How Prince Andrew's Removal of Titles Signifies for Fergie, Beatrice and Princess Eugenie
Prince Andrew's removal from the final remnants of monarchical duties has not only reshaped his future - it's sending ripples through his family too.
Sarah Ferguson's Title Change
The former spouse has now surrendered her ducal status and will now be referred to as Sarah Ferguson.
For Sarah, 66, the change will be the most visible.
For all these years, she has maintained the honorary royal post-marital designation Sarah, Duchess of York. Now, she returns to her maiden name of Ferguson.
"She has lost a certain prestige over this," said one monarchy expert. "She certainly utilizes the title – even her social media profile is @SarahTheDuchess."
But the relinquishment of her status may affect her much less than the scandal she's dealing with independently about her own connections to the convicted financier.
Recently, several charities removed her as patron after an email from over a decade ago showed that she referred to Epstein her "greatest ally" and seemed to apologise for her negative comments of him.
Professional Endeavors and Philanthropy
Separate from her charitable activities, Ferguson also has multiple commercial enterprises.
And these, too, are more likely to be affected by the Epstein controversy than any change in title, says one monarchy analyst.
But Ferguson has been a remarkable endure in royal circles. She has continued bouncing back.
"She's the ultimate survivor and expert at transforming," commented one monarchy writer.
The Daughters
For Andrew and Sarah's offspring, Beatrice, thirty-seven, and Eugenie, thirty-five, there's no official alteration.
They continue to be referred to as royal princesses, which they have been granted since birth.
There is also no change to the royal succession order.
Andrew remains eighth position to the throne, followed by his children Beatrice and Eugenie, in ninth and twelfth position respectively.
But in practice their positions are "low down" and will probably become much further down as time goes on.
Future Prospects
The princesses are also currently non-official royals, and while they occasionally take on roles – Princess Eugenie was recently named as a mentor for the King's Foundation program – commentators also say 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 controversy doesn't involve them, and it's not fair for it to impact them directly in the independent lives they are carving out for themselves," explains one royal commentator.
"Their daughters are most unfortunate affected parties, they've had to suffer in silence and have been dignified in their silence," adds another royal author.
Final Impact
In the end, there appears to be little doubt that the individual who will be most impacted by all of this will be Prince Andrew himself.
For someone who consistently enjoyed the royal privileges, the pomp and the ceremony, the loss of his titles is profoundly embarrassing.
So to not have these, on a personal level, will significantly count.