What the Duke's Removal of Titles Signifies for Sarah Ferguson, Beatrice and Princess Eugenie
Prince Andrew's exit from the final remnants of monarchical duties has not only altered his path - it's creating waves through his immediate relatives too.
Fergie's New Status
His ex-wife has now lost her duchess title and will now be referred to as Sarah Ferguson.
For Sarah, sixty-six, the change will be the most visible.
Throughout this period, she has maintained the honorary royal divorcee title Sarah, York Duchess. Currently, she returns to her birth name of Ferguson.
"She has lost a certain prestige over this," said one monarchy expert. "She certainly does use the title – including her social media profile is @SarahTheDuchess."
But the loss of her title may impact her much less than the controversy she's facing separately about her own connections to Jeffrey Epstein.
Last month, several charities dropped her as patron after correspondence from 2011 showed that she referred to Epstein her "supreme friend" and seemed to apologise for her negative comments of him.
Business Ventures and Philanthropy
Away from her philanthropy, Ferguson also has multiple commercial enterprises.
And these, too, are more probable to be impacted by the Epstein scandal than any change in title, says one monarchy analyst.
But Ferguson has been a remarkable endure in royal circles. She's kept bouncing back.
"She is the ultimate survivor and master of reinvention," said one royal author.
The Daughters
For Andrew and Sarah's offspring, Beatrice, thirty-seven, and Eugenie, thirty-five, there's no official alteration.
They continue to be known as princesses, which they have been entitled to since their birth.
Additionally there is no change to the line of succession.
The prince stays eighth in line to the crown, followed by his children Beatrice and Eugenie, in ninth and twelfth position in that order.
But in reality their positions are "distant" and will likely become even more remote as years pass.
Future Prospects
The princesses are also currently non-working royals, and while they occasionally take on roles – Princess Eugenie was recently named as a advisor for the monarch's charity network – experts also suggest they "don't envision a scenario" in which they would step up into royal duties.
"Regarding Beatrice and Eugenie go, I think there's an understanding of the fact that this scandal doesn't involve them, and it's not fair for it to affect them directly in the independent lives they are carving out for themselves," says one monarchy analyst.
"The princesses are particularly unlucky victims, they've had to endure quietly and have been composed in their silence," states another royal author.
Final Impact
Ultimately, there seems to be little doubt that the person who will be most affected by all of this will be the Duke himself.
For someone who consistently enjoyed the royal privileges, the ceremony and the pageantry, the relinquishment of his honors is profoundly embarrassing.
So to not have those, on a personal level, will really matter.