What the Duke's Removal of Titles Signifies for Sarah Ferguson, Beatrice and Princess Eugenie
Prince Andrew's exit from the last vestiges of royal life has not only altered his path - it's creating waves through his family too.
Sarah Ferguson's New Status
His ex-wife has now surrendered her ducal status and will now be referred to 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, York Duchess. Currently, she reverts to her birth name of Ferguson.
"She has lost a bit of cachet over this," said one monarchy expert. "She certainly utilizes the title – even her Twitter bio is @TheDuchessSarah."
But the relinquishment of her status may affect her much less than the scandal she's facing separately about her own connections to Jeffrey Epstein.
Last month, several charities dropped her as ambassador after correspondence from 2011 showed that she referred to Epstein her "supreme friend" and appeared to express regret for her public criticism of him.
Professional Endeavors and Philanthropy
Away from her charitable activities, Ferguson also has multiple commercial enterprises.
And these, too, are more likely to be impacted 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 ultimate survivor and expert at transforming," said one royal author.
The Princesses
For the couple's two daughters, Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, thirty-five, there's no formal change.
They will still be known as princesses, which they have been entitled to since their birth.
There is also no modification to the royal succession order.
Andrew remains eighth in line to the throne, succeeded by his children Beatrice and Eugenie, in ninth and twelfth place respectively.
But in reality their positions are "low down" and will likely become much further down as time goes on.
Coming Opportunities
Beatrice and Eugenie are also presently non-working royals, and while they do sometimes take on roles – The younger princess was recently announced as a mentor for the King's Foundation network – experts also suggest they "don't envision a scenario" in which they would advance into official responsibilities.
"Regarding Beatrice and Eugenie go, I think there's an understanding of the fact that this scandal isn't about them, and it's not fair for it to affect them directly in the separate paths they are building for themselves," says one royal commentator.
"The princesses are most unfortunate victims, they've had to suffer in silence and have been composed in their reserve," adds another royal author.
Final Impact
In the end, there appears to be little doubt that the person who will be most impacted by all of this will be the Duke himself.
For someone who always liked the trappings of royalty, the pomp and the pageantry, the loss of his titles is deeply humiliating.
So to not have those, on a personal level, will really matter.