How the Duke's Removal of Titles Means for Fergie, Beatrice and Eugenie
Prince Andrew's exit from the final remnants of monarchical duties has not only altered his path - it's sending ripples through his immediate relatives too.
Sarah Ferguson's Title Change
The former spouse has now surrendered her ducal status and will simply be known as Sarah Ferguson.
For Ferguson, 66, the transition will be the most visible.
For all these years, she has maintained the honorary royal divorcee title Sarah, Duchess of York. Currently, she reverts to her maiden name of Ferguson.
"She has lost a bit of cachet over this," noted one monarchy expert. "She certainly does use the title – even her Twitter bio is @SarahTheDuchess."
But the relinquishment of her status may affect 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 ambassador after an email from over a decade ago 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 charitable activities, Ferguson also has various business ventures.
And these, too, are more probable to be affected by the Epstein controversy than any change in title, says one royal commentator.
But Ferguson has been a great survivor in royal circles. She's kept bouncing back.
"She's the ultimate survivor and expert at transforming," said one royal author.
The Princesses
For the couple's offspring, Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, thirty-five, there's no official alteration.
They will still be referred to as royal princesses, which they have been entitled to since birth.
Additionally there is no modification to the royal succession order.
Andrew remains eighth position to the crown, followed by his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, in ninth and twelfth position in that order.
But in reality their positions are "low down" and will probably become even more remote as time goes on.
Coming Opportunities
The princesses are also presently non-working royals, and while they occasionally accept positions – Princess Eugenie was recently named as a advisor for the monarch's charity program – experts also say they "can't see a scenario" in which they would advance 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 separate paths 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 composed in their reserve," adds another monarchy writer.
Ultimate Consequences
In the end, there seems to be minimal uncertainty that the person who will be most affected by these developments will be the Duke himself.
For someone who consistently enjoyed the royal privileges, the ceremony and the ceremony, the relinquishment of his honors is profoundly embarrassing.
Therefore lacking these, on a personal level, will really matter.