How Prince Andrew's Removal of Titles Signifies for Sarah Ferguson, Beatrice and Princess Eugenie
The Duke's exit from the final remnants of royal life has not only altered his path - it's creating waves through his family too.
Sarah Ferguson's New Status
The former spouse 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. Now, she returns to her birth name of Ferguson.
"She has lost a certain prestige over this," noted one royal commentator. "She certainly utilizes the title – even her Twitter bio is @SarahTheDuchess."
But the relinquishment of her status may impact her much less than the scandal she's dealing with independently about her own connections to Jeffrey Epstein.
Last month, multiple organizations dropped her as patron after an email from over a decade ago showed that she referred to Epstein her "greatest ally" and seemed to apologise for her public criticism of him.
Professional Endeavors and Philanthropy
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 change in title, says one monarchy analyst.
But Ferguson has been a great survivor in monarchical networks. She's kept recovering strongly.
"She's the ultimate survivor and master of reinvention," said one monarchy writer.
The Princesses
For the couple's offspring, Beatrice, thirty-seven, and Eugenie, thirty-five, there's no formal change.
They will still be referred to as princesses, which they have been entitled to since birth.
There is also no change to the line of succession.
The prince stays eighth position to the crown, succeeded by his children Beatrice and Eugenie, in ninth and twelfth place respectively.
But in reality their positions are "distant" and will likely become much further down as years pass.
Future Prospects
The princesses are also currently non-official royals, and while they do sometimes take on roles – Princess Eugenie was recently named as a mentor for the King's Foundation network – experts also say they "can't see a world" in which they would step up into official responsibilities.
"As far as Beatrice and Eugenie go, I think there's an understanding of the reality that this controversy isn't about them, and it's unjust for it to impact them directly in the independent lives they are building for themselves," says one monarchy analyst.
"The princesses are particularly unlucky victims, they've had to endure quietly and have been dignified in their reserve," states another monarchy writer.
Final Impact
In the end, there appears to be little doubt that the person who will be most impacted by these developments will be the Duke himself.
For a man who consistently enjoyed the royal privileges, the ceremony and the pageantry, the relinquishment of his honors is profoundly embarrassing.
Therefore lacking these, on a personal level, will significantly count.