What the Duke's Removal of Titles Means for Sarah Ferguson, Beatrice and Eugenie
The Duke's removal from the last vestiges of monarchical duties has not only reshaped his future - it's creating waves through his family too.
Fergie's New Status
The former spouse has now lost her duchess title and will simply be known as Sarah Ferguson.
For Sarah, sixty-six, the transition will be the most apparent.
Throughout this period, she has kept the courtesy royal divorcee title Sarah, York Duchess. Currently, she returns to her maiden name of Ferguson.
"She will have lost a bit of cachet over this," said one monarchy expert. "She certainly does use the title – even her Twitter bio is @SarahTheDuchess."
But the loss of her title may affect her much less than the controversy she's facing separately about her own links with the convicted financier.
Recently, several charities dropped her as ambassador after an email from 2011 revealed that she referred to Epstein her "greatest ally" and seemed to apologise for her public criticism of him.
Business Ventures and Philanthropy
Separate from her charitable activities, Ferguson also has multiple commercial enterprises.
And these, too, are more probable to be affected by the Epstein scandal than any alteration in status, says one monarchy analyst.
But Ferguson has been a great survivor in royal circles. She has continued bouncing back.
"She is the supreme perseverer and expert at transforming," commented one monarchy writer.
The Daughters
For Andrew and Sarah's offspring, Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, thirty-five, there's no formal change.
They continue to be known as princesses, which they have been granted since birth.
There is also no change to the royal succession order.
The prince stays eighth in line to the crown, succeeded by his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, in ninth and twelfth place in that order.
But in reality their positions are "low down" and will likely become even more remote as years pass.
Coming Opportunities
Beatrice and Eugenie are also presently non-working royals, and while they do sometimes accept positions – Princess Eugenie was recently named as a mentor for the monarch's charity network – commentators also say they "don't envision a scenario" in which they would step up into official responsibilities.
"Regarding Beatrice and Eugenie go, I think there's an understanding of the reality that this controversy doesn't involve them, and it's not fair for it to affect them directly in the independent lives they are carving out for themselves," explains one monarchy analyst.
"The princesses are most unfortunate affected parties, they've had to endure quietly and have been composed in their reserve," adds another monarchy writer.
Final Impact
In the end, there seems to be little doubt that the individual who will be most impacted by all of this will be Prince Andrew himself.
For a man who consistently enjoyed the trappings of royalty, the ceremony and the pageantry, the loss of his titles is deeply humiliating.
So to not have those, on a individual basis, will really matter.