'As a mother, Sarah Ferguson should have known better than to mention her daughters in any emails to Jeffrey Epstein'

OPINION – – When Sarah Ferguson was stripped of her royal title, and given the boot from her palatial royal estate along with ex-husband Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, it was hard to imagine life getting any worse for her or her two daughters.

But now the former Duchess of York is caught up in what can only be described as an excruciatingly humiliating public scandal like never before thanks to the latest release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Fergie, who has been linked to other controversies involving the disgraced financier in the past, will need a miracle if she ever thinks there is a way to redeem herself from this latest round of unprecedented shame.

And, as much as King Charles has moved to distance himself from the former Duke and Duchess of York by stripping their titles and evicting them from the heart of royal life at Windsor, the royal family remain inexorably linked to the tainted couple.

Every day, more uncomfortable details are emerging from the new drop of files including Ferguson congratulating Epstein for apparently becoming a father.

"Don't know if you are still on this bbm [BlackBerry Messenger] but heard from The Duke that you have had a baby boy. Even though you never kept in touch, I still am here with love, friendship and congratualtions [sic] on your baby boy. Sarah xx"

Eight minutes later, when Epstein did not reply, she wrote: "You have disappeared. I did not even know you were having a baby. It was sOOOOO crystal clear to me that you were only friends with me to get to Andrew. And that really hurt me deeeply [sic]. More than you will know."

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The messages were allegedly sent in September 2011, three years after Epstein was convicted of sex crimes.

Seven months earlier, Ferguson told British newspaper the Evening Standard she would "have nothing ever to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again".

Three million pages of documents have been released by US Congress as part of an investigation into Epstein and his associates.

The mention of Andrew and Ferguson within the emails do not indicate any wrongdoing. Andrew has always strenuously denied any wrongdoing in regards to Epstein and his victims.

In one email exchange, sent in 2009, Ferguson referred to Epstein as the "brother I have always wished for". The following year, she wrote: "Xx I am at your service. Just marry me."

Another saw Ferguson beg Epstein for money following the collapse of a business venture.

"I urgently need 20,000 pounds ($27,521) for rent today," she wrote in 2009.

"The landlord has threatened to go to the newspapers if I don't pay. Any brainwaves?"

The email exchanges between Ferguson and Epstein were all dated after he was convicted in 2008 for prostituting minors.

Another exchange, in July 2009, suggest Epstein paid for Ferguson and her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, 35, to fly from London to Miami and back.

Other emails indicate a lunch took place between Ferguson, her daughters and Epstein.

Andrew and Fergie's daughters are mentioned at various points in the cache of files.

In one, sent on March 21, 2010, to a redacted address, read "ny?" (sic).

The reply, also from a redacted address, said: "Not sure yet. Just waiting for Eugenie to come back from a sha--ing weekend!!"

The context of the exchange is unknown.

Another flurry of emails mentions the princesses. In one, sent by Epstein on July 1, 2010, he said he would be in London that week and asked Ferguson about her daughters, who were then aged 21 and 20.

Two days later, Ferguson replied said that Beatrice was in London with Andrew but "Eugie is away with cool boyfri=d." (sic).

The mere mention of her daughters' names in the periphery of a paedophile's beggars belief.

But it could explain the desperation Ferguson felt at facing financial ruin.

Another exchange suggests Ferguson sought employment by Epstein.

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

"When are you going to employ me?"

A week later, Ferguson said: "I am feeling very traumatised and alone. I am wanting to work for you at organising your houses."

In another portion of the files, Epstein sent Ferguson $150,000 after he helped her cash in share options earned from her work for WeightWatchers, according to The Times. That transfer happened in 2001.

Ferguson is not the only high-profile mother to show exceptionally poor judgement when it came to Epstein.

Norway's royal family has now been dragged into the mess, with the newly-released files revealing Crown Princess Mette-Marit had extensive email correspondence with Epstein after he was found guilty of sex crimes in 2008.

"Jeffrey Epstein is responsible for his own actions. But I must take responsibility for not having investigated Epstein's background more thoroughly, and for not realising sooner what kind of person he was," Mette-Marit said in a statement on Saturday.

"I deeply regret this, and it is a responsibility I must bear. I showed poor judgement and regret having had any contact with Epstein at all. It is simply embarrassing."

The files suggested Mette-Marit had exchanged more than 100 cordial emails and texts with Epstein while fully aware he had been jailed for sex offences against an underage girl. In 2008, Epstein was given an 18-month prison sentence for paying a 14-year-old girl $300 to remove her clothes and give him a massage.

The Crown Princess met with Epstein in Oslo, New York, Florida and on a Caribbean island between 2011 and 2013.

In 2012, Mette-Marit told Epstein he was "very charming" and asked him "Is it inappropriate for a mother to suggest two naked women carrying a surfboard for my 15 yr old sons [sic] wallpaper?"

The son in question was likely Marius Borg Høiby, now 29, from a previous relationship before she married Norway's heir, Crown Prince Haakon.

In Norway there has been speculation Mette-Marit might have met with Epstein during a family holiday on the Caribbean island of Saint Barthélemy in 2013 and taken her children including Høiby, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus, who were then aged 16, nine and seven.

Text messages appear to reveal a discussion about meeting at an "old church". Mette-Marit added: "Im [sic] walking with the kids".

The Royal House said neither the Crown Princess, nor her husband, could recall if the children had been present.

In 2019, after Epstein died, Crown Princess Mette-Marit apologised to Epstein's victims, insisting that she "would never have had contact with Epstein if I had known about his criminal activities".

Crown Princess Mette-Marit's statement comes at a critical time for Norway's royal family as Høiby prepares to go on trial for rape and domestic violence charges on Tuesday.

To some observers, the inclusion of two royal families, Britain's and Norway's, in the Epstein mess will serve as another example of the rich and powerful colluding with each other.

Others will be simply appalled by the apparent actions of two mothers who really should have known better.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit has now retreated to a private residence away from Oslo while her son goes on trial in a case that is expected to last up to eight weeks and bring unwarranted scrutiny on Norway's already-fragile royal family.

As for Ferguson, who has always been the master of reinvention, it's going to take miracle for the former duchess to claw her way back from this latest round of public humiliation.

Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are said to be "aghast at what they have read", according to an unnamed source who spoke to the Daily Mail.

"They are mortified by the emails their mother has sent to Epstein," the source added.

"It is so embarrassing for them. "We don't believe the girls [Beatrice and Eugenie] were told much about what has just emerged and they will simply be aghast at just how close their parents were to this appalling man."

The whole situation is an embarrassing mess and it's a wonder how Ferguson, or her daughters, who have done nothing wrong but who are now tarnished by association, could ever recover from this public shame – if at all.

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