How Prince Andrew's Removal of Titles Means for Fergie, Princess 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.
Sarah Ferguson's New Status
His ex-wife has now lost her duchess title and will now be referred to as Sarah Ferguson.
For Sarah, 66, the change will be the most apparent.
Throughout this period, she has kept the courtesy royal divorcee title Sarah, York Duchess. Now, she returns to her maiden name of Ferguson.
"She has lost a bit of cachet over this," said one royal commentator. "She certainly utilizes the title – including her social media profile is @SarahTheDuchess."
But the loss of her title may affect her much less than the scandal she's dealing with independently about her own connections to Jeffrey Epstein.
Last month, multiple organizations removed her as patron after an email from 2011 showed that she called Epstein her "greatest ally" and appeared to express regret for her public criticism of him.
Business Ventures and Philanthropy
Away from her philanthropy, Ferguson also has multiple commercial enterprises.
And these, too, are more likely to be affected by the Epstein controversy than any change in title, says one royal commentator.
But Ferguson has been a remarkable endure in monarchical networks. She's kept recovering strongly.
"She is the supreme perseverer and master of reinvention," commented one monarchy writer.
The Daughters
For Andrew and Sarah's two daughters, Beatrice, thirty-seven, and Eugenie, thirty-five, there's no official alteration.
They will still be known as princesses, which they have been granted since their birth.
There is also no change to the royal succession order.
Andrew remains eighth position to the throne, succeeded by his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, in ninth and twelfth place in that order.
But in practice their standing are "distant" and will likely become much further down as years pass.
Coming Opportunities
The princesses are also presently non-working royals, and while they do sometimes take on roles – Princess Eugenie was recently announced as a advisor for the monarch's charity network – commentators also say they "can't see 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 controversy isn't about them, and it's unjust for it to affect them personally in the independent lives they are building for themselves," explains one monarchy analyst.
"Their daughters are particularly unlucky affected parties, they've had to endure quietly and have been dignified in their reserve," adds another royal author.
Ultimate Consequences
Ultimately, there appears to be little doubt that the person who will be most impacted by these developments will be the Duke himself.
For someone who always liked the trappings of royalty, the ceremony and the pageantry, the relinquishment of his honors is deeply humiliating.
Therefore lacking those, on a individual basis, will really matter.