Sarah Ferguson may have freedom of City of York stripped by council

Sarah Ferguson could have her freedom of the City of York revoked after an upcoming council debate.

She became Duchess of York when she married Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in 1986, and the then-couple were given the honour as a wedding present from York the following year.

City of York Council has scheduled a meeting on the evening of March 26 with the sole agenda of discussing stripping her of the honour.

Councillors removed Andrew’s freedom of the City of York in 2022 and the meeting at the time heard he was the first person ever to have it taken away.

The only motion in next week’s extraordinary council meeting states: “The Council resolves that, pursuant to Section 249 of the Local Government Act 1972, the City of York Council withdraws the Honorary Freeman of the City status from Sarah Ferguson, which was conferred upon her in 1987.”

Residents, interested parties and councillors have been invited to attend the discussion at The Guildhall in York.

This comes after a six companies linked to the former duchess started winding down in the wake of the publication of the Epstein files, according to Companies House documents.

It said an application to strike off each company was filed, after new revelations about her contact with the late paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein came to light.

Sarah’s Trust, a charity she had founded, also announced it would close “for the foreseeable future”.

The honorary freedom of the city is bestowed to recognise notable service by local residents, to distinguished people, and to royalty, the council has said previously.

Other recipients of the honour include the Duke of Wellington, Sir Winston Churchill, film composer John Barry, and actress Dame Judi Dench.