Sarah Ferguson has removed all traces of the Duchess of York from her public profiles following Prince Andrew\u2019s historic decision to effectively give up the York Dukedom.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
That move also saw Sarah Ferguson lose the courtesy title Duchess of York.<\/p>\n
As of Wednesday, Ferguson has officially begun wiping references to the Duchess of York from her public social media profiles.<\/p>\n
Fergie, as she is popularly known, has changed her X handle from “@SarahTheDuchess” to “@sarahMFergie15.”<\/p>\n
Her Instagram handle, “@SarahFerguson15,” remains the same but Duchess of York is no longer in her byline.<\/p>\n
Officially, Andrew has placed the York Dukedom in \u201cabeyance\u201d but has effectively become the first royal in modern times to lose the title Duke.<\/p>\n
Royal dukedoms, which are traditionally bestowed upon marriage by the monarch, have largely been left untouched in times of scandal.<\/p>\n
Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson famously remained the Duke and Duchess of Windsor for their entire lives despite living in virtual exile in France.<\/p>\n
The York dukedom was previously held by Andrew\u2019s grandparents, George VI and Elizabeth the Queen Mother but will likely go extinct due to the association with Andrew.<\/p>\n
For decades, Ferguson was interchangeably known as Sarah, Fergie or the Duchess of York and used the courtesy title in her many business ventures.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
In June, Ferguson sat in the hallowed Royal Box with her elder daughter Princess Beatrice for the first time in decades.<\/p>\n
The decision means there is currently no royal family member with the title Duchess of York for the first time since 1923.<\/p>\n