What Prince Andrew's Titles Loss Signifies for Fergie, Beatrice and Princess Eugenie
The Duke'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 surrendered her ducal status and will simply be known as Sarah Ferguson.
For Sarah, 66, the change will be the most apparent.
For all these years, she has kept the courtesy royal divorcee title Sarah, Duchess of York. Now, she reverts to her birth name of Ferguson.
"She has lost a certain prestige over this," noted one monarchy expert. "She definitely does use the title – including her Twitter bio 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 the convicted financier.
Last month, several charities dropped her as patron after correspondence from over a decade ago showed that she called Epstein her "greatest ally" and seemed to apologise for her negative comments of him.
Professional Endeavors and Charity Work
Separate from her philanthropy, Ferguson also has multiple commercial enterprises.
And these, too, are more probable to be affected by the Epstein scandal than any change in title, notes one monarchy analyst.
But Ferguson has been a great survivor in royal circles. She has continued recovering strongly.
"She is the ultimate survivor and master of reinvention," said one monarchy writer.
The Princesses
For the couple'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 entitled to since birth.
There is also no change to the line of succession.
The prince stays eighth position to the throne, succeeded by his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, in ninth and twelfth place in that order.
But in practice their positions are "distant" and will likely become even more remote as time goes on.
Coming Opportunities
Beatrice and Eugenie are also presently non-official royals, and while they do sometimes take on roles – Princess Eugenie was recently named as a mentor for the King's Foundation program – commentators also suggest they "don't envision a world" in which they would step up into royal duties.
"As far as Beatrice and Eugenie go, I think there's an appreciation of the reality that this controversy doesn't involve them, and it's not fair for it to affect them directly in the separate paths they are building for themselves," explains one royal commentator.
"The princesses are particularly unlucky victims, they've had to endure quietly and have been composed in their silence," adds another monarchy writer.
Final Impact
In the end, there seems to be little doubt that the individual who will be most affected by all of this will be the Duke himself.
For someone who always liked the royal privileges, the pomp and the ceremony, the relinquishment of his honors is deeply humiliating.
Therefore lacking these, on a individual basis, will significantly count.