How the Duke's Removal of Titles Signifies for Sarah Ferguson, Beatrice and Eugenie

York Family Figures

The Duke's exit from the last vestiges of royal life has not only reshaped his future - it's sending ripples through his immediate relatives too.

Fergie's Title Change

His ex-wife has now surrendered her ducal status and will simply be known as Sarah Ferguson.

For Sarah, sixty-six, the change will be the most visible.

For all these years, she has maintained the honorary royal post-marital designation Sarah, York Duchess. Currently, she reverts to her birth name of Ferguson.

"She will have lost a certain prestige over this," said one monarchy expert. "She definitely utilizes the title – including her Twitter bio is @SarahTheDuchess."

But the relinquishment of her status may impact her much less than the scandal she's facing separately about her own connections to the convicted financier.

Last month, multiple organizations dropped her as ambassador after correspondence from 2011 revealed that she called 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 ventures, are more probable to be impacted by the Epstein controversy than any alteration in status, notes one royal commentator.

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

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

The Princesses

Princess Eugenie during occasion
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie pictured at a royal celebration in last year

For the couple's two daughters, Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, 35, there's no formal change.

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

Additionally there is no change to the line of succession.

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

But in reality their positions are "low down" and will probably become much further down as time goes on.

Future Prospects

The princesses are also presently non-working royals, and while they occasionally take on roles – The younger princess was recently named as a mentor for the King's Foundation program – commentators also say they "can't see a scenario" in which they would step up into royal duties.

"Regarding Beatrice and Eugenie go, I think there's an appreciation of the fact that this scandal doesn't involve them, and it's not fair for it to impact them personally in the independent lives they are carving out for themselves," says one monarchy analyst.

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

Final Impact

Ultimately, there seems to be minimal uncertainty that the individual who will be most impacted by all of this will be Prince Andrew himself.

For someone who always liked the trappings of royalty, the pomp and the pageantry, the loss of his titles is profoundly embarrassing.

So to not have those, on a personal level, will really matter.

Alan Coleman
Alan Coleman

AI researcher and tech enthusiast with a passion for exploring the future of intelligent systems and their impact on society.

Popular Post