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The saga started with a solitary photograph, possibly the most impactful ever taken of a royal family member.

Present was the Baron Killyleagh, arm-in-arm a female youth, while an associate grinned suggestively in the background.

Without that snapshot, shot at a party in 2001, who would have believed the allegations of a teenager who stated she was trafficked across the Atlantic and obliged to have perfunctory intimate contact with a member of the monarchy?

A strange, revealing gesture by someone who had openly claimed to have not heard of her, said he could no have had relations with her, and yet provided a substantial sum of family resources to avert a drawn-out lawsuit.

A Long Period of Disgrace

Considering this, discussions of the royal family acting decisively to distance themselves from Andrew are wide of the mark. This affair has persisted for the largest portion of 15 years since that picture, and a further image of Andrew ambling congenially with a convicted sex offender surfaced.

• Hubris: How long did his brothers and sisters, maybe even his parents, know that Andrew was so self-entitled?
• Problematic Connections: They must have known, if his staff and the authorities were performing their duties, that he had some highly questionable associates given he openly welcomed them to royal residences.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the household did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with state resources.

Trips were listed in public records: helicopter flights from the royal residence to a country club and back again in time for lunch, exclusive air travel instead of scheduled services, all for the comfort of "the frequent flyer".

A Life of Privilege

Additionally the arrogance which expected respect when he appeared in a room or the profound awareness about his royal titles used on his correspondence in messages to his friends.

He managed to escape consequences while his matriarch, who strangely pampered him, was still alive. The Queen did at least revoke him of public duties and military positions in the wake of his ill-fated and, we now know, deceptive media appearance six years ago.

Latest Events

Just in the last fortnight that events sped up, following the publication of books giving more disturbing details of his behavior and that of his associates.

Additional revelations have again revealed Andrew's belief that he could avoid being untruthful about his contact with a disgraced individual.

Society (and the journalists) were far more perceptive of the royal family. There was not a single person of any importance to support him, a outcome of all those years of arrogance.

Institutional Fears

The more astute family members understood that. The primary concern is to transfer the crown, if not as before at least complete and untarnished.

They have spent the last 190 years trying to undo the legacy of previous monarchs, demonstrating they are useful, dutiful and responsive to their people.

His actions endangered all that in danger in an time when respect and discretion is no longer adequate.

Aftermath

Eventually, the well-known uncertain king was prodded further. There was no other option. The palace had surrendered command of the account.

Presently the stripping of titles and the ongoing and lifetime social disgrace that will pain Andrew most deeply.

• Reduction: Lowered to just a private citizen
• Past Example: The first monarch to forfeit his designations in recent history
• Naval Career: Particularly stinging given his role in the conflict

He is still a constitutional officer, on paper able to stand in for the monarch, and he is still in the succession to the crown, but neither of these will truly happen.

What Lies Ahead

Do individuals he encounters still show respect to him? Will they still slip up and call him Sir? Would they say Sir,

Naturally, he is not withdrawing to suburbia, but to the monarchy's extensive property at a monarchical property.

At that location, he will be furnished by the king with one of the royal residences and given some form of private allowance.

This differs from his prior accommodation, where he paid a token payment for more than 20 years, and Norfolk is a bit far, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed.

Unresolved Issues

The situation continues. There are still records in the custody of American legislators to be disclosed.

• Political Pressure: Could parliament demand more
• Fiscal Review: Or investigate the misuse of state resources
• Legal Possibility: There may even be a criminal probe into his actions

Possibly for the moment the harm to the monarchy to the crown is limited. The narrative from the institution was plainly that the stripping of designations was what the monarch, and particularly other senior monarchical figures, wanted.

A Shift in Position

An end to deception that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, remarkably, the concise statement showed plainly that the institution were aligning with the accuser's version of events.

Furthermore, for the initial instance they eventually showed regard for the victims: "The measures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the truth that he maintains his innocence of the allegations against him."

In the end it is presumption, self-interest and inactivity that will destroy the monarchy. In his stupidity, personal excess and greed, Andrew gives the impression never to have learned that truth.