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This episode commenced with a isolated photograph, possibly the most impactful ever snapped of a royal family member.

Present was the Baron Killyleagh, standing closely beside a young woman, while an associate smiled conspiratorially in the backdrop.

Lacking that snapshot, shot at a gathering in 2001, few would have credited the allegations of a adolescent who declared she was trafficked across the ocean and forced to have cursory intimate contact with a prince of the royal family?

A strange, indicative move by someone who had openly claimed to have no known about her, asserted he could never have had intimate contact with her, and yet handed over a large amount of monarchical money to avert a drawn-out lawsuit.

A Long Period of Disgrace

In this context, conversations of the royals acting swiftly to sever ties with Andrew are inaccurate. This affair has persisted for the better part of 15 years since that photograph, and another photo of Andrew strolling amiably with a notorious individual surfaced.

• Self-importance: How long did his brothers and sisters, possibly even his parents, understand that Andrew was so arrogant?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have understood, if his employees and the law enforcement were doing their jobs, that he had some extremely unsavory friends given he publicly welcomed them to estates.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the monarchy did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with taxpayer funds.

Journeys were printed in public records: private aircraft flights from the estate to a country club and back again in time for dining, private flights instead of regular transport, all for the comfort of "Airmiles Andy".

A Life of Privilege

Then there was the presumption which required respect when he appeared in a area or the profound awareness about his honorifics used on his letterheads in letters to his personal acquaintances.

He avoided accountability while his parent, who strangely indulged him, was still alive. The sovereign did at least strip him of royal responsibilities and military positions in the aftermath of his catastrophic and, as revealed, deceptive public statement six years ago.

Latest Events

Just in the last 14 days that events sped up, following the release of biographical works giving more troubling information of his conduct and that of his associates.

More information have again highlighted Andrew's belief that he could escape deceiving about his relationship with a notorious figure.

The public (and the journalists) were far more perceptive of the royals. There was not a single person of any significance to speak up for him, a result of all those years of arrogance.

Royal Worries

The more intelligent royals understood that. The key objective is to pass on the crown, if not as previously at least intact and unblemished.

They have spent the last 190 years trying to overcome the reputation of past sovereigns, showing they are beneficial, accountable and responsive to their people.

Andrew was putting all that in jeopardy in an age when submission and discretion is no longer adequate.

Consequences

Eventually, the famously indecisive sovereign was pushed more. There was no alternative. The palace had relinquished authority of the account.

Presently the stripping of titles and the continued and lifetime public humiliation that will afflict Andrew most deeply.

• Demotion: Demoted to just a private citizen
• Prior Instance: The first monarch to forfeit his honorifics in modern times
• Armed Forces: Especially painful given his role in the engagement

He is still a constitutional officer, in principle able to stand in for the king, and he is still in the lineage to the monarchy, but none of these will truly occur.

What Lies Ahead

Do individuals he meets still show respect to him? Could they still make mistakes and call him Sir? Would they say Andrew,

Naturally, he is not retiring to suburbia, but to the sovereign's large estate at a royal residence.

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

This is not his previous residence, where he paid a token rent for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit far, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed.

Outstanding Concerns

The situation continues. There are still documents in the possession of US Congress to be made public.

• Governmental Scrutiny: Might parliament request additional information
• Financial Investigation: Or scrutinize the improper use of state resources
• Legal Possibility: There may even be a police investigation into his behavior

Possibly for the time being the reputational impact to the institution is limited. The narrative from the royal household was clearly that the removal of honorifics was what the sovereign, and particularly other senior monarchical figures, sought.

A Shift in Position

No more deception that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, notably, the concise communication showed plainly that the monarchy were siding with the victim's narrative of incidents.

Additionally, for the premiere occasion they finally showed consideration for the victims: "These actions are deemed necessary, despite the truth that he maintains his innocence of the allegations against him."

In the end it is entitlement, self-interest and indolence that will undermine the crown. In his stupidity, self-gratification and venality, Andrew gives the impression never to have understood that reality.