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

York Family Members

The Duke's removal from the last vestiges of royal life has not only altered his path - it's creating waves through his family too.

Sarah Ferguson's New Status

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

For Ferguson, 66, the transition will be the most apparent.

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

"She will have lost a certain prestige over this," noted one royal commentator. "She definitely does use the title – including her Twitter bio is @TheDuchessSarah."

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

Recently, several charities removed her as ambassador after an email from 2011 revealed that she referred to Epstein her "greatest ally" and appeared to express regret for her negative comments of him.

Professional Endeavors and Philanthropy

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

And these ventures, are more probable to be affected by the Epstein controversy than any alteration in status, says one monarchy analyst.

But Ferguson has been a great survivor in royal circles. She has continued bouncing back.

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

The Daughters

Princess Beatrice at event
Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice seen at a royal celebration in 2023

For Andrew and Sarah's two daughters, Beatrice, thirty-seven, and Eugenie, 35, there's no official alteration.

They continue to be referred to as princesses, which they have been entitled to since birth.

Additionally there is no modification to the line of succession.

The prince stays eighth position to the throne, succeeded by his daughters 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.

Future Prospects

The princesses are also presently non-official royals, and while they do sometimes take on roles – Princess Eugenie was recently named as a mentor for the monarch's charity network – experts also say they "can't see 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 fact that this scandal isn't about them, and it's not fair for it to impact them personally in the independent lives they are building for themselves," explains one royal commentator.

"The princesses are most unfortunate affected parties, they've had to suffer in silence and have been composed in their reserve," states another royal author.

Final Impact

In the end, there appears to be little doubt that the person who will be most affected by all of this will be Prince Andrew himself.

For a man who always liked the trappings of royalty, the pomp and the pageantry, the loss of his titles is deeply humiliating.

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

Lisa Pena
Lisa Pena

A seasoned digital marketer with over a decade of experience in driving online success for businesses worldwide.