Sarah Ferguson, the ex-wife of Britain's Prince Andrew, reportedly was dropped as a patron from several British charities after an email surfaced related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Sept. 22 (UPI) -- Sarah Ferguson, the ex-wife of Britain's Prince Andrew, reportedly was dropped as a patron from several British charities after an email surfaced related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Ferguson, former wife of the Duke of York, was dropped as a royal patron and backer of Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, the Teenage Cancer Trust, the children hospice charity Julia's House, the British Heart Foundation, Prevent Breast Cancer, the Children's Literacy Charity and National Foundation for Retired Service Animals.

The moves come after a newly released email in which the former sister-in-law to King Charles III described Epstein as a "supreme friend" despite conviction on sex-trafficking offenses of underage girls.

Epstein was jailed in 2008 and in a 2011 interview Ferguson stated her friendship with Epstein had been a "gigantic error or judgment" and vowed to have nothing to do with him.

On Sunday, two British tabloids reported that the late Princess Diana's ex-sister-in-law allegedly emailed Epstein after the 2011 interview to say she that did not explicitly use the word "pedophilia" in direct reference to the convicted Epstein.

In a statement to NBC on Sunday, Britain's Natasha Allergy foundation wrote it was "disturbed to read" Ferguson's email exchange with Epstein.

It added it would be "inappropriate" for the foundation's relationship with Ferguson to carry on, which echoed comments by Britain-based Julia's House that it would likewise be "inappropriate for (Ferguson) to continue as a patron."

But a spokesperson for the duchess pushed back, saying she was "taken in" by Epstein's web of lies and that Ferguson supposedly emailed Epstein to counter his alleged threat to sue her for defamation.

The former duchess, according to her spokesperson, stood by her initial condemnation of Epstein publicly but added that she contacted him at the time "in the context of advice the Duchess was given to try to assuage Epstein and his threats."

Monday's news comes days after U.S. President Donald Trump's state visit to the British isles that saw four arrested after a team projected a video of Trump and Epstein on Windsor Castle.

The divorced daughter-in-law to the late Queen Elizabeth II made headlines earlier this year when it was revealed she had been diagnosed and underwent treatment for malignant melanoma a few short months before the death of the prince's Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre -- over two years after the royal family finalized its last settlement payment to her.