What the Duke's Titles Loss Means for Sarah Ferguson, Beatrice and Eugenie
Prince Andrew's exit from the final remnants of royal life has not only altered his path - it's sending ripples through his family too.
Fergie's Title Change
The former spouse has now lost her duchess title 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, York Duchess. Currently, she reverts to her maiden name of Ferguson.
"She has lost a certain prestige over this," noted one monarchy expert. "She certainly utilizes the title – including her social media profile is @TheDuchessSarah."
But the loss of her title may impact her much less than the scandal she's facing separately about her own connections to the convicted financier.
Last month, multiple organizations removed her as patron after correspondence from 2011 revealed that she referred to Epstein her "supreme friend" and appeared to express regret for her negative comments of him.
Business Ventures and Philanthropy
Away from her philanthropy, Ferguson also has various business ventures.
And these ventures, are more probable to be affected by the Epstein controversy than any alteration in status, says one royal commentator.
But Ferguson has been a great survivor in royal circles. She's kept bouncing back.
"She is the supreme perseverer and expert at transforming," commented one monarchy writer.
The Princesses
For Andrew and Sarah's two daughters, Beatrice, thirty-seven, and Eugenie, 35, there's no formal change.
They continue to be known as princesses, which they have been entitled to since their birth.
Additionally there is no modification to the royal succession order.
Andrew remains eighth in line to the throne, succeeded by his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, in ninth and twelfth position in that order.
But in practice their standing are "low down" and will likely become much further down as years pass.
Coming Opportunities
Beatrice and Eugenie are also currently non-official royals, and while they occasionally accept positions – Princess Eugenie was recently named as a mentor for the King's Foundation program – commentators also say they "can't see a world" in which they would step up into royal duties.
"As far as Beatrice and Eugenie are concerned, I think there's an understanding of the fact that this controversy isn't about them, and it's not fair for it to affect them directly in the independent lives they are building for themselves," explains one royal commentator.
"Their daughters are particularly unlucky victims, they've had to suffer in silence and have been dignified in their reserve," adds another monarchy writer.
Final Impact
In the end, there seems to be minimal uncertainty that the person who will be most impacted by all of this will be the Duke himself.
For someone who consistently enjoyed the royal privileges, the pomp and the pageantry, the relinquishment of his honors is deeply humiliating.
Therefore lacking these, on a personal level, will really matter.