🔗 Share this article

Prince Andrew's removal 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

The former spouse has now surrendered her ducal status and will simply be known as Sarah Ferguson.

For Ferguson, sixty-six, the transition will be the most visible.

Throughout this period, she has kept the courtesy royal divorcee title Sarah, Duchess of York. Currently, she returns to her maiden name of Ferguson.

"She has lost a bit of cachet over this," noted one royal commentator. "She certainly does use the title – even her Twitter bio is @SarahTheDuchess."

But the relinquishment of her status may impact her much less than the controversy she's dealing with independently about her own links with the convicted financier.

Last month, several charities dropped her as ambassador after an email from 2011 revealed that she called Epstein her "supreme friend" and seemed to apologise for her negative comments of him.

Business Ventures and Charity Work

Away from her philanthropy, Ferguson also has various business ventures.

And these, too, are more probable to be affected by the Epstein scandal than any change in title, says one monarchy analyst.

But Ferguson has been a great survivor in monarchical networks. She's kept bouncing back.

"She is the ultimate survivor and master of reinvention," said one royal author.

The Daughters

For the couple's offspring, Beatrice, thirty-seven, and Eugenie, thirty-five, there's no formal change.

They will still be known as royal princesses, which they have been granted since their birth.

There is also no change to the royal succession order.

Andrew remains eighth in line to the throne, succeeded by his children Beatrice and Eugenie, in ninth and twelfth place respectively.

But in practice their standing are "distant" and will likely become much further down as years pass.

Future Prospects

Beatrice and Eugenie are also currently non-working royals, and while they occasionally accept positions – Princess Eugenie was recently named as a mentor for the monarch's charity program – commentators also suggest they "can't see a scenario" in which they would step up into official responsibilities.

"Regarding Beatrice and Eugenie go, I think there's an understanding of the fact that this scandal doesn't involve them, and it's not fair for it to affect them personally in the separate paths they are building for themselves," explains one royal commentator.

"Their daughters are most unfortunate victims, they've had to suffer in silence and have been composed in their silence," adds another monarchy writer.

Ultimate Consequences

In the end, there seems to be little doubt that the individual who will be most impacted by these developments will be Prince Andrew himself.

For someone who always liked the royal privileges, the pomp and the ceremony, the loss of his titles is profoundly embarrassing.

Therefore lacking these, on a personal level, will significantly count.