Sarah Ferguson's Freedom of City honour to be taken away after 4 decades

York councillors are preparing to decide next Thursday whether to strip Sarah Ferguson of her Freedom of the City honour nearly four decades after she received it alongside her ex Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor during a 1987 visit. 

The meeting, scheduled for March 26 at The Guildhall, will focus solely on the motion to withdraw her honorary status under Section 249 of the Local Government Act 1972.

The Freedom of the City is a rare civic accolade, previously awarded to luminaries including Winston Churchill and Dame Judi Dench. 

Ferguson, who was given the honour as a wedding gift, now faces potential revocation amid scrutiny over her long-standing connections to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Documents revealed that in 2011, Ferguson described Epstein in an email as a “steadfast, generous and supreme friend” three years after his conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor just weeks after publicly vowing to cut ties with him. 

A spokesperson for Ferguson insisted the correspondence was sent under legal pressure from Epstein following her earlier statements.

The fallout has been significant: Ferguson lost support from seven charities and was stripped of her duchess title, sparking criticism from local officials. 

York Council’s Labour leader, Councillor Claire Douglas, called it “deplorable” that anyone associated with city titles had maintained links with Epstein after his crimes became public.

In April 2022, Andrew was stripped of his Freedom of the City honour, following the release of emails connecting him to Epstein during his tenure as a UK trade envoy. 

He was later arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office but released without charge; investigations remain ongoing.