Sarah Ferguson has removed all traces of the Duchess of York from her public profiles following Prince Andrew’s historic decision to effectively give up the York Dukedom.
Ferguson, 65, has been known as the Duchess of York since her 1986 marriage to Prince Andrew and held onto the title following her 1996 divorce.
In unprecedented scenes, Andrew publicly announced last week he would cease to use his Duke of York title after nearly four decades amid renewed public scrutiny.
That move also saw Sarah Ferguson lose the courtesy title Duchess of York.
As of Wednesday, Ferguson has officially begun wiping references to the Duchess of York from her public social media profiles.
Fergie, as she is popularly known, has changed her X handle from “@SarahTheDuchess” to “@sarahMFergie15.”
Her Instagram handle, “@SarahFerguson15,” remains the same but Duchess of York is no longer in her byline.
Officially, Andrew has placed the York Dukedom in “abeyance” but has effectively become the first royal in modern times to lose the title Duke.
Royal dukedoms, which are traditionally bestowed upon marriage by the monarch, have largely been left untouched in times of scandal.
Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson famously remained the Duke and Duchess of Windsor for their entire lives despite living in virtual exile in France.
The York dukedom was previously held by Andrew’s grandparents, George VI and Elizabeth the Queen Mother but will likely go extinct due to the association with Andrew.
For decades, Ferguson was interchangeably known as Sarah, Fergie or the Duchess of York and used the courtesy title in her many business ventures.
The loss of her title has likely come as a shock to Fergie, who was only recently re-invited to select royal family events at the invitation of King Charles.
In June, Ferguson sat in the hallowed Royal Box with her elder daughter Princess Beatrice for the first time in decades.
The decision means there is currently no royal family member with the title Duchess of York for the first time since 1923.
Reportedly, the decision to give up the York dukedom came at the behest of Prince William amid growing speculation William will strip more royal titles as monarch.
The rumours have likely sent a shiver through Montecito, where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle continue to call themselves Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
The Duchess of Sussex has even boldly incorporated the ancient royal title into her business ventures selling wine and jars of jam on her website.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.skynews.com.au ’
