Several charities have severed their connections with Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, following an email she sent to the late, in which she referred to the convicted sex offender as a “supreme friend.”

“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,” a spokesperson for the Teenage Cancer Trust informed TIME on Tuesday.

Julia’s House, a children’s hospice charity in the south of England, has also ended its working arrangement with Ferguson, confirming to TIME that the decision was made because “it would be inappropriate for her to continue as a patron of the charity.”

The founders of Natasha’s Allergy Research Foundation similarly ended their association. In a statement shared with TIME, Nadim and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse, expressed that they were “disturbed” to learn of the correspondence and, consequently, had decided that Ferguson would no longer be a patron.

Prevent Breast Cancer, , The British Heart Foundation, and The Children’s Literacy Charity have also reportedly terminated all links with the Duchess.

The controversial email, recently brought to light by the and, was dispatched after Ferguson had publicly apologized in a March 2011 interview with the Evening Standard for accepting £15,000 [$20,200] from Epstein.

“I abhor pedophilia and any sexual abuse of children and know that this was a gigantic error of judgment on my behalf. I am just so contrite I cannot say,” Ferguson had stated. “Whenever I can, I will repay the money and have nothing ever to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again.”

In the email, she appeared to apologize to Epstein for her public remarks, telling him: “You have always been a steadfast, generous, and supreme friend to me and my family.”

A spokesperson for Ferguson is quoted by The Sun as stating that the email to Epstein was written after he threatened legal action and defamation over her comments. According to the spokesperson, the Duchess “regrets her association” with the financier.

“This email was sent in the context of advice the Duchess was given to try to assuage Epstein and his threats,” read a statement from her spokesman, released when the email to Epstein became public over the weekend.

TIME has reached out to Ferguson for further comment.

Epstein was initially sentenced to 18 months imprisonment in 2008 after pleading guilty to state charges—one count of soliciting prostitution and one count of soliciting prostitution from someone under the age of 18. He was again in custody, awaiting trial on federal charges for the sex trafficking of minors, when he died in a New York jail cell in 2019.

Ferguson is the former wife of King Charles III’s brother Prince Andrew, who was famously interviewed on about the nature of his own relationship with Epstein. Andrew visited Epstein in 2010, following the disgraced financier’s conviction and release from prison. They were photographed walking through Central Park.

Andrew himself was accused of sexual abuse by one of Epstein’s victims, the late Virginia Giuffre. He vehemently denied the allegations. In January 2022, he was and stripped of royal patronages amidst a civil sexual abuse case filed by Giuffre. A month later, he an out-of-court settlement with Giuffre for an undisclosed sum.

An image of Prince Andrew alongside Epstein was last week, as protesters gathered against President Donald Trump’s second state visit to the U.K. during which he .

Led by Donkeys, the activist group behind the protest, also projected images of Trump with Epstein, demanding the release of the full Epstein files. Trump’s past association with the disgraced financier became a significant focal point among some U.K. protesters.

Trump and Epstein had socialized together decades ago, and their relationship recently came under renewed scrutiny after the publication of a birthday letter, purportedly signed by Trump and addressed to Epstein. It was one of several letters said to be written by high-profile figures for a book celebrating Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003.

that Trump authored the birthday note for Epstein, but stopped short of calling the documents fake.