What the Duke's Removal of Titles Means for Fergie, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie

York Family Members

The Duke's removal from the final remnants 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 lost her duchess title and will now be referred to as Sarah Ferguson.

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

For all these years, she has kept the courtesy royal post-marital designation Sarah, Duchess of York. Currently, 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 relinquishment of her status may affect her much less than the controversy she's facing separately about her own connections to Jeffrey Epstein.

Last month, multiple organizations dropped her as ambassador after an email from 2011 showed that she called Epstein her "greatest ally" and seemed to apologise for her negative comments of him.

Business Ventures and Philanthropy

Away from her charitable activities, Ferguson also has various business ventures.

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

But Ferguson has been a great survivor in monarchical networks. She has continued bouncing back.

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

The Daughters

Princess Eugenie at event
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie pictured at a Coronation Big Lunch in last year

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

They continue to be referred to 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, succeeded by his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, in ninth and twelfth place in that order.

But in practice their positions are "low down" and will likely become even more remote as time goes on.

Future Prospects

The princesses are also presently non-working royals, and while they occasionally accept positions – The younger princess was recently announced as a advisor for the monarch's charity program – experts also say they "don't envision a scenario" in which they would advance into royal duties.

"As far as Beatrice and Eugenie are concerned, I think there's an appreciation of the reality that this controversy isn't about them, and it's unjust for it to impact them personally in the separate paths they are carving out for themselves," explains one royal commentator.

"The princesses are most unfortunate affected parties, they've had to suffer in silence and have been dignified in their silence," adds another monarchy writer.

Ultimate Consequences

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

For someone who consistently enjoyed the royal privileges, the ceremony and the pageantry, the loss of his titles is deeply humiliating.

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

Gabriel Greer
Gabriel Greer

Tech entrepreneur and startup advisor with a passion for innovation and mentoring new founders.