Prince William is urging King Charles to sever ties with Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew following the publication of the Duchess of York's private 2011 emails to Jeffrey Epstein, sources have claimed.
The Prince of Wales is understood to consider his uncle and former aunt a “pair of chancers” and wants them excluded from all future family events.
“His face as he stood next to Andrew at the Duchess of Kent's funeral said it all,” the insider stated.
“William feels even more strongly than the King that Andrew and Fergie are an embarrassment and will be urging his father to act. The optics of that pair of chancers guffawing away [at events] look terrible.”
Prince William 'urging King Charles to sever ties' with Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew
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The King is said to be resisting a complete break. According to the source, Charles does not want to cut them off entirely because “the difference between the Yorks and the Sussexes is that Andrew and Fergie have never publicly criticised the monarchy or the King.”
The source continued to tell the Mail: “Andrew's friends say that even in private they've never heard him say a bad word about his brother.
Prince William looked stone-faced as Prince Andrew tried to chat to him | GETTY“The King doesn't want to cut ties with his brother, former sister-in-law and that side of the family.
“The late Queen, conscious that Fergie was the mother of her granddaughters, always took that view, even if Prince Philip couldn't bear to be in the same room as Sarah.”
The publication reported that Charles may respond by barring Sarah and Andrew from public family events such as Christmas and could move to end their long lease on Royal Lodge, the Windsor mansion where they live in separate wings.
William is said to be pressing his father to take that step, viewing it as the minimum required to safeguard the monarchy’s reputation.
Sarah Ferguson has been dropped by several charities where she served as patron | GETTYThe monarch is also under pressure to act after seven charities severed ties with Sarah in 24 hours. The Teenage Cancer Trust confirmed: “We have made the decision to end our relationship with the Duchess of York, and as of today she is no longer a patron of Teenage Cancer Trust.
“We have communicated this decision to the Duchess. We would like to thank the Duchess of York for her support.”
Other organisations followed, including children’s hospice Julia’s House, Prevent Breast Cancer, the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation and the British Heart Foundation.
Julia’s House said it would be “inappropriate for her to continue as a patron of the charity” after her correspondence with Epstein emerged.
The York family have a close relationship, with Sarah and her daughters often posting photos of each other to mark special occasions | INSTAGRAM / SARAH FERGUSONPrevent Breast Cancer, which appointed Sarah last year after her own cancer diagnosis, confirmed she is no longer a patron.
The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation said it was “disturbed” to read the emails and removed her as patron.
The British Heart Foundation also thanked her for “her past efforts to help us save and improve lives by funding pioneering research into cardiovascular disease”, as it ended her role as ambassador.
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