What Prince Andrew's Removal of Titles Means for Sarah Ferguson, Beatrice and Eugenie
The Duke's exit from the final remnants of royal life has not only reshaped his future - it's creating waves through his immediate relatives too.
Fergie's New Status
His ex-wife has now lost her duchess title and will now be referred to as Sarah Ferguson.
For Ferguson, sixty-six, the change will be the most apparent.
For all these years, she has maintained the honorary royal post-marital designation Sarah, York Duchess. Now, she reverts to her maiden name of Ferguson.
"She will have lost a bit of cachet over this," said one monarchy expert. "She certainly does use the title – including her social media profile is @TheDuchessSarah."
But the relinquishment of her status may impact her much less than the controversy she's dealing with independently about her own connections to Jeffrey Epstein.
Recently, multiple organizations removed her as patron after an email from over a decade ago revealed that she referred to Epstein her "greatest ally" and seemed to apologise for her negative comments of him.
Business Ventures and Philanthropy
Separate from her charitable activities, Ferguson also has multiple commercial enterprises.
And these, too, are more probable to be affected by the Epstein scandal than any change in title, says one royal commentator.
But Ferguson has been a remarkable endure in monarchical networks. She's kept bouncing back.
"She's the supreme perseverer and expert at transforming," said one monarchy writer.
The Daughters
For Andrew and Sarah's offspring, Beatrice, thirty-seven, and Eugenie, thirty-five, there's no formal change.
They continue to be known as royal princesses, which they have been entitled to since their birth.
Additionally there is no change to the royal succession order.
The prince stays eighth position to the crown, followed by his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, in ninth and twelfth place in that order.
But in practice their positions are "low down" and will likely become much further down as years pass.
Future Prospects
Beatrice and Eugenie are also currently non-official royals, and while they do sometimes accept positions – Princess Eugenie was recently announced as a mentor for the King's Foundation network – commentators also suggest they "don't envision a scenario" in which they would advance into official responsibilities.
"As far as Beatrice and Eugenie go, I think there's an appreciation of the fact that this scandal isn't about them, and it's unjust for it to impact them directly in the independent lives they are carving out for themselves," says one royal commentator.
"Their daughters are particularly unlucky victims, they've had to endure quietly and have been composed in their silence," adds another monarchy writer.
Ultimate Consequences
In the end, there seems to be little doubt that the person who will be most affected by all of this will be Prince Andrew himself.
For someone who consistently enjoyed the trappings of royalty, the ceremony and the pageantry, the loss of his titles is profoundly embarrassing.
Therefore lacking these, on a individual basis, will significantly count.