🔗 Share this article

Prince Andrew's exit from the last vestiges of royal life has not only reshaped his future - it's sending ripples through his family too.

Fergie's New Status

His ex-wife has now surrendered her ducal status and will now be referred to 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, York Duchess. Currently, she returns to her birth name of Ferguson.

"She has lost a certain prestige over this," said one monarchy expert. "She certainly utilizes the title – even her Twitter bio is @SarahTheDuchess."

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

Recently, several charities removed her as patron after an email from over a decade ago revealed that she referred to Epstein her "supreme friend" and seemed to apologise for her negative comments of him.

Professional Endeavors and Charity Work

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

And these ventures, are more likely to be impacted by the Epstein controversy than any change in title, notes one royal commentator.

But Ferguson has been a great survivor in monarchical networks. She's kept recovering strongly.

"She's the supreme perseverer and expert at transforming," commented one royal author.

The Daughters

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

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

There is also no modification to the line of succession.

Andrew remains eighth position to the crown, succeeded 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 time goes on.

Coming Opportunities

Beatrice and Eugenie 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 – experts also say they "don't envision a world" in which they would step up into official responsibilities.

"As far as 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 separate paths they are carving out for themselves," explains one monarchy analyst.

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

Final Impact

Ultimately, there appears to be minimal uncertainty that the person who will be most impacted by these developments will be the Duke himself.

For someone who consistently enjoyed the royal privileges, the ceremony and the ceremony, the loss of his titles is profoundly embarrassing.

Therefore lacking these, on a individual basis, will significantly count.