What Prince Andrew's Removal of Titles Signifies for Sarah Ferguson, Beatrice and 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.
Fergie's Title Change
His ex-wife has now lost her duchess title and will now be referred to as Sarah Ferguson.
For Ferguson, 66, the transition will be the most apparent.
For all these years, she has maintained the honorary royal post-marital designation Sarah, Duchess of York. Now, she returns to her maiden name of Ferguson.
"She has lost a certain prestige over this," said one monarchy expert. "She certainly utilizes the title – even her Twitter bio is @SarahTheDuchess."
But the relinquishment of her status may impact her much less than the controversy she's facing separately about her own connections to Jeffrey Epstein.
Last month, multiple organizations removed her as ambassador after correspondence from over a decade ago showed that she referred to Epstein her "greatest ally" and appeared to express regret for her public criticism of him.
Professional Endeavors and Philanthropy
Separate from her philanthropy, Ferguson also has multiple commercial enterprises.
And these ventures, are more probable to be impacted by the Epstein controversy than any change in title, notes one royal commentator.
But Ferguson has been a great survivor in royal circles. She has continued recovering strongly.
"She is the ultimate survivor and expert at transforming," commented one royal author.
The Daughters
For the couple's offspring, Beatrice, thirty-seven, and Eugenie, 35, there's no official alteration.
They continue to be referred to as princesses, which they have been granted since birth.
Additionally there is no change to the line of succession.
Andrew remains eighth in line to the crown, followed by his children Beatrice and Eugenie, in ninth and twelfth place in that order.
But in practice their positions are "low down" and will probably become much further down as years pass.
Coming Opportunities
The princesses are also presently non-official royals, and while they do sometimes accept positions – Princess Eugenie was recently announced as a mentor for the monarch's charity network – experts also suggest they "don't envision a scenario" 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 isn't about them, and it's unjust for it to impact them directly in the separate paths they are carving out for themselves," says one royal commentator.
"Their daughters are most unfortunate victims, they've had to suffer in silence and have been dignified in their silence," adds another monarchy writer.
Final Impact
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 pageantry, the loss of his titles is profoundly embarrassing.
So to not have these, on a personal level, will really matter.