A UK children's charity said Monday that it had severed ties with Sarah Ferguson, the ex-wife of disgraced Prince Andrew, after an email emerged between her and convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In the 2011 message obtained by The Mail on Sunday, Ferguson -- widely known by her nickname Fergie -- called him a "steadfast, generous and supreme friend" and apologised for disowning him.

The Duchess of York told Epstein she had been instructed to give a critical interview about him weeks earlier to protect "my career as a children's book author and children's philanthropist".

In that interview, Ferguson vowed to "never have anything to do with" Epstein again and called a £15,000 ($20,000) loan the billionaire had made to her "a gigantic error of judgment".

Ferguson, 65, has previou

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