Duchess of York loses charity patronages after Epstein email revealed

Sarah, the Duchess of York, has been stripped of multiple charity patronages and faces renewed royal and public scrutiny after a previously unpublished 2011 email she sent to Jeffrey Epstein, the late convicted sex offender, was made public this month. In the note, written weeks after she publicly vowed to cut ties with him, the duchess apologized for criticizing Epstein and described him as a "steadfast, generous and supreme friend," prompting charities to sever formal links and fueling reports that the royal household has urged the pair to keep a low profile at family events.

The correspondence, which British media published over the weekend, appears to have been sent on April 26, 2011, weeks after the duchess gave an interview in which she said accepting about 15,000 from Epstein was a "gigantic error of judgment" and that she would have "nothing ever to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again." In her email, the duchess wrote that she was "hellaciously let down" and offered a "humbly apology" to Epstein, adding that she had been advised to sever contact and feared causing further problems for her ex-husband, the Duke of York.

A spokesperson for the duchess said the message was...