What Prince Andrew's Titles Loss Signifies for Sarah Ferguson, Beatrice and Princess Eugenie

York Family Members

Prince Andrew's removal from the last vestiges of royal life has not only reshaped his future - it's creating waves through his immediate relatives too.

Fergie's Title Change

The former spouse has now surrendered her ducal status and will simply be known as Sarah Ferguson.

For Sarah, 66, the transition will be the most visible.

Throughout this period, she has maintained the honorary royal post-marital designation Sarah, York Duchess. Currently, she returns to her maiden name of Ferguson.

"She will have lost a certain prestige over this," said one monarchy expert. "She certainly does use the title – even her social media profile is @SarahTheDuchess."

But the loss of her title may affect her much less than the scandal she's dealing with independently about her own links with the convicted financier.

Recently, several charities removed her as ambassador after correspondence from 2011 showed that she called Epstein her "supreme friend" and seemed to apologise for her negative comments of him.

Business Ventures and Charity Work

Separate from her philanthropy, Ferguson also has multiple commercial enterprises.

And these ventures, are more likely to be affected by the Epstein controversy than any change in title, says one monarchy analyst.

But Ferguson has been a great survivor in royal circles. She's kept recovering strongly.

"She is the ultimate survivor and master of reinvention," commented one monarchy writer.

The Princesses

Princess Eugenie at event
Princess Beatrice and Princess Beatrice pictured at a Coronation Big Lunch in 2023

For Andrew and Sarah's two daughters, Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, thirty-five, there's no official alteration.

They continue to be known as princesses, which they have been granted since birth.

Additionally there is no change to the line of succession.

Andrew remains eighth in line to the throne, succeeded by his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, in ninth and twelfth position in that order.

But in practice their positions are "distant" and will probably become even more remote as time goes on.

Future Prospects

Beatrice and Eugenie are also currently non-official royals, and while they occasionally accept positions – Princess Eugenie was recently named as a advisor for the King's Foundation network – commentators also suggest they "can't see a world" in which they would step up into official responsibilities.

"Regarding Beatrice and Eugenie go, I think there's an appreciation of the reality that this scandal isn't about them, and it's not fair for it to affect them directly in the independent lives they are carving out for themselves," says one monarchy analyst.

"Their daughters are particularly unlucky affected parties, they've had to endure quietly and have been dignified in their silence," adds another royal author.

Final Impact

In the end, there appears to be minimal uncertainty 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 ceremony and the ceremony, the relinquishment of his honors is profoundly embarrassing.

So to not have those, on a personal level, will significantly count.

Gary Lynn
Gary Lynn

A seasoned IT consultant with over a decade of experience in cybersecurity and cloud computing, passionate about helping businesses innovate securely.