How Prince Andrew's Removal of Titles Means for Fergie, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie
The Duke'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
His ex-wife has now lost her duchess title and will now be referred to as Sarah Ferguson.
For Sarah, sixty-six, the change will be the most visible.
Throughout this period, she has kept the courtesy royal post-marital designation Sarah, Duchess of York. Currently, she returns to her maiden name of Ferguson.
"She has lost a certain prestige over this," noted one monarchy expert. "She certainly does use the title – including her Twitter bio is @SarahTheDuchess."
But the relinquishment of her status may affect her much less than the controversy she's dealing with independently about her own connections to the convicted financier.
Recently, several charities removed her as patron after an email from 2011 showed that she referred to Epstein her "greatest ally" and seemed to apologise for her public criticism of him.
Business Ventures and Charity Work
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 has continued bouncing back.
"She's the ultimate survivor and expert at transforming," said one royal author.
The Daughters
For the couple's two daughters, Beatrice, thirty-seven, and Eugenie, thirty-five, there's no formal change.
They will still be known as 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 crown, succeeded by his children 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 time goes on.
Future Prospects
Beatrice and Eugenie are also currently non-official royals, and while they occasionally accept positions – The younger princess was recently announced as a advisor for the monarch's charity network – experts 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 fact that this controversy doesn't involve them, and it's unjust for it to impact them directly in the separate paths they are building for themselves," explains one royal commentator.
"Their daughters are most unfortunate affected parties, they've had to endure quietly and have been dignified in their silence," adds another monarchy writer.
Ultimate Consequences
Ultimately, there seems to be minimal uncertainty that the individual who will be most impacted by these developments will be Prince Andrew himself.
For someone who consistently enjoyed the royal privileges, the ceremony and the ceremony, the relinquishment of his honors is profoundly embarrassing.
Therefore lacking those, on a individual basis, will really matter.