Sarah, Duchess of York, has been dropped as a patron of a children’s hospice after it emerged she sent an email apologising to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein for publicly disowning him.

The charity, Julia’s House, said in a statement: “Following the information shared this weekend on the Duchess of York’s correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein, Julia’s House has taken the decision that it would be inappropriate for her to continue as a patron of the charity.

“We have advised the Duchess of York of this decision and thank her for her past support.”

It comes after reports surfaced of the duchess apparently writing Epstein a gushing message describing him as her “supreme friend”.

According to The Sun on Sunday, the ex-wife of the Duke of York had emailed him in April 2011 and “humbly apologised” for linking him to paedophilia in the media a few weeks previously.

She said in the message that he was a “steadfast, generous and supreme friend” to her.

Her spokesperson has since said she only wrote the note because Epstein had threatened to sue her.

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