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

York Family Members

Prince Andrew's exit from the final remnants of monarchical duties has not only reshaped his future - it's creating waves through his family too.

Sarah Ferguson's Title Change

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 divorcee title Sarah, York Duchess. Currently, she reverts to her birth name of Ferguson.

"She has lost a certain prestige over this," said one royal commentator. "She definitely utilizes the title – including her Twitter bio is @SarahTheDuchess."

But the loss of her title may affect her much less than the controversy she's dealing with independently about her own connections to Jeffrey Epstein.

Recently, several charities dropped her as ambassador after an email from 2011 showed that she called Epstein her "greatest ally" and seemed to apologise for her public criticism of him.

Business Ventures and Charity Work

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

And these ventures, are more likely to be impacted by the Epstein scandal than any change in title, notes one monarchy analyst.

But Ferguson has been a great survivor in royal circles. She's kept bouncing back.

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

The Princesses

Princess Beatrice at event
Princess Beatrice and Princess Beatrice pictured at a royal celebration in 2023

For Andrew and Sarah's offspring, Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, 35, there's no formal change.

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

There is also no change to the royal succession order.

Andrew remains eighth in line to the crown, succeeded by his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, in ninth and twelfth place respectively.

But in reality their standing are "low down" and will probably become much further down as time goes on.

Coming Opportunities

Beatrice and Eugenie are also presently non-official royals, and while they do sometimes take on roles – The younger princess was recently announced as a mentor for the monarch's charity program – commentators also suggest they "can't see 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 fact that this scandal doesn't involve them, and it's unjust for it to affect them directly in the separate paths they are carving out for themselves," says one monarchy analyst.

"Their daughters are most unfortunate affected parties, they've had to suffer in silence and have been dignified in their silence," states another royal author.

Final Impact

In the end, there seems to be little doubt that the individual who will be most impacted by these developments will be the Duke himself.

For someone who always liked the trappings of royalty, the pomp and the pageantry, the relinquishment of his honors is profoundly embarrassing.

Therefore lacking these, on a personal level, will significantly count.

Michael Robinson
Michael Robinson

Zkušená novinářka se specializací na politické a ekonomické zpravodajství, píšící pro přední česká média.