Sarah Ferguson’s charity has been removed from the register of charities after details emerged regarding her relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Sarah’s Trust was founded in 2018 by Ferguson, the former Duchess of York and ex-wife of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, to introduce philanthropists to causes that need funding to create sustainable change.
But the charity announced in February that it would close “for the foreseeable future”, after documents released by the United States Department of Justice appeared to show Ferguson was in contact with Epstein while he was in prison.
Among the more than three million documents released was an email where Ferguson described Epstein as the “brother [she had] always wished for”; while in another she appeared to congratulate him on the arrival of a “baby boy”.
Announcing the closure in February, a spokesperson for Sarah’s Trust said: “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.
“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.”
Sarah’s Trust has now been marked as “removed” on the charities register, appearing to have finished its formal process of winding up.
The charity recorded an income of £31,423, had costs of £114,377 and had no employees according to its latest accounts, for the year to the end of May 2025.
Several charities, including Julia’s House, the Teenage Cancer Trust and the Children’s Literacy Charity, cut ties with Ferguson last September, after it was revealed she sent an email apologising to Epstein for publicly disowning him.
Julia’s House was the first to drop Ferguson as a patron, saying it would be “inappropriate” for her to continue.
At the time, a spokesperson for Ferguson said she was “taken in by [Epstein’s] lies, like many people”, adding that she “cut off and condemned” him as soon as she was aware of the extent of the allegations against him.