How Prince Andrew's Titles Loss Signifies for Fergie, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie
Prince Andrew's exit 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 Title Change
The former spouse has now lost her duchess title and will now be referred to as Sarah Ferguson.
For Ferguson, 66, the change will be the most visible.
Throughout this period, she has kept the courtesy royal post-marital designation Sarah, Duchess of York. Now, she reverts to her birth name of Ferguson.
"She has lost a bit of cachet over this," said one royal commentator. "She certainly utilizes the title – including her social media profile is @TheDuchessSarah."
But the relinquishment of her status may affect her much less than the controversy she's dealing with independently about her own connections to Jeffrey Epstein.
Last month, multiple organizations removed her as patron after an email from 2011 revealed that she referred to Epstein her "greatest ally" and appeared to express regret for her public criticism of him.
Business Ventures 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 scandal than any change in title, notes one royal commentator.
But Ferguson has been a great survivor in monarchical networks. She's kept recovering strongly.
"She is the ultimate survivor and master of reinvention," commented one monarchy writer.
The Princesses
For Andrew and Sarah's two daughters, Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, thirty-five, there's no formal change.
They continue to be referred to as princesses, which they have been granted since their birth.
There is also no modification to the royal succession order.
The prince stays eighth position to the crown, followed by his children Beatrice and Eugenie, in ninth and twelfth position in that order.
But in practice their positions are "distant" and will probably become even more remote as years pass.
Coming Opportunities
The princesses are also presently non-official royals, and while they occasionally take on roles – Princess Eugenie was recently announced as a mentor for the monarch's charity program – commentators also suggest they "can't see a world" in which they would advance into royal duties.
"Regarding Beatrice and Eugenie are concerned, I think there's an appreciation of the reality that this controversy doesn't involve them, and it's not fair for it to impact them personally in the independent lives 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 silence," adds another royal author.
Ultimate Consequences
In the end, there seems to be little doubt that the person who will be most impacted by these developments will be the Duke himself.
For a man who consistently enjoyed the trappings of royalty, the pomp and the pageantry, the loss of his titles is profoundly embarrassing.
Therefore lacking these, on a individual basis, will really matter.