What the Duke's Titles Loss Means for Fergie, Beatrice and Princess Eugenie
The Duke's exit from the final remnants of monarchical duties has not only altered his path - it's creating waves through his family too.
Fergie's Title Change
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.
For all these years, she has maintained the honorary royal post-marital designation Sarah, Duchess of York. Currently, she reverts to her maiden name of Ferguson.
"She has lost a bit of cachet over this," said one monarchy expert. "She certainly does use the title – even her social media profile is @SarahTheDuchess."
But the relinquishment of her status may impact her much less than the controversy she's facing separately about her own connections to the convicted financier.
Last month, several charities removed her as ambassador after an email from over a decade ago showed that she called Epstein her "greatest ally" and seemed to apologise for her negative comments of him.
Professional Endeavors and Charity Work
Separate from her philanthropy, Ferguson also has multiple commercial enterprises.
And these, too, are more probable to be affected by the Epstein scandal than any alteration in status, says one monarchy analyst.
But Ferguson has been a remarkable endure in monarchical networks. She has continued bouncing back.
"She is the supreme perseverer and expert at transforming," commented one monarchy writer.
The Daughters
For the couple's two daughters, Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, 35, there's no formal change.
They will still be referred to as royal princesses, which they have been granted since birth.
Additionally there is no change to the royal succession order.
Andrew remains eighth position to the crown, followed by his children Beatrice and Eugenie, in ninth and twelfth place in that order.
But in practice their positions are "low down" and will probably become even more remote as time goes on.
Future Prospects
The princesses are also presently non-official royals, and while they occasionally take on roles – The younger princess was recently announced as a mentor for the monarch's charity program – commentators also suggest they "don't envision a scenario" 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 unjust for it to impact them directly in the separate paths they are building for themselves," explains one monarchy analyst.
"Their daughters are most unfortunate affected parties, they've had to suffer in silence and have been dignified in their silence," adds another monarchy writer.
Final Impact
In the end, there appears to be minimal uncertainty that the person who will be most affected by these developments will be the Duke himself.
For a man who consistently enjoyed the trappings of royalty, the pomp and the pageantry, the loss of his titles is profoundly embarrassing.
Therefore lacking these, on a personal level, will significantly count.