Councillors in York have voted unanimously to remove Sarah Ferguson’s title of the Freedom of the City of York over her friendship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Her former husband Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor had the honour removed four years ago over his relationship with the convicted sex offender.
Freedom of the City is the highest commendation given by the City of York Council in recognition of a resident or group within the boundary.
Ms Ferguson was stripped of her title as the Duchess of York in October when her ex-husband relinquished his own title over links with Epstein.
City of York Council stripped her of the title during a meeting at the Guildhall in York on Thursday evening.
The removal will be a fresh blow to Ms Ferguson following recent revelations about the former duchess’s connections to Epstein.
Six companies linked to the former duchess have already started winding down in the wake of the publication of the Epstein files, according to Companies House documents.
Sarah’s Trust, a charity she founded, also announced it would close “for the foreseeable future”.
Speaking during the debate, Liberal Democrat councillor Darryl Smalley said: “We now know, following the release of thousands of documents, that Sarah Ferguson too had a close friendship with Epstein, which continued well beyond his conviction.
“We don’t expect recipients of York’s highest honour to be saints. We simply do not want them to be best friends of convicted paedophiles.
“We stand with victims. We stand for the rule of the rule of law. We stand for decency.”
One member of the public, Gwen Swinburn, told councillors during the debate that it shouldn’t be a hard decision to remove the honour from the former duchess.
“The decision before you tonight is whether to remove the freedom of the city from Ms Ferguson,” she said. “It should not be a difficult one. It is the absolute minimum you should be doing.”
Following the release of two million documents in the Epstein files at the end of January, new details about Ms Ferguson’s relationship with the disgraced financier revealed that they remained close following his conviction as a child sex offender for procuring a minor for prostitution in 2008.
An email exchange from 2009 saw the then-Duchess of York call Epstein the “brother I have always wished for” as she updated him on potential opportunities for her business brands and books.
The documents, released by the US Department of Justice in January, also suggest she took her daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, to lunch with Epstein shortly after he was released from prison.
Being named in the files is not an indication of wrongdoing.
There are growing calls for Ms Ferguson to testify to US officials about her relationship with Epstein; the former duchess has not been seen in public in months.
Ms Ferguson and Mr Mountbatten-Windsor were given the honour as a wedding present from York in 1987 during a visit to the city.
Councillors removed Andrew’s Freedom of the City of York in 2022 and the meeting at the time heard that he was the first person ever to have it taken away.
The only motion in the meeting on Thursday stated: “The council resolves that, pursuant to Section 249 of the Local Government Act 1972, the City of York Council withdraws the Honorary Freeman of the City status from Sarah Ferguson, which was conferred upon her in 1987.”
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