Sarah Ferguson congratulated Epstein on ‘secret child’ emails suggest

Freshly released court documents suggest Jeffrey Epstein may have secretly fathered a child, following the disclosure of an email in which Sarah Ferguson congratulated the disgraced financier on the birth of a “baby boy.”

The message, sent around 15 years ago and released as part of a vast new tranche of Epstein-related files by the US Department of Justice, shows the former Duchess of York offering Epstein her “love, friendship and congratulations” after hearing the news from “The Duke” — believed to be her former husband, Prince Andrew.

“Don’t know if you are still on this BBM but heard from The Duke that you have had a baby boy,” Ms Ferguson wrote in the message dated 2011. 

“Even though you never kept in touch, I am still here with love, friendship and congratulations on your baby boy.”

It has never been formally established that Epstein had any children. Despite this, the financier — who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges — was alleged to have had sexual relationships with hundreds of women over several decades.

A second email from Ms Ferguson, also included in the files, shows her expressing hurt and anger after Epstein appeared to cut off contact. 

In the message, she accused him of befriending her solely to gain access to Prince Andrew, writing that the realisation had hurt her “deeeply”.

The emails form part of roughly three million documents, alongside 180,000 images and 2,000 videos, released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. 

US authorities have cautioned that the material includes unverified and, in some cases, sensational claims.

The latest release also sheds further light on the British royal family’s links to Epstein. The files suggest Prince Andrew maintained contact with him until at least 2017, contradicting earlier assertions that ties were severed years earlier. 

Ms Ferguson is also referenced as having offered Epstein and his associates VIP tours of Buckingham Palace.

Speculation about Epstein’s possible heirs has circulated for years. Harvey Morse, founder of Morse Genealogical Services, said in 2020 that more than 130 people had come forward claiming to be Epstein’s children after his firm launched a website for potential heirs, though many claims were quickly dismissed.

In a separate document released on Friday, one woman alleged she had “created” a daughter with Epstein through what she described as a “fertility ritual”. The claim has not been substantiated.

The Justice Department stressed that the release of the files does not amount to confirmation of their contents, warning that some allegations may be false or misleading.