Sarah Ferguson's charity is to close for the "foreseeable future" after new details emerged about her friendship with late sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein.
On Monday, a representative for Sarah's Trust announced that the international non-profit would shutter after "some months" of discussion. Ferguson, formerly known as the Duchess of York, set up the charity in 2020.
"Our chair Sarah Ferguson and the board of trustees have agreed that with regret the charity will shortly close for the foreseeable future. This has been under discussion and in train for some months," they said. "We remain extremely proud of the work of the trust over recent years. We have partnered with over 60 other charities in over 20 countries, providing education, healthcare, crisis response and environmental projects."
Ferguson, 66, has not yet commented on the decision.
In the summary on the Sarah's Trust website, a representative described how the founder had wanted to "address the humanitarian and environmental crisis, the hunger crisis and issues perpetuating cycles of extreme poverty".
The closing of the charity comes after seven other organisations, including the Teenage Cancer Trust, cut ties with Ferguson and revoked her patronage after revelations about her contact with Epstein were made public last year.
On Friday, officials from the U.S. Department of Justice released about three million additional files related to the disgraced financier, with many of the emails revealing Epstein's interactions with some of the world's most powerful figures.
The emails do not indicate any wrongdoing.
Among the documents were messages that allegedly showed Ferguson was in contact with Epstein in 2009, with one exchange seeing her call the convicted sex offender the "brother I have always wished for".
While in another email, she writes, "You are a legend. I really don't have the words to describe, my love, gratitude for your generosity and kindness... I am at your service. Just marry me."
Ferguson was married to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, then Prince Andrew, from 1986 until their divorce in 1996.
The pair, who remained close friends after the split, share daughters Princess Beatrice, 37, and Princess Eugenie, 35.
Back in May 2020, the second son of the late Queen Elizabeth II resigned from his public roles following intense scrutiny over his association with Epstein.
Mountbatten-Windsor has repeatedly denied all claims against him, most famously during an interview with BBC's Newsnight in late 2019.
Epstein died by suicide in his jail cell in August 2019, weeks after being arrested on sex trafficking charges.
