LONDON (Reuters) -Several charities said on Monday they had cut their links with Sarah Ferguson, Britain’s Duchess of York, after media reports that she had described the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as a “supreme friend” in an email.

According to the Sun on Sunday newspaper, Ferguson, 65, the ex-wife of King Charles’ brother, Prince Andrew, sent the message to Epstein in 2011, weeks after giving an interview in which she said she would never contact him again.

Epstein had pleaded guilty in 2008 to a state prostitution charge in Florida and agreed to register as a sex offender.

The Sun said Ferguson, often known by the nickname “Fergie”, had emailed the disgraced financier to apologise for her comments and say he had always been a steadfast friend to her and her family.

Ferguson’s

See Full Page