How Prince Andrew's Titles Loss Signifies for Fergie, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie

Royal Family Figures

The Duke's removal from the final remnants of royal life has not only altered his path - it's sending ripples through his family 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 apparent.

Throughout this period, she has kept the courtesy royal divorcee title Sarah, Duchess of York. Now, she reverts to her birth name of Ferguson.

"She will have lost a certain prestige over this," said one royal commentator. "She certainly utilizes the title – including her Twitter bio is @TheDuchessSarah."

But the loss of her title may impact her much less than the controversy she's dealing with independently about her own links with Jeffrey Epstein.

Recently, several charities removed her as ambassador after correspondence from over a decade ago revealed that she referred to Epstein her "greatest ally" and seemed to apologise for her public criticism of him.

Business Ventures and Charity Work

Separate from her charitable activities, Ferguson also has multiple commercial enterprises.

And these, too, are more likely to be affected by the Epstein scandal than any alteration in status, notes one royal commentator.

But Ferguson has been a great survivor in royal circles. She's kept recovering strongly.

"She's the supreme perseverer and expert at transforming," commented one monarchy writer.

The Daughters

Princess Eugenie during occasion
Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice seen at a Coronation Big Lunch in last year

For the couple's offspring, Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, 35, there's no official alteration.

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

There is also no modification to the royal succession order.

The prince stays eighth in line to the crown, followed by his children Beatrice and Eugenie, in ninth and twelfth position respectively.

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

Coming Opportunities

The princesses are also currently non-working royals, and while they occasionally accept positions – Princess Eugenie was recently announced as a mentor for the monarch's charity program – experts also suggest they "don't envision a world" in which they would step up into royal duties.

"As far as Beatrice and Eugenie go, I think there's an appreciation of the reality that this controversy doesn't involve them, and it's not fair for it to impact them directly in the independent lives they are carving out for themselves," explains one monarchy analyst.

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

Final Impact

Ultimately, there appears to be little doubt that the person who will be most impacted by all of this will be the Duke himself.

For someone who always liked the royal privileges, the ceremony and the ceremony, the relinquishment of his honors is deeply humiliating.

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

Margaret Houston
Margaret Houston

A dedicated writer and theologian passionate about sharing faith-based insights and fostering community connections.