What the Duke's Removal of Titles Signifies for Fergie, Princess Beatrice and Eugenie
Prince Andrew's removal from the last vestiges of monarchical duties has not only altered his path - it's sending ripples through his immediate relatives too.
Fergie's New Status
His ex-wife has now lost her duchess title 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, Duchess of York. Currently, she returns to her maiden name of Ferguson.
"She has lost a certain prestige over this," noted one royal commentator. "She definitely does use the title – including her social media profile is @TheDuchessSarah."
But the loss of her title may affect her much less than the scandal she's dealing with independently about her own links with Jeffrey Epstein.
Recently, several charities dropped her as ambassador after correspondence from over a decade ago showed that she called Epstein her "supreme friend" and appeared to express regret for her negative comments of him.
Professional Endeavors and Philanthropy
Away from her philanthropy, Ferguson also has multiple commercial enterprises.
And these, too, are more likely to be impacted by the Epstein controversy than any alteration in status, notes one royal commentator.
But Ferguson has been a great survivor in royal circles. She's kept bouncing back.
"She's the ultimate survivor and master of reinvention," commented one royal author.
The Daughters
For the couple's two daughters, Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, thirty-five, there's no formal change.
They continue to be referred to as royal princesses, which they have been granted since their birth.
Additionally there is no modification to the royal succession order.
Andrew remains eighth position to the throne, succeeded by his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, in ninth and twelfth place respectively.
But in reality their standing are "low down" and will likely become even more remote as time goes on.
Coming Opportunities
The princesses are also presently non-official royals, and while they do sometimes accept positions – The younger princess was recently named as a advisor for the King's Foundation program – commentators also say they "can't see a scenario" in which they would advance into royal duties.
"Regarding Beatrice and Eugenie go, I think there's an appreciation of the fact that this controversy isn't about them, and it's not fair for it to impact them personally in the independent lives they are carving out for themselves," explains one royal commentator.
"Their daughters are particularly unlucky affected parties, they've had to suffer in silence and have been dignified in their reserve," states another monarchy writer.
Ultimate Consequences
In the end, there appears to be minimal uncertainty that the person who will be most impacted by all of this will be Prince Andrew himself.
For someone who consistently enjoyed the royal privileges, the ceremony and the pageantry, the loss of his titles is profoundly embarrassing.
So to not have these, on a personal level, will significantly count.