I wondered if People Magazine would eventually do a big cover story on the fall of the House of York, and here we are. This week’s cover story is “A Royal Family Exposed” with Sarah Ferguson and ex-Prince Andrew on the cover. The bulk of the piece is about how Andrew, Sarah and their daughters will likely all be cut adrift by the institution, but even if that happens, it might not be enough to truly cauterize the scandal. This piece is full of quotes from the usual suspects, royal commentators who royalsplain the situation to American readers. Minor props to People Mag for at least including some commentary about the wider institutional breakdowns leading to this mess. Some highlights:

Andrew’s arrest was a moment of exposure for the palace culture that protected him and his family for decades. “They thought they’d be able to operate like this under the radar,” Andrew Lownie, author of Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story. “They’re clearly up to their necks in exploiting their royal status. [Andrew] has been pampered all the way through his life, in this bubble. Status is everything to him — it’s his only sense of identity.”

Andrew’s privilege: According to Lownie, Andrew “thinks he’s anointed — that it’s deeply unfair people have turned on him.” Time and again, Andrew was buffered by the system, his missteps managed quietly or overlooked entirely. Even after concerns began circulating about his association with Epstein, Queen Elizabeth continued to grant him honors and public visibility. “She saw no gap between the monarchy and shielding her son,” says Catherine Mayer, author of Divide & Rule. “One thing was her duty as monarch, and one was her duty as a mother — and she felt that those things were fully aligned.”

Sarah’s divorce settlement was “only” $475,000. “She was introduced to this lifestyle and kept living it,” says Robert Jobson, author of The Windsor Legacy. “She was desperate for money.” What followed was a series of reinventions — spokeswoman, brand ambassador, author, television personality — each drawing on the currency of her then-Duchess of York title as she lived with Andrew at the grand Royal Lodge. From Weight Watchers to Wedgwood china, from memoirs to children’s books, the ventures varied, but the strategy remained consistent: proximity for profit. “She’s always been a fighter—that’s her trademark,” a friend tells PEOPLE. When it came to palace life, Ferguson was technically out yet repeatedly welcomed back into royal spaces — Ascot, Wimbledon, Sandringham. “They turned a blind eye,” Lownie says.

No way back for Sarah: “This time no one is going to give her the airspace,” says royal author Ingrid Seward. Lownie adds that Ferguson, who has not been seen publicly in months and is believed to be in hiding abroad, “will find it very hard to come back.” A friend describes the moment as sobering. “She always thinks she can bounce back,” the insider says. “But this isn’t something that can blow over.”

Andrew believed his daughters were entitled to full royal privileges: According to sources, he bristled at comparisons to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding earlier that year, determined that his younger daughter’s ceremony not be seen as a lesser affair. “She’s a granddaughter of the Queen—a princess of the blood,” Lownie says. “He believed she should get everything.”

Beatrice & Eugenie’s careers: “Their economic prospects depended on remaining within the royal family,” Lownie says of Eugenie and Beatrice. “Their jobs in client relations are based on being princesses.”

B&E’s future: Princess Anne and Prince Edward chose not to style their children as prince and princess and encouraged independent lives. Others, given privilege without structure, floundered. “What’s changed now,” Mayer says, “is that the public tolerance for indulgence without accountability has collapsed.” While Charles is said to remain “very fond” of his nieces, Seward says, others anticipate a distancing from both the monarch and his heir, Prince William. Onlookers say William, 43, has long favored a harder line on Andrew. “William wants it all cleaned out before he gets [on the throne],” Lownie says. “He wants it dealt with now.”

Lying low: Friends say the sisters have been lying low, absent from their usual social circuit. “They’re like a locked ship right now,” one says. Adds Seward: “They are tarnished by this. It has affected their lives a great deal.” For Andrew and Ferguson, the immediate reality is one of retreat. Released under investigation, Andrew remains secluded on the Sandringham estate as authorities review newly available material. Ferguson has yet to reappear publicly and is believed to be weighing where to live — and how to fund her life.

The exposure is no longer containable. What was once quietly managed has reached its limit — not only for a former disgraced duke but for the system that shielded him for decades. “A stronger intervention earlier on,” notes Mayer, “might have prevented all of this.”

[From People]

Regarding Beatrice and Eugenie’s careers… their lives resembled the half-in/half-out model which the Sussexes suggested for themselves – commercial ventures combined with attendance at family events and occasional state events. That’s now over – it would not surprise me if B&E were kicked out of their royal homes, although it’s worth noting that they both have private property too. B&E are also going to see a lot of royal invites dry up. But I think their careers will be fine? It’s the same thing they argue with Meghan and Harry, like if their “Sussex titles” are removed, no one will care about H&M anymore. That’s just not true, and it’s not true for Beatrice and Eugenie as well.

As for everything else… sure, this is very focused on Andrew and Sarah and how badly they’ve f–ked it up for themselves. But the last point is important – the institution had a lot of this general information for years and did nothing. In fact, the institution made a point of protecting Andrew and NOT the Sussexes. These people can harp on and on about Andrew and Fergie, and I get it, they’re terrible and they should put on an ice floe and set off to sea. But the fact remains that QEII, King Charles and Prince William all had knowledge of the York sh-t for years and years.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Sarah’s social media. Cover courtesy of People.