Jeffrey Epstein depicted as king among young women in creepy custom chess set

A custom-made chess set commissioned by the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein has surfaced, revealing a disturbing and unusual design.

Photos obtained by TMZ show the pieces, including Epstein himself as the king piece, along with nine young women depicted in provocative poses, each representing other roles on the board.

The set was created using photos taken in 2016 at a New York City photo studio.

A group of women in their 20s - known as the “queens” - reportedly visited the shop multiple times, dressed glamorously, and posed for what would eventually become 3D-printed chess pieces.

In total, around 600 photos were taken to produce a full 36-piece set - including pawns, rooks, bishops, knights, and queens.

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The women told staff they were part of a chess club but offered little detail about its nature or who its president was.

Epstein reportedly joined the process toward the end to have his own likeness captured, though the shop employee who worked with him was unaware of his identity.

At one point, Epstein admitted he didn’t even know how many pieces belonged on a standard chessboard.

Each side of the set features a version of Epstein as king, wearing a robe and crown in either black or white.

The full project reportedly cost $5,000 - an insignificant sum for Epstein, who was worth an estimated $600 million before his death in 2019 while awaiting trial at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York.

It comes as Sarah Ferguson has found herself at the centre of yet another scandal after a sensational email between the Duchess of York and paedophile Epstein was unearthed.

In a March 2011 interview, the Duchess, 65, told how she had made a "terrible, terrible error of judgment" in accepting £15,000 from Epstein to pay off her debts, adding: "I abhor paedophilia."

Yet just days later, she sent him a private message in which she called the convicted abuser as a "steadfast, generous and supreme friend", and "humbly apologised" for criticising him in a newspaper interview. She told the former financier that she was aware "you feel hellaciously let down by me".

But now her spokesperson has insisted that she only sent the fawning email because Epstein had vowed to "destroy her" in a "Hannibal Lecter-style" phone call.

James Henderson, Fergie's adviser, told the Telegraph that Epstein was so enraged by her description of him as a paedophile that he made a threatening phone call in which he vowed to take legal action.

"People don't understand how terrible Epstein was. I can remember everything about that call," he said. "It was a chilling call and I'm surprised anybody was ever friends with him given the way he talked to me.

"He said he would destroy the York family and he was quite clear on that. He said he would destroy me. He wasn't shouting. He had a Hannibal Lecter-type voice. It was very cold and calm and really menacing and nasty."

Mr Henderson said he was so rattled that he saved Epstein's phone number to make sure that if he ever called him again he would know not to pick it up. It was the only conversation or exchange he had ever had with him.