How Prince Andrew's Titles Loss Signifies for Sarah Ferguson, Beatrice and Princess Eugenie
The Duke's removal from the final remnants of royal life has not only altered his path - it's creating waves through his immediate relatives too.
Fergie's Title Change
The former spouse has now surrendered her ducal status and will now be referred to as Sarah Ferguson.
For Sarah, 66, the change will be the most visible.
For all these years, she has maintained the honorary royal divorcee title Sarah, York Duchess. Now, she reverts to her maiden name of Ferguson.
"She has lost a certain prestige over this," said one royal commentator. "She certainly does use the title – including her Twitter bio is @SarahTheDuchess."
But the loss of her title may impact her much less than the scandal she's dealing with independently about her own connections to Jeffrey Epstein.
Recently, several charities dropped her as patron after an email from over a decade ago revealed that she referred to Epstein her "supreme friend" and seemed to apologise for her negative comments of him.
Professional Endeavors and Charity Work
Away from her charitable activities, Ferguson also has various business ventures.
And these, too, are more probable to be impacted by the Epstein scandal than any alteration in status, says one royal commentator.
But Ferguson has been a remarkable endure in royal circles. She's kept bouncing back.
"She's the ultimate survivor and expert at transforming," commented one monarchy writer.
The Daughters
For the couple's two daughters, Beatrice, thirty-seven, and Eugenie, 35, there's no official alteration.
They will still be referred to as princesses, which they have been entitled to since their birth.
There is also no modification to the line of succession.
Andrew remains eighth position 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 much further down as years pass.
Future Prospects
Beatrice and Eugenie are also currently non-official royals, and while they do sometimes accept positions – The younger princess was recently named as a advisor for the monarch's charity network – experts also suggest they "don't envision a world" in which they would advance into royal duties.
"As far as Beatrice and Eugenie are concerned, I think there's an appreciation of the reality that this scandal doesn't involve them, and it's not fair for it to affect them directly in the separate paths they are carving out for themselves," says one royal commentator.
"The princesses are most unfortunate victims, they've had to endure quietly and have been dignified in their silence," adds another royal author.
Ultimate Consequences
Ultimately, there seems to be minimal uncertainty that the individual who will be most impacted by these developments will be Prince Andrew himself.
For someone who consistently enjoyed the royal privileges, the pomp and the ceremony, the loss of his titles is deeply humiliating.
So to not have those, on a individual basis, will really matter.