How the Duke's Titles Loss Means for Sarah Ferguson, Beatrice and Princess Eugenie
Prince Andrew's removal from the final remnants of royal life 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 surrendered her ducal status and will simply be known as Sarah Ferguson.
For Sarah, 66, the transition will be the most apparent.
For all these years, she has maintained the honorary royal divorcee title Sarah, York Duchess. Now, she reverts to her maiden name of Ferguson.
"She will have lost a certain prestige over this," said one monarchy expert. "She definitely does use 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 dropped her as ambassador after an email from over a decade ago showed that she referred to Epstein her "supreme friend" and appeared to express regret for her public criticism of him.
Professional Endeavors and Philanthropy
Separate from her charitable activities, Ferguson also has various business ventures.
And these, too, are more probable to be affected by the Epstein controversy than any change in title, says one monarchy analyst.
But Ferguson has been a remarkable endure in monarchical networks. She's kept recovering strongly.
"She is the ultimate survivor and master of reinvention," commented one royal author.
The Princesses
For Andrew and Sarah's offspring, Beatrice, thirty-seven, and Eugenie, thirty-five, there's no formal change.
They continue to be referred to as princesses, which they have been granted since birth.
There is also no change to the royal succession order.
Andrew remains eighth in line to the crown, followed by his children Beatrice and Eugenie, in ninth and twelfth position respectively.
But in practice their standing are "low down" and will likely become even more remote as years pass.
Future Prospects
Beatrice and Eugenie are also currently non-working royals, and while they occasionally take on roles – Princess Eugenie was recently announced as a mentor for the monarch's charity network – experts also suggest they "can't see a scenario" in which they would advance into official responsibilities.
"Regarding Beatrice and Eugenie go, I think there's an appreciation of the fact that this scandal isn't about them, and it's not fair for it to affect them directly in the independent lives they are building for themselves," says one monarchy analyst.
"Their daughters are most unfortunate affected parties, they've had to endure quietly and have been composed in their reserve," adds another monarchy writer.
Final Impact
Ultimately, there seems to be little doubt that the person who will be most impacted by these developments will be Prince Andrew himself.
For a man who always liked the royal privileges, the ceremony and the ceremony, the loss of his titles is profoundly embarrassing.
Therefore lacking these, on a personal level, will really matter.