What Prince Andrew's titles loss means for Sarah Ferguson, Beatrice and Eugenie
- Published
Prince Andrew's removal from the last vestiges of royal life has not only reshaped his future - it's sending ripples through his family too.
His ex-wife has now lost her duchess title and will simply be known as Sarah Ferguson.
Their daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, will continue to have the title of princess as scandal surrounds their parents.
Prince Andrew lost use of his Duke of York title over his links with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
So, what does life after the royal shake up look like for the women of the York Family?
For Ferguson, 66, the change will be the most visible.
For all these years, she has kept the courtesy royal divorcee title Sarah, Duchess of York. Now, she reverts to her maiden name of Ferguson.
And while arguably we've always referred to her as "Fergie", royal commentator Richard Palmer said that will "no doubt" have an impact.
"She will have lost a bit of cachet over this," he said. "She certainly does use the title – even her Twitter bio is @SarahTheDuchess."
But the loss of her title may impact her much less than the scandal she's facing separately about her own links with Epstein.
Last month, several charities dropped her as patron or ambassador after an email from 2011 revealed that she called Epstein her "supreme friend" and seemed to apologise for her public criticism of him.
"I think as far as Sarah is concerned, her own recent controversy involving the email she is said to have sent Epstein is what has had the biggest impact for her of late," said royal commentator Victoria Murphy.
"Prior to that, she had sidestepped the firing line of the controversy around Epstein and I think may have continued to do so, albeit without calling herself Duchess of York, had that not happened."
Away from her philanthropy, Ferguson also has various business ventures.
And these, too, are more likely to be affected by the Epstein controversy than any change in title, says Murphy.
"I would say it's likely they will be impacted by the revaluations of her own contact with Epstein, in the same way her charity work was and the fact that charities didn't want to be associated with her."
But Ferguson has been a great survivor in royal circles. She's kept bouncing back.
Even though she split from Prince Andrew more than three decades ago, she has remained his strong supporter and still lives in his Windsor estate.
The Christmas before last, she was back in the royal fold, joining a royal Christmas gathering in Sandringham for the first time in decades, despite the fact that she and her ex-husband were not working royals or allowed to be part of official royal events.
That ability to bounce back may help her this time too.
"She's the ultimate survivor and master of reinvention," said royal author Katie Nicholls.
"Not only has she been reaccepted by the public, but the late Queen Elizabeth II brought her back into the fold, and Charles is also very fond of her."
Nicholls argues that over the years Ferguson has been through "much worse" and won't be too impacted by the loss of her title.
"Having been a royal outcast for all these decades, she's learnt not to attach too much weight to things like that."
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie pictured at a Coronation Big Lunch in Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire in 2023
For the couple's two daughters, Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, 35, there's no formal change.
They will still be known as princesses, which they have been entitled to since birth.
There is also no change to the line of succession.
Andrew remains eighth in line to the crown, followed by his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, in ninth and twelfth place respectively.
But in reality their positions are "low down" and will likely become much further down as time goes on, says Murphy.
"So practically, their positions have little meaning for the future," she says.
Beatrice and Eugenie are also currently non-working royals, and while they do sometimes take on roles – Princess Eugenie was recently announced as a mentor for the King's Foundation's 35 under 35 network, for example - Murphy also says she "can't see a world" in which they would step up into royal duties in any official way.
"I don't think that was ever really on the cards, and I certainly don't see it as an option," she said.
They have also benefited from all of the contacts their parents have made over the years, says Palmer. And while Andrew still remains a prince, losing the dukedom could have a knock-on impact there.
Prince Andrew will also no longer join the King and the rest of the royal family at Christmas at Sandringham, but it's possible his daughters will still attend, says Palmer.
"As far as 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 directly in the independent lives they are carving out for themselves," says Murphy.
"Their daughters are most unfortunate victims, they've had to suffer in silence and have been dignified in their silence," adds Nicholls.
"It can't be easy to see their parents dragged through something like this, and they remain very much loved nieces of the King. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see them at Christmas occasions in the future. They're largely untarnished."
Ultimately, there seems 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 ceremony, the loss of his titles is deeply humiliating.
So to not have those, on a personal level, will really matter.