the Royal Family, particularly Andrew. Jeffrey was a long-time associate of the former Duke and continued to communicate with him after his 2009 conviction.

In fact, in December 2010, the financier was photographed walking through Central Park in New York with the now disgraced former prince.

However, in his 2019 "Newsnight" interview, Andrew said he had ended his friendship with the sex offender in December 2010, insisting that he travelled to see him in person because ending the relationship over the phone would have been "the chicken's way of doing it."

Jeffrey was then arrested again in July 2019 and charged with sex trafficking offences that carried a potential sentence of up to 45 years in prison. He was remanded into custody but was found dead in his New York prison cell a month later.

In the end, the newly released files do not alter the legal outcome of Jeffrey's case. However, they do provide a detailed and unsettling portrait of the extent to which Sarah Ferguson relied on him.

The files paint a vivid portrait of one of the most damaging periods of her public life and of the bleak conclusions she privately drew about power, reputation, and survival for women on the fringes of the Royal Family.