The York title, perhaps Queen Elizabeth II’s most noteworthy gift to Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, has seen its reputation tarnished by a string of high-profile controversies.

Originally, this title was associated with the Queen’s cherished grandfather, George V, and her parents, George VI and Queen Elizabeth, before their ascent to the throne. At her birth, she was even referred to as Princess Elizabeth of York.

However, more than forty years later, this once-honored title has been overshadowed by scandal, primarily due to Prince Andrew’s controversial ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In a recent twist, Prince Andrew declared he would no longer use the title Duke of York. Additionally, he stepped down from his prestigious role as Knight Grand Cross and renounced his membership in the Order of the Garter, the nation’s oldest order of chivalry.

Within Buckingham Palace, there was a palpable sense of relief as the King’s brother finally took responsibility, a move many had been urging for a long time. His Majesty reportedly feels a sense of satisfaction with this resolution.

Prince Andrew has consistently denied allegations of sexual misconduct made by Virginia Giuffre, whom he met through Epstein. The palace issued a statement reaffirming his denials.

But he hasn’t been the only York steeped in controversy, with a bombshell email obtained by the Mail On Sunday revealing how his ex-wife Fergie cynically lied when she publicly disowned the vile billionaire. 

It was just weeks after her public statement that she wrote him a gushing private message, describing disgraced Epstein as a ‘steadfast, generous and supreme friend’ – confessing she only distanced herself from him to save her own reputation. 

Sarah Ferguson is no longer the Duchess of York after her ex-husband gave up his titles amid a series of scandals

It comes after the Mail On Sunday revealed in 2011 just weeks after publicly disowning the vile billionaire, Sarah Ferguson ‘humbly apologised’ to the child sex offender

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York and Prince Andrew, Duke of York attending the Royal Ascot in 2019

Now, the former Duchess of York will now be known as plain Sarah Ferguson as her ex-husband, with whom she will continue to live at the 30-bedroom Royal Lodge at Windsor, will remain a prince due to being the son of the late Queen. 

Amid the controversy, his Majesty, King Charles III, is said to be very keen to ‘protect’ Andrew’s daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, who remain Her Royal Highnesses as granddaughters of Queen Elizabeth.

If their father’s titles had been removed instead of being ‘in abeyance’, theirs too would have been affected, and Charles was keen to avoid this as he holds them ‘in high regard and affection’.

‘He wouldn’t have wanted to sign off on anything that would impact them,’ a source said.

It is understood that part of the King’s thinking was to prevent a waste of parliamentary time formally taking the titles away. Any move to do so would have required an Act of Parliament. 

A source confirmed: ‘The title of duke will not be used and consider in “abeyance”.

‘His HRH title is already inactive. The prince’s other titles and honours now join it.’

Meanwhile, Fergie’s humiliating downfall comes as she was dropped by seven charities after ‘humbly apologising’ to paedophile Epstein after disavowing him amid his conviction for child sexual abuse offences.

Defending Sarah Ferguson on Tuesday, her friend football WAG Lizzie Cundy told Channel 5 presenter Jeremy Vine the ex-Duchess was ‘devastated amid the scandal and wished she had never met the convicted paedophile. 

The bombshell emails sent by Fergie to Jeffrey Epstein – despite vowing just weeks before to never contact him again during a newspaper interview

Amid the controversy, his Majesty, King Charles III, was very keen to ‘protect’ Andrew’s daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, who remain Her Royal Highnesses

King Charles III on October 16 during a visit to the High Commission of Australia in London

The programme guest said of Fergie: ‘Well, she’s obviously devastated – there is no one more sorry today than Sarah Ferguson.

‘She is regretful, she wishes she’d never met Jeffrey Epstein, but there are reasons why she sent that email.

‘The fact is, he was enraged that she’d publicly condemned him – he was absolutely beyond, saying, “I’m going to get revenge, I’m going to ruin your family”.

‘It was threatening, it was very dark and she felt she had no choice but to try and appease him – she was scared for herself, for her family.

‘You have to think, he was probably the most powerful man on the planet, or the richest man.

‘She was fooled by him, like many others were – like the Clintons, like Peter Mandelson, many others.’

The host raised how Cundy had spoken to the Duchess ‘in the last 24 hours’ while putting to her how Epstein ‘was a convicted paedophile’.

Lizzie replied: ‘He was. It’s wrong. She’s very, very sorry. But the fact is, when she did condemn him, she did publicly, it got very, very nasty.

Virginia Giuffre photographed with Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell in London in 2001 

Prince Andrew’s statement released by Buckingham Palace

‘He got huge lawyers on to her as well – she thought it was going to be embarrassing not just for for her own family but the rest of the Royal Family and she felt that was the only option she had.’

The bombshell leaked email shows Sarah wrote to the convicted sex offender to ‘humbly apologise’ in 2011 just weeks after telling the press she had cut all ties with him.

In an earlier interview that year, she described her involvement with Epstein, who had served time for soliciting prostitution from a minor, as a ‘gigantic error of judgment’.

The organisations who have since cut ties with the Duchess include Teenage Cancer Trust, which she had backed since 1990, the British Heart Foundation, children’s hospice charity Julia’s House and Prevent Breast Cancer.

A spokesperson for Sarah has now said the email was sent to counter an aggressive threat Epstein had made to sue her for defamation.

The Duke of York had already been forced to relinquish all his public duties and offices as a result of his association with Epstein and is barred from attending official royal events.

And the Daily Mail’s royal editor Rebecca English also revealed the Duke and Duchess could be banned from taking part in private Royal Family occasions on the orders of his elder brother King Charles. 

However the scandal in the House of York didn’t begin and end with Epstein, as it was also revealed Andrew met with alleged Chinese spymaster at the centre of a collapsed espionage case on at least three occasions.

Sarah still lives with Andrew. For years, her ex-husband would take their daughters (pictured all together) to Royal Family celebrations without Sarah

The prince had seemingly forged the unfortunate habit of developing friendship with alleged Chinese spies, having previously inviting Chris Yang to royal residences. In 2023, he was barred from entering the UK on suspicion of spying. 

Yang, also known as Yang Tengbo, denied being a spy or doing anything illegal. 

But amid the scandal Fergie revealed she wouldn’t let her ‘sad’ ex-husband Prince Andrew ‘down’, despite their disgraced royal divorce in 1996 after ten years of marriage.  

Speaking with The Sunday Times prior to the allegations, Fergie professed her undying support for her ex-husband, revealing that she is currently looking after him and ‘won’t let him down’.

In the joint interview given with her sister Jane, she confessed: ‘When Jane left for Australia, I became a carer for Dad. I was left to look after a sad man, which is sort of what I’m doing now.’

And speaking about their wedding day at Westminster Abbey in 1986, she added: ‘I gave up my anonymity that day. I was able to because love conquers all. It’s still with us today. I won’t let him down.

‘He supports me as much as I support him. He’s supported me through thick and thin, not just marriage or divorce. We agree on the three Cs — communication, compromise, compassion.’

The Duchess reflected on how she first met Prince Andrew at the age of 12 and knew she was going to marry him. Later in 1985, Princess Diana invited her to Ascot and she and Andrew were reunited. Six months later they were engaged.

During their marriage, they welcomed daughters Princess Beatrice, 36, and Princess Eugenie, 34, before their divorce ten years later.

Despite their separation, Fergie previously said they were the ‘happiest divorced couple in the world’, and during the interview confessed ‘hopes’ Andrew still ‘loves her’ like she loves him.

In 2018, Sarah told the Daily Mail: ‘We’re the happiest divorced couple in the world. We’re divorced to each other, not from each other […] My duty is to him. I am so proud of him. I stand by him and always will. The way we are is our fairytale.’

Although the 66-year-old painted a picture of divorced bliss, a ‘fairytale’ it has not always been, with the couple seemingly attempting to out-do one another in the wake of their separation after rumours of an affair between Fergie and Texan millionaire Steve Wyatt bubbled to the surface in 1992. 

Just five months after the couple announced they would be separating, Sarah was snapped topless with her then lover financial adviser John Bryan. 

Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew on their wedding day at Westminster Abbey on July 23, 1986

And when images of Mr Bryan sucking on Fergie’s toes landed on the front pages of newspapers around the globe, an enraged Prince Philip banned her from future family events.   

According to The Telegraph, the Queen’s own sister, Princess Margaret allegedly penned Fergie a message, telling her that she had brought more ‘shame on the family than could ever have been imagined.’

Andrew and Sarah steamed ahead with their divorce in 1996 despite rumours of them possibly reuniting, however Fergie was allowed to keep her title of the Duchess of York. 

And with the divorce her problematic spending habits emerged, with it being revealed she was £4.2million in debt by the time her marriage to Prince Andrew was legally ended. 

She would later claim her divorce settlement only totalled to £15,000 a year, meaning she had to pursue other avenues of income, such as writing children’s books, her own biography as well as being a spokesperson for brands such as Weight Watchers.  

Yet again, the humiliated former Duchess infuriated the palace with her accusations, so much so they revealed she had been given half-a-million from Queen Elizabeth for a home, and £350,000 in cash. 

Fergie had also been given a monthly allowance totalling to £500,000 in the 14 years after her divorce from Andrew, they confirmed.  

However her financial woes continued to cause embarrassment for the royals, with Fergie later being filmed by an undercover News of the World reporter to be offering up access to her ex-husband in 2011. 

However, it was her and Andrew’s relationship with Epstein, whom had helped her clear a £15,000 debt to an aide, that would prove to be a wound that wouldn’t heal, spelling the end of the House of York and the Duchess of Scandal.