Duchess of York to be stripped of her royal title?

In fact, Buckingham Palace officials want the 50-year- old Duchess, Sarah Ferguson, to revert to her maiden name even though she divorced Prince Andrew, the British Queen's second son, long time back, the 'Daily Star' reported.

"The duchess title is a courtesy title and there are many in the family who feel she has worn their courtesy pretty thin," a Buckingham Palace official was quoted as saying.

However, Ferguson would be allowed to keep a room at Royal Lodge, Andrew's official residence near Windsor Castle, which the Duchess has already offered to quit the residence.

But one family friend explained: "The Queen does not want to exclude her totally because that would only cause more heartache for her daughters. She does not want Beatrice and Eugenie to feel they've to back either family or their mom."

And Andrew is still loyal to Fergie and is standing up to attempts to push her out of the family for good.

The family friend added: "He loves his ex-wife and he loves his children. He realises she has made a horrible mistake but he won't stand by and watch people bully her. They have spoken many times and he is being very supportive."

The Duchess of York was secretly filmed two weeks back demanding 500,000 pounds from a bogus businessman for selling access to Prince Andrew. She even took a 27,600 pounds down payment, but later admitted a "serious lapse in judgement".