How the Duke's Removal of Titles Signifies for Sarah Ferguson, Beatrice and Princess Eugenie
The Duke's exit from the last vestiges of royal life has not only altered his path - it's creating waves through his immediate relatives too.
Fergie's Title Change
The former spouse has now lost her duchess title and will now be referred to as Sarah Ferguson.
For Sarah, 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 reverts to her birth name of Ferguson.
"She has lost a certain prestige over this," noted one royal commentator. "She certainly does use the title – even her Twitter bio is @SarahTheDuchess."
But the loss of her title may impact her much less than the scandal she's dealing with independently about her own links with the convicted financier.
Last month, several charities dropped her as patron after an email from 2011 revealed that she called Epstein her "greatest ally" and appeared to express regret for her public criticism of him.
Professional Endeavors and Charity Work
Separate from her charitable activities, Ferguson also has various business ventures.
And these, too, are more likely to be impacted by the Epstein scandal than any change in title, says one royal commentator.
But Ferguson has been a remarkable endure in royal circles. She's kept recovering strongly.
"She is the supreme perseverer and expert at transforming," said one monarchy writer.
The Daughters
For Andrew and Sarah's two daughters, Beatrice, thirty-seven, and Eugenie, 35, there's no formal change.
They continue to be known as royal princesses, which they have been entitled to since birth.
There is also no change to the royal succession order.
The prince stays eighth in line to the throne, followed by his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, in ninth and twelfth position respectively.
But in reality their standing are "distant" and will probably become much further down as years pass.
Future Prospects
The princesses are also currently non-working royals, and while they occasionally take on roles – 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 advance into royal duties.
"Regarding Beatrice and Eugenie are concerned, I think there's an understanding of the fact that this controversy isn't about them, and it's not fair for it to impact them directly in the independent lives they are building for themselves," explains one royal commentator.
"Their daughters are particularly unlucky affected parties, they've had to endure quietly and have been dignified in their reserve," adds another royal author.
Final Impact
In the end, there appears to be minimal uncertainty that the person who will be most impacted by all of this will be the Duke himself.
For someone who consistently enjoyed the trappings of royalty, the pomp and the pageantry, the relinquishment of his honors is deeply humiliating.
So to not have these, on a personal level, will significantly count.