Epstein scandal
Epstein: York withdraws honorary award from Sarah Ferguson
Updated March 27, 2026 – 9:55 a.mReading time: 1 min.
Her friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein cost Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson another honor. Clear words are spoken at the York City Council meeting.
The ex-wife of former British Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Sarah Ferguson, has lost another honor in connection with the Epstein scandal. The City Council of York withdrew the 66-year-old’s “Freedom of the City of York” award, which in Germany is comparable to honorary citizenship. Ferguson had already lost her title as Duchess of York in the course of the scandal.
“We don’t expect recipients of York’s highest honor to be saints,” said councilor Darryl Smalley (Liberal Democrats), according to the PA news agency. “We just don’t want them to be best friends with convicted pedophiles.”
The publication of the investigation files into sex offender Jeffrey Epstein by the US Department of Justice once again demonstrated a closer friendship between the US financier and Ferguson. Epstein died in custody in 2019. The files show that Ferguson and Epstein continued to have contact well after Epstein’s first sex crime conviction in 2008 – similar to Epstein and Mountbatten-Windsor.
Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson and Mountbatten-Windsor received the award in 1987, the PA reported. Andrew’s honorary citizenship had already been revoked in 2022; the 66-year-old has been accused of rape for years in connection with the Epstein scandal. He denies the allegations.
