Sarah Ferguson, once known as the Duchess of York, finds herself in a difficult position as she has officially been deprived of her Freedom of the City of York honor.
Councillors in the city reached a unanimous decision tonight to withdraw “York’s highest honour” in light of recent disclosures about her association with the notorious billionaire and convicted pedophile, Jeffrey Epstein.
This development occurs four years after her former husband, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, saw his own freedom of the city revoked. Additionally, it follows five months after Ferguson lost her Duchess of York title when Andrew surrendered his Duke of York title due to his ties with Epstein.
Both Ferguson and Andrew, who are now 66, received the Freedom of the City of York as a wedding gift during their visit to the city in 1987.
This prestigious recognition has previously been awarded to notable figures such as Sir Winston Churchill and Dame Judi Dench.
According to Rachael Maskell, the Labour MP for York Central, Andrew was the “first ever to have their freedom removed” by the city.
It came shortly after revelations that he paid a multi-million-pound out-of-court settlement to trafficking victim Virginia Giuffre, who claims the then-prince had sex with her three times when she was a teenager.
Ms Giuffre was said to have been introduced to the prince by Epstein’s long-time fixer Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking.
In recent months, Ms Ferguson’s own relationship with Epstein has made headlines following the release of millions of pages relating to the paedophile known as the ‘Epstein files.’
The former Duchess of York has had her Freedom of the City of York revoked following a meeting of the city’s councillors
The move came four years after her ex-husband, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, faced the same fate over his links to Jeffrey Epstein
In one message, Ms Ferguson asked Epstein, who supported her financially for years, to ‘just marry me’.
The messages were sent in 2009, a year after Epstein was convicted in Florida of soliciting sex from a minor.
Speaking during the debate at York’s Guildhall on Thursday evening, Liberal Democrat councillor Darryl Smalley, who proposed the 2022 motion to revoke Andrew’s freedom of the city, said: ‘It was the first time in the city’s history that the honour had been removed.
‘I was asked at the time if we were also removing the honour from Sarah Ferguson.
‘At the time, I thought it wrong to judge someone by the actions of their ex-husband.
He added: ‘We now know, following the release of thousands of documents, that Sarah Ferguson too had a close friendship with Epstein, which continued well beyond his conviction.
‘We don’t expect recipients of York’s highest honour to be saints. We simply do not want them to be best friends of convicted paedophiles.
‘We stand with victims. We stand for the rule of the rule of law. We stand for decency.’
Gwen Swinburn, a member of the public, addressed councillors during the debate.
She said: ‘The decision before you tonight is whether to remove the freedom of the city from Ms Ferguson.’
She added: ‘Every day the phrase “The York family” appears. Increasingly, it appears as the ‘disgraced’ York family. Not just in the UK but all over the world.
‘That is what our city’s name is now attached to. It chips away at the reputation of this city – quietly and repeatedly by a thousand cuts.
‘If you remove the Freedom of the City you remove one of those cuts but you leave the rest.’
Councillor Claire Douglas, leader of the Labour group on the local authority, responded: ‘As the people of York would expect, holding this status requires upholding the values and behaviours consistent with such an honour.
‘Those who continued to associate with Jeffrey Epstein after his crimes became widely known fall well short of these expectations.
‘Sarah Ferguson falls into this category as the Epstein files have shown. I therefore call on council to support the motion as presented.’
The Freedom of the City of York is a historic honorary status dating back to the 13th century.
It once had trade advantages but is now largely symbolic and grants holders with the right to join the Gild of Freemen of York, who take an interest in the affairs of the city.
The former duchess has not been seen in public since December.
