Fergie drops 'Duchess of York' title from official records after royal website update
The former royal has also rebranded her X (formerly Twitter) account to sarahMFergie15
Sarah Ferguson has removed her "Duchess of York" title from Companies House records just days after scrubbing it from her social media profiles.
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The move comes as the Royal Family’s website was updated to strip Prince Andrew of his dukedom and other honours, following continued fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
King Charles is understood to have pressured his brother to give up the title voluntarily, reportedly with the backing of Prince William.
New filings for Ferguson’s company, Planet Partners Productions Limited, now list her name as "Sarah Margaret Ferguson" rather than "Sarah, Duchess of York".
Her job description has also changed from "director" to "charity patron, spokesperson, writer and TV presenter".
Read More: What is Companies House and what is its five year plan to ‘crack down on crime’?
The former royal has also rebranded her X (formerly Twitter) account, switching her long-standing handle "SarahTheDuchess" to "sarahMFergie15".
Fergie, who became Duchess of York upon her marriage to Prince Andrew in 1986, will now be referred to simply as Sarah Ferguson in all official contexts.
Her title had been the last formal link to the Royal Family she retained after their 1996 divorce, when she also lost the style Her Royal Highness.
Despite the split, the pair have continued to live together at the 30-bedroom Royal Lodge in Windsor - a property now facing scrutiny after reports Andrew has lived rent-free for 22 years.
According to documents seen by the Daily Mail, his lease requires payment of “one peppercorn (if demanded) per annum”.
Parliamentary committees are said to be reviewing how the Crown Estate, which owns the property, has managed the arrangement.
On Monday, royal.uk was also quietly edited to remove all references to the Duke of York title, now referring to him only as Prince Andrew.
The updated page reads: "On 13 January 2022, Buckingham Palace announced that, with Queen Elizabeth II's approval and agreement, Prince Andrew’s military affiliations and Royal patronages would be returned to Her late Majesty, and The Prince would not return to public duties.
"Prior to stepping back from public life, Prince Andrew undertook a wide range of public work, with a strong economic and business focus."
Four out of five Britons want Prince Andrew to be formally stripped of his dukedom, a YouGov poll has suggested.
The survey showed that 63% of nearly 6,700 adults questioned were “strongly” in favour of formal removal of the dukedom and 17% “somewhat” supporting the idea, while 6% were opposed to it – 4% somewhat and 2% strongly – and 14% did not know.
York Central MP Rachael Maskell has set out legislation which would grant Charles the power to remove titles.
The proposed new law would give the monarch the power to remove titles on his own initiative, following a recommendation of a joint committee of Parliament, or at the request of the person who holds the title.
Ms Maskell said: “It is time for Parliament to act so that it can, or the monarch can, remove titles.
“The Duke of York title may no longer be being used by its holder, but it has not been removed.
“My short Bill, The Removal of Titles Bill, will fix this; I hope it can now be supported by Parliament.”
The Bill stands little chance of becoming law without Government support and ministers have resisted calls to act, insisting such decisions are for the King.
Once the Bill is published, Ms Maskell said she will send copies of it to Buckingham Palace and to the Prime Minister in an effort to build support.