What the Duke's Titles Loss 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 creating waves through his immediate relatives too.
Sarah Ferguson's Title Change
His ex-wife has now surrendered her ducal status and will simply be known as Sarah Ferguson.
For Sarah, sixty-six, the transition will be the most visible.
For all these years, she has maintained the honorary royal post-marital designation Sarah, York Duchess. Now, she returns to her birth name of Ferguson.
"She will have lost a certain prestige over this," said one monarchy expert. "She definitely does use the title – even her social media profile is @TheDuchessSarah."
But the relinquishment of her status may impact her much less than the scandal she's facing separately about her own connections to the convicted financier.
Recently, multiple organizations dropped her as ambassador after correspondence from 2011 showed that she referred to Epstein her "supreme friend" and appeared to express regret for her public criticism of him.
Professional Endeavors and Philanthropy
Away from her charitable activities, Ferguson also has multiple commercial enterprises.
And these, too, are more probable to be impacted by the Epstein scandal than any change in title, says one royal commentator.
But Ferguson has been a great survivor in monarchical networks. She has continued bouncing back.
"She is the ultimate survivor and expert at transforming," said one monarchy writer.
The Daughters
For Andrew and Sarah's two daughters, Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, thirty-five, there's no official alteration.
They continue to be referred to as royal princesses, which they have been entitled to since birth.
There is also no change to the line of succession.
The prince stays eighth in line to the throne, succeeded by his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, in ninth and twelfth place in that order.
But in reality their positions are "distant" and will probably become much further down as years pass.
Future Prospects
Beatrice and Eugenie are also presently non-official royals, and while they occasionally take on roles – Princess Eugenie was recently named as a mentor for the King's Foundation program – experts also suggest they "can't see a world" in which they would step up 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 unjust for it to impact them personally in the independent lives they are building for themselves," says one royal commentator.
"The princesses are most unfortunate affected parties, they've had to endure quietly and have been composed in their reserve," adds another royal author.
Ultimate Consequences
In the end, there seems to be minimal uncertainty that the person who will be most affected by all of this will be Prince Andrew himself.
For a man who always liked the trappings of royalty, the ceremony and the ceremony, the loss of his titles is deeply humiliating.
Therefore lacking these, on a personal level, will really matter.