EXCLUSIVE: How Prince Andrew's Ex-Wife Sarah Ferguson's Lavish Lifestyle Was 'Secretly Bankrolled' By 'Very Close Friend' Jeffrey Epstein

Sarah Ferguson enjoyed such a close friendship with Jeffrey Epstein it included the sex trafficker paying off her debts, a royal biographer has claimed – and he states the arrangement continued long after the pedophile's 2008 conviction for child sex offenses, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

Historian Andrew Lownie, 62, whose newly-published biography Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York has rocked the royal family, claiming Epstein's financial support for Ferguson, 65, was far more extensive than previously reported.

Speaking on Tina Brown's Substack, Fresh Hell, he claimed both Sarah and her former husband Prince Andrew, 65, continued to benefit from their links with Epstein even after Andrew's 2010 visit to New York, which he insisted was to end the friendship.

A royal insider allegedly told the author Jeffrey settled more than just a few small debts for Ferguson – he covered significant expenses for Sarah over the years and their relationship was far closer than anyone has really admitted.

Lownie claimed Epstein saw Andrew as a conduit to prestige and influence.

He claimed: "For Epstein, Andrew offered status, respectability and access. He pushed him into meetings on official trips. For Andrew, Epstein provided introductions, a jet-set lifestyle – and crucially, help with Sarah's mounting bills."

The Duchess of York's finances were notoriously precarious during the 1990s and 2000s. Reports at the time suggested Epstein had paid around $20,000 to cover some of her debts.

Lownie argued the true sum was much larger. "It was rumored to be far more than that, and certainly not a one-off," he said.

"Yet Sarah's role in this story has often been overlooked" Ferguson has previously denied any extensive reliance on Epstein's money.

The biographer claimed one friend described Andrew's dynamic with Epstein as "like a rattlesnake and a mouse," adding the friendship persisted years beyond the point Andrew claimed it had ended.

"Not only after Epstein's prison term, but at least five years beyond 2010, both Andrew and Sarah remained in his orbit," Lownie claimed.

He also painted a portrait of a deeply troubled royal marriage. While Andrew's reputation as "Randy Andy" stretched back to his youth – with Lownie suggesting he had thousands of lovers – he said Sarah also had affairs, including with American businessman Steve Wyatt and her friend John Bryan.

"There are credible allegations that both Andrew and Sarah were unfaithful early in their marriage," he alleged.

Friends told the author Andrew tolerated Sarah's infidelities but struggled with jealousy when it came to his own girlfriends.

"She wanted to remain the central figure in his life, with all the perks that position afforded her. Other women were swiftly removed, often through a mix of charm and cold determination," Lownie wrote.

Despite their divorce in 1996, Andrew and Ferguson still live together at Royal Lodge, Windsor.

According to Lownie, Andrew's entanglement with Epstein partly stemmed from his efforts to maintain Ferguson's lifestyle.

"She was described to me as both greedy and needy. Those traits didn't help Andrew, and they drove him deeper into Epstein's world," he claimed.

The biographer also claimed the royal household attempted to block publication of his book.

"Before the manuscript had even been seen, I received letters threatening legal action," Lownie said.

Epstein died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

His sudden death, officially ruled a suicide, has fueled years of conspiracy theories – and scrutiny continues to fall on his powerful circle of friends, including Andrew and Ferguson, over how close they were bonded to the sex offender.