Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, once ensnared in controversy, reportedly pondered abdication after being photographed with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in New York’s Central Park, as revealed by an email.

The former duke was described as feeling “sad” and likening his experience to that of a “zoo animal.” According to a mutual friend of Epstein, even Queen Elizabeth had advised him to “get a job,” reflecting the gravity of his predicament.

The scandal erupted in February 2011 with the publication of the infamous photo. The friend recounted visiting Andrew and “S,” believed to be Sarah Ferguson, later that year and shared with Epstein that Andrew was “sad and frustrated.” She confided, “Considering abdication but he’s like a zoo animal, no way now for him to thrive.” The Queen’s directive was clear: “No royal list, get a job.”

In a personal tidbit, the friend mentioned doing her laundry at the York residence, telling Epstein she hoped it wasn’t impolite. “A said yes, but S wasn’t amused. I needed yoga clothes,” she explained.

Epstein, in response, cautioned her about a potential leak, warning, “Careful – there is a Daily Mail rat, close to him, not her. He is unaware.”

But Epstein warned her: ‘Careful – there is a Daily Mail rat, close to him, not her. He is unaware.’

Andrew and Epstein meeting in New York’s Central Park on December 5, 2010, after which he felt ‘sad’ when the photo was published and felt like ‘abdicating’, emails show

Sarah Ferguson: ‘No woman has ever left the Royal Family with her head’

Prince Edward, The Duke of Edinburgh, speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai

When she asked: ‘One of his staff? Who or where is the rat?,’ the pair speculated about a young valet who had allegedly felt that Andrew was ‘abusing’ his privilege.

The email emerged among three million pages of documents released by the US Department of Justice on Friday following a drawn-out battle over the ‘Epstein Files’.

In another email, Sarah, formerly the Duchess of York, told Epstein: ‘No woman has ever left the Royal Family with her head – and they cannot behead me, therefore they will discredit me.’

She ranted in the July 2010 email – after the News of the World had caught her trying to sell access to Andrew for £500,000 – that she was ‘on her own’ and the palace was ‘not equipped’ to help her.

Ms Ferguson took money from Epstein to pay off some of her debts and other emails show her regularly corresponding with the paedophile financier, including a plea to ‘marry me’.

As the furore mounted on Tuesday, Prince Edward became the first member of the Royal Family to publicly address Andrew’s role – stressing it was ‘really important to remember the victims’.

The Duke of Edinburgh was taking part in a press Q&A at the World Governments Summit in Dubai when he was asked about the King and Queen’s response to the issue.

Andrew, who was ‘sad’ after a photo of him walking through a public park with Epstein was published, seen with an identified woman in a photo released by the US authorities

Epstein is pictured with a young woman who appears to be in her underwear in a photograph released as part of the Epstein files

Last October Charles and Camilla became the first senior royals to publicly voice their support for the many victims of the prolific paedophile, saying: ‘Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.’

Andrew has never voiced any sympathy for the victims of his friend’s crimes and is said to have even refused to sign off press statements that expressed even the broadest of support for the victims of abuse.

Highlighting how ‘difficult’ and ‘close to home’ the latest release of Epstein files has been for the Royal Family, reporter Eleni Giokos asked King Charles’s youngest brother how they were ‘coping with that’.

Although he began by suggesting the audience might not be ‘the least bit interested’ in the issue given that they were there to discuss education policy, Edward, 61, went on: ‘I think it’s all really important always to remember the victims and who are the victims in all of this.’

On Tuesday, the Daily Mail revealed that royal sources believe that ‘providing testimony [to the ongoing inquiry by the US Congress] is now a matter for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and his conscience’.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment further.