Among the latest emails, published by the U.S. Department of Justice on January 31, are messages suggesting that Jeffrey Epstein once asked Sarah Ferguson whether she or her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, could provide a private tour of “Buckingham.”
The disclosure has inevitably pulled the two princesses back into the widening controversy tied to their parents’ past associations with Epstein.
The Buckingham Request
A March 2010 email exchange shows Epstein forwarding a message and directly appealing to Ferguson.
On March 7, 2010, he wrote, “Sarah, could you or one of your daughters show [redaction] Buckingham thanks.”
The forwarded note was reportedly sent from Epstein’s iPhone.
Ferguson responded the same day, appearing open to the idea, though she added an unrelated remark: “Of course. But get Keith on a massive advance !!”
While the individual intended for the tour remains redacted, “Buckingham” is widely believed to mean Buckingham Palace, the royal family’s London residence and administrative base. It is unclear whether the proposed visit ever took place.
According to The Daily Mail, another message sent roughly a year later shows Ferguson apologising that her daughters were unavailable to host a different friend of Epstein’s.
Miami Lunch After Prison Release
Separate correspondence included in the release places Beatrice and Eugenie at a lunch with Epstein in Miami in July 2009 — just five days after his release from prison.
Emails dated July 27, 2009, show Ferguson confirming the meeting. A follow-up message sent on August 3, 2009, suggests she felt the encounter had a positive effect.
“In just one week, after your lunch, it seems the energy has lifted,” Ferguson wrote.
These revelations come amid continued repercussions for their father. Andrew stepped back from royal duties in 2019 due to his longstanding association with Epstein and was formally stripped of his royal titles in October 2025. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Royal commentator Richard Palmer noted that the repeated references to Beatrice and Eugenie complicate efforts to fully distance them from the controversy.
“There’s no avoiding the links between the Yorks and Epstein,” Palmer said, adding that the new material “raises questions from the public about just what they were doing.”