King Charles has issued a stern warning to Sarah, Duchess of York and Prince Andrew after it was reported that the couple will not be welcome at the royal family’s Christmas celebrations this year. According to The Times on Sunday, sources close to King Charles have indicated that there are plans to keep the Duke and Duchess on the peripheral at this year's Christmas festivities. It comes after reports emerged that Sarah had stayed in close contact with convicted paedophile, Jeffrey Epstein, despite publicly denouncing him. According to The Times, the King has also reportedly made it clear that the Duke and Duchess, who divorced in 1996, should be "invisible" at future gatherings.
Charle's tough decision follows a tumultuous week for both Sarah and Andrew who were both separately implicated in emails and documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein. Sarah was dropped by several of the charities for whom she served as patron after it emerged that she sent an email to Jeffrey Epstein in April 2011, calling him a "supreme friend", weeks after publicly disowning him in the media.
"As you know I did not, absolutely not, say the P word about you," the Duchess wrote, as per The Sun. "And I must humbly apologise to you and your heart for that. You have always been a steadfast, generous and supreme friend to me and my family." Her email continued: "I am apologising to you today for not replying to your email or reaching out to you. I was bedridden with fear. I was paralysed." A spokesperson for the Duchess has since come out and stated that she sent the email after receiving prolific threats from Jeffrey Epstein at the time.
Meanwhile, Prince Andrew, whose relationship with the convicted paedophile first made headlines in 2019, has been named in several new documents relating to Jeffrey. On Friday 26 September, Andrew was again linked to the disgraced financier after newly released documents disclosed by Congress showed his name on flight logs.
According to The Times, the documents, which were subpoenaed from Jeffrey's estate, has the duke is listed as a passenger on the financier's jet on May 12, 2000, flying from Teterboro private airport in New Jersey to Palm Beach, Florida, where the Jeffrey had a home. Prince Andrew has previously denied any wrongdoing.
© GettyNatalie Dormer steps back from royal crime drama
Following the revelations that came to light about Sarah, actress Natalie Dormer, who was set to portray her in the upcoming ITV series, The Lady, has revealed that she will not promote the show. Furthermore, she has committed to donating her salary from the show to charities focused on child abuse. To Variety, she said: "When I agreed to take the role in The Lady, I knew portraying the script's Sarah Ferguson would require nuance."
© GettyOver on The HELLO! Royal Club, HELLO!'s royal editor Emily Nash has addressed recent rumours of a rift between King Charles and his heir, Prince William. Emily spoke to royal insiders to get to the truth of the matter, and you can find out what they said by clicking the button below and joining HELLO!'s biggest royal fans in the biggest royal community online.
She continued: "People are layered, their journeys are full of highs and lows, and as an actor my job is to lean into those elements and bring them to life with honesty and empathy. Since completing the project, new information has come to light that makes it impossible for me to reconcile my values with Sarah Ferguson's behaviour, which I believe is inexcusable. For that reason, I will not be taking part in the promotion of the project."
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Natalie also revealed her decision to give her earnings from the series to a charity focused on undoing the damage that figures such as Jeffrey Epstein caused, saying: "In keeping with my commitment to the wellbeing of children, I have donated my entire salary from this project to the National Association for People Abused in Childhood and the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse (hosted by Barnardo's)."
