The former Duchess of York wrote to disgraced paedophile Jeffrey Epstein thanking him for “being the brother I have always wished for”.

The exchange, sent on August 3, 2009, is between Epstein and someone referred to as “Sarah”, and was among more than three million documents published by the US Department of Justice on Friday relating to the convicted abuser.

In the email, “Sarah” thanks Epstein and refers to discussions she with retailers about her “Sarah Ferguson brand”. She goes on to say she has “never been more touched by a friend’s kindness”.

“Thank you so much Jeffrey. I had the best discussion with Target on Friday, and they want desperately the whole Mothers Army project,” the message reads.

“They also want to get behind my entire Sarah Ferguson brand, books etc.

“Tommy Hilfiger wants to build my entire apparel, Fragrance etc etc brand, and sell it on QVC. NBC want my Mothers Army TV Show,” she said.

“Ben Silverman wants it. So too does Ryan Seacrest,” she wrote.

“In just one week, after your lunch, it seems the energy has lifted.

“I have never been more touched by a friend’s kindness than your compliment to me in front of my girls.

“Thank you, Jeffrey, for being the brother I have always wished for.”

The exchanges are all dated after Epstein was convicted in 2008 for prostituting minors.

The emails also reveal Epstein wanted Ferguson to release a statement saying he was “not a pedo” and she had been “duped” into believing false allegations about him.

“I think that Fergie can now say, I am not a pedo … She was DUPED into believing false stories,” Epstein wrote to publicist Mike Sitrick.

Sitrick responds saying: “If gentle persuasion doesn’t work, it is my view that we need to turn up the heat even to the point of sending her a draft defamation lawsuit”.

The documents also show Epstein received and sent multiple news articles related to the former duchess about her 1996 divorce from the King’s brother, the former prince Andrew, and her finances.

Andrew – now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor – has faced years of allegations that he sexually assaulted a teenage Virginia Giuffre after she was trafficked by Epstein. He strenuously denies all allegations of wrongdoing.

In 2022, he paid millions to Giuffre, despite claiming never to have met her, to settle a civil sexual assault claim in 2022.

Andrew stepped down from royal duties in 2019 after an interview on BBC Newsnight. But the publication of Giuffre’s posthumous memoir, and the US government’s release of documents from Epstein’s estate, brought more scrutiny over his relationship with the financier.

It led to the King officially stripping his disgraced brother of both his HRH style and his prince title.

The loss of Andrew’s titles meant Sarah reverted back to her maiden name of Sarah Ferguson, with the former duchess also criticised for writing to Epstein after his conviction calling him a “supreme friend”, despite publicly disowning him in the media.

The latest revelations are only likely to bring further scrutiny to the former royal couple’s relationship with Epstein.

The latest Epstein files release has subjected Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to more scrutiny.

The most recent files also included ⁠emails showing Mountbatten-Windsor, maintained regular contact with Epstein for more than two years after he was found guilty of child sex crimes.

They also include pictures appearing to show Mountbatten-Windsor, crouching over and touching the waist of an unidentified woman lying on the floor. Her face is blacked out in the redacted images.

At the weekend, British PM Keir Starmer said that Mountbatten-Windsor should testify before US Congress about his relationship with Epstein.

Separately, the BBC on Sunday quoted a US lawyer as saying a woman had alleged she was sent, while in her 20s, by Epstein to Britain for a sexual encounter with the then prince. She alleges it took place in 2010 in a royal property on the Windsor Castle estate.

The allegation is the second claim of a woman being flown from the US to Britain to meet Mountbatten-Windsor after Virginia Giuffre, a prominent accuser of Epstein, said she was forced to have sex with him in London.

Mountbatten-Windsor and Buckingham Palace are yet to make any public statement about the latest allegations.

Being pictured or mentioned in the Epstein files is not an indicator of any wrongdoing.

-with AAP