EXCLUSIVE: Sarah Ferguson Bust! Disgraced Ex-Duchess Winds Up Businesses as She's 'Got Nowhere Left to Run'
The ex-Duchess asked Epstein to pay for the trip amid financial struggles.
Feb. 27 2026, Published 2:00 p.m. ET
Sarah Ferguson is winding down six of her private companies after the publication of the Epstein files renewed scrutiny of her past contact with the convicted s-- offender – a move insiders described as evidence the disgraced ex-duchess now has barely "nowhere left to run" financially.
The former Duchess of York, 66, previously married to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, 66, was listed as the sole director of the firms, none of which held a significant public profile.
The former Duchess of York stayed in a super expensive Swiss wellness center before latest Epstein scandal erupted.
Records held by Britain's registry of firms, Companies House, show applications have been filed to dissolve S Phoenix Events, Fergie's Farm, La Luna Investments, Solamoon Ltd, Philanthrapreneur Ltd and Planet Partners Productions Ltd.
The filings to wrap up the enterprises came shortly after millions of documents released by U.S. authorities shed fresh light on Ferguson's communications with Jeffrey Epstein, who was convicted in 2008 of soliciting prostitution from a child and died in 2019 aged 66.
Toe-Curling Emails Intensify Scrutiny
The former Duchess wrote flirtatious emails to Jeffrey Epstein, including the phrase 'Just marry me.'
In the documents released last month, Ferguson wrote in one of her many toe-curling emails to Epstein: "I am at your service" and "Just marry me."
In a further simpering exchange dated 21 September 2011, she fueled rumors Epstein fathered a lovechild by apparently writing to the sex trafficker: "Don't know if you are still on this bbm but heard from The Duke that you have had a baby boy. Even though you never kept in touch, I still am here with love, friendship and congratulations on your baby boy. Sarah xx."
Ferguson followed up with: "You have disappeared. I did not even know you were having a baby. It was soooo crystal clear to me that you were only friends with me to get to Andrew. And that really hurt me deeeply. More than you will know."
Many of the emails were sent after Epstein's 2008 conviction, a fact that has intensified questions about Ferguson's judgment over maintaining the friendship. Although she has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing, the optics of the correspondence have proven hugely damaging to her and Andrew.
Timing of Closures Is No Coincidence
Sarah changed her official name on Companies House records to 'Sarah Margaret Ferguson.'
A source familiar with the company filings said: "This is not a routine tidy-up of dormant entities. The timing is impossible to ignore. The Epstein revelations have revived scrutiny Sarah had hoped was behind her. Closing these companies looks like an attempt to simplify her affairs as the pressure mounts."
Another insider said: "Sarah has spent years trying to rebuild her reputation after financial troubles and public missteps. But each new disclosure drags her back into the same narrative. There is a sense she is battening down the hatches because there is nowhere left to deflect the criticism. As a result of the growing scandal, financially and in business terms, she now has barely anywhere to go – bar selling a memoir or doing a TV interview. In short, she is done."
Ferguson had already formally changed her registered details with Companies House from Sarah Duchess of York to Sarah Margaret Ferguson after her royal title was stripped.
Days after the latest Epstein-related material emerged, Sarah's Trust – a charity she founded – announced it would close "for the foreseeable future."
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Ferguson requested Epstein pay for her daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie to fly out to see him.
A royal source said: "The cumulative effect of the Epstein scandal on her is stark. The company dissolutions, the title change, the charity closure – it all points to someone whose life has been totally narrowed."
Ferguson has previously spoken about financial difficulties and her life has been marred by cash woes and desperate attempts to make money.
A public relations adviser who specializes in crisis for brands, who is not connected to Ferguson, said: "As soon as documents surfaced showing her warm, even flirtatious messages to Epstein after his conviction for a child s-- offense, the reputational damage became impossible to contain. Dissolving small companies may not sound dramatic in itself, but in context it signals how she has been forced into total retreat from any type of public or corporate life."
