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This episode commenced with a single photograph, possibly the most consequential ever taken of a member of the monarchy.

Present was the Baron Killyleagh, standing closely beside a teenage girl, while a companion smiled suggestively in the background.

Absent that image, captured at a social event in 2001, few would have credited the allegations of a teenager who stated she was transported across the ocean and forced to have cursory sexual encounters with a prince of the royal bloodline?

An odd, indicative action by someone who had openly claimed to have not been aware of her, claimed he could no have had relations with her, and yet provided millions of monarchical funds to resolve a drawn-out court action.

Over a Decade of Disgrace

In this context, talk of the royals acting decisively to sever ties with Andrew are wide of the mark. This scandal has persisted for the largest portion of 15 years since that picture, and an additional photo of Andrew ambling pleasantly with a notorious individual emerged.

• Hubris: To what extent did his family members, perhaps even his mother and father, realize that Andrew was so arrogant?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have understood, if his employees and the authorities were doing their jobs, that he had some extremely unsavory associates given he unabashedly invited them to estates.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the family did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his extravagance with public money.

Travel were printed in public records: private aircraft travel from the royal residence to a golf course and back again in time for midday meal, exclusive air travel instead of scheduled services, all for the benefit of "the frequent flyer".

Existence of Entitlement

Then there was the presumption which expected subservience when he walked into a room or the extreme awareness about his royal titles used on his official documents in letters to his personal acquaintances.

He avoided accountability while his mother, who unaccountably spoiled him, was still surviving. The sovereign did at least strip him of royal responsibilities and military positions in the consequence of his catastrophic and, as revealed, deceptive television interview six years ago.

Latest Events

It was only in the last fortnight that events progressed rapidly, following the release of accounts giving more disturbing particulars of his conduct and that of his companions.

Further disclosures have again highlighted Andrew's belief that he could get away with deceiving about his contact with a convicted criminal.

The public (and the press) were far more perceptive of the royals. There was not a single person of any consequence to support him, a result of all those years of hubris.

Monarchical Concerns

The more astute royals understood that. The primary concern is to pass on the institution, if not as previously at least whole and untarnished.

They have spent the last 190 years trying to undo the legacy of previous monarchs, showing they are beneficial, dutiful and reactive to their citizens.

He was placing all that in peril in an time when submission and discretion is no longer sufficient.

Aftermath

Eventually, the well-known indecisive sovereign was pressured additional. There was little choice. The royal household had lost control of the narrative.

Now it is the loss of titles and the ongoing and lifetime public humiliation that will afflict Andrew the most.

• Reduction: Reduced to just a private citizen
• Historical Precedent: The initial monarch to forfeit his honorifics in recent history
• Naval Career: Notably stinging given his duty in the engagement

He remains a counsellor of state, in principle able to act for the sovereign, and he is still in the succession to the crown, but neither of these will ever come to pass.

Coming Developments

Will people he meets still show respect to him? Will they still make mistakes and call him Sir? Will they even say Andrew,

Of course, he is not withdrawing to an ordinary town, but to the royal family's large property at a royal residence.

In that place, he will be supplied by the king with one of the grace and favour houses and given some form of financial support.

This is not his former home, where he paid a token lease for more than 20 years, and the area is a bit remote, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed.

Unresolved Issues

Matters remain unresolved. There are still documents in the hands of overseas authorities to be revealed.

• Governmental Scrutiny: Might legislators request additional information
• Fiscal Review: Or examine the misuse of public money
• Legal Possibility: There may even be a criminal probe into his conduct

Maybe for the present the harm to the monarchy to the crown is limited. The narrative from the palace was evidently that the stripping of designations was what the sovereign, and notably other senior monarchical figures, desired.

Altered Approach

The cessation of pretence that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, remarkably, the brief communication showed plainly that the institution were supporting the accuser's account of occurrences.

Furthermore, for the first time they eventually showed concern for the affected individuals: "These actions are deemed necessary, regardless of the reality that he continues to deny the accusations against him."

Ultimately it is presumption, selfishness and indolence that will kill the institution. In his folly, personal excess and corruption, Andrew seems never to have grasped that truth.