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It all began with a isolated photograph, possibly the most significant ever taken of a member of the monarchy.

In the frame appeared the Earl of Inverness, with his arm around a teenage girl, while a companion smiled knowingly in the background.

Absent that image, taken at a social event in 2001, few would have credited the claims of a adolescent who said she was transported across the Atlantic and compelled to have cursory sexual encounters with a prince of the monarchy?

An odd, telling gesture by someone who had overtly asserted to have never known about her, said he could never have had sex with her, and yet provided a substantial sum of his mother's resources to resolve a drawn-out legal case.

Years of Controversy

Against this backdrop, discussions of the royals acting swiftly to sever ties with Andrew are wide of the mark. This scandal has continued for the majority of 15 years since that image, and a further photo of Andrew walking pleasantly with a convicted sex offender surfaced.

• Arrogance: How long did his family members, possibly even his mother and father, know that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Problematic Connections: They must have known, if his aides and the law enforcement were performing their duties, that he had some highly questionable friends given he publicly hosted them to palaces.
• Financial Extravagance: If the household did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his overspending with state resources.

Trips were printed in royal annual reports: chopper transfers from the royal residence to a golf course and back again in time for midday meal, private flights instead of regular transport, all for the convenience of "Airmiles Andy".

World of Deference

Then there was the arrogance which demanded respect when he appeared in a space or the supreme consciousness about his designations used on his official documents in communication to his personal acquaintances.

He could get away with it while his parent, who inexplicably spoiled him, was still alive. The sovereign did at least strip him of public duties and honorary colonelcies in the aftermath of his disastrous and, we now know, mendacious public statement six years ago.

Current Situation

It was only in the last 14 days that events accelerated, following the publication of biographical works giving more disturbing particulars of his behavior and that of his companions.

More information have again revealed Andrew's assumption that he could avoid being untruthful about his contact with a convicted criminal.

The public (and the press) were far in advance of the monarchy. There was no one of any consequence to support him, a result of all those years of hubris.

Royal Worries

The wiser family members recognized that. The key objective is to pass on the institution, if not as before at least whole and unstained.

For generations the last 190 years trying to undo the legacy of previous monarchs, proving they are useful, accountable and responsive to their citizens.

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

Consequences

Eventually, the well-known hesitant monarch was prodded more. There was no other option. The institution had lost control of the account.

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

• Downgrading: Lowered to just a commoner
• Past Example: The primary monarch to forfeit his designations in recent history
• Armed Forces: Notably hurtful given his service in the Falklands war

He is still a royal advisor, in principle able to substitute for the king, and he is still eighth in line to the crown, but none of these will ever happen.

Future Prospects

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

Naturally, he is not withdrawing to a common area, but to the royal family's vast property at a royal residence.

At that location, he will be furnished by the king with one of the grace and favour houses and given some form of financial support.

This differs from his prior accommodation, where he paid a nominal lease for more than 20 years, and the area is a bit distant, but even so it may not be far enough.

Outstanding Concerns

This is not over. There are still records in the custody of US Congress to be revealed.

• Governmental Scrutiny: Might lawmakers seek further action
• Fiscal Review: Or scrutinize the waste of public money
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his behavior

Possibly for the moment the reputational impact to the institution is contained. The message from the royal household was plainly that the revocation of honorifics was what the monarch, and especially other senior royals, sought.

Changed Stance

No more illusion that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, significantly, the concise announcement showed clearly that the institution were aligning with the accuser's narrative of incidents.

Additionally, for the initial instance they finally showed concern for the survivors: "The measures are judged required, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the accusations against him."

In the end it is presumption, self-seeking and inactivity that will undermine the crown. In his foolishness, self-gratification and venality, Andrew appears never to have grasped that reality.