Former Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, visited the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein twice while he was jailed for having sex with a teenage girl, The Telegraph reported.⁠

According to the report, the mother of Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie met Epstein on two occasions at the Palm Beach office of a fake company he invented to secure work release while in jail.⁠

The report said that Sarah Ferguson, the former wife of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, also planned to meet him a third time at the headquarters of Epstein’s bogus firm, the Florida Science Foundation, but her travel plans fell through at the last minute.⁠

The Telegraph reported that Epstein victims have alleged in recent weeks that he abused them at the office on 250 South Australian Avenue while he was supposed to be in jail at the nearby Palm Beach County Stockade.⁠

The sex offender raised eyebrows after he was granted access to a generous work release programme after he was jailed for procuring a minor for prostitution in June 2008, which allowed him to leave his cell for up to 12 hours a day.⁠

The report comes days after Bill Gates’ testimony before a panel of US lawmakers investigating the Epstein scandal.

During his appearance before US House Oversight Committee, the Microsoft co-founder said he never had any conversations about Jeffrey Epstein with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

According to a newly released transcript from his appearance, Gates revealed how Epstein had kept a photograph showing him Gates and Mountbatten-Windsor together at an official UK function, despite the financier never attending their meetings. 

"Weirdly in the set of photos that I guess Epstein kept, there is a photo of me and prince Andrew at one of those official state meetings," Bill Gates stated.

Gates told the committee he had encountered Mountbatten-Windsor on two occasions during official visits to the United Kingdom, when the former prince was serving in a role similar to trade representative. Pictures show Mountbatten-Windsor meeting Gates at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in 2007 and later in London in 2018.

During the testimony, the tech billionaire also disclosed the names of three women with whom he had extramarital affairs.