What Prince Andrew's Removal of Titles Signifies for Sarah Ferguson, Princess Beatrice and Eugenie
Prince Andrew's removal from the final remnants of monarchical duties has not only altered his path - it's sending ripples through his family too.
Fergie's Title Change
The former spouse has now surrendered her ducal status and will simply be known as Sarah Ferguson.
For Sarah, 66, the transition will be the most apparent.
Throughout this period, she has kept the courtesy royal divorcee title Sarah, Duchess of York. Now, she reverts to her maiden name of Ferguson.
"She has lost a certain prestige over this," noted one royal commentator. "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 scandal she's dealing with independently about her own connections to the convicted financier.
Last month, several charities dropped her as patron after an email from over a decade ago showed that she called Epstein her "greatest ally" and seemed to apologise for her public criticism of him.
Business Ventures and Philanthropy
Away from her philanthropy, Ferguson also has various business ventures.
And these, too, are more probable to be affected by the Epstein controversy than any change in title, notes one monarchy analyst.
But Ferguson has been a remarkable endure in monarchical networks. She has continued recovering strongly.
"She's the ultimate survivor and master of reinvention," said one monarchy writer.
The Princesses
For the couple's offspring, Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, 35, there's no formal change.
They continue to be referred to as princesses, which they have been entitled to since birth.
There is also no change to the royal succession order.
The prince stays eighth position to the throne, followed by his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, in ninth and twelfth position respectively.
But in practice their standing are "distant" and will probably become even more remote as time goes on.
Future Prospects
The princesses are also currently non-working royals, and while they occasionally take on roles – Princess Eugenie was recently named as a mentor for the monarch's charity network – experts also suggest they "can't see a scenario" in which they would step up into official responsibilities.
"Regarding Beatrice and Eugenie go, I think there's an appreciation of the reality that this scandal isn't about them, and it's unjust for it to affect them personally in the independent lives they are carving out for themselves," explains one royal commentator.
"The princesses are particularly unlucky affected parties, they've had to suffer in silence and have been composed in their reserve," states another monarchy writer.
Final Impact
In the end, there appears to be minimal uncertainty that the person who will be most affected by all of this will be the Duke himself.
For someone who consistently enjoyed the trappings of royalty, the pomp and the ceremony, the loss of his titles is profoundly embarrassing.
Therefore lacking these, on a individual basis, will significantly count.