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It all began with a single photograph, arguably the most consequential ever snapped of a royal family member.

There stood the Baron Killyleagh, with his arm around a female youth, while a companion grinned knowingly in the rear.

Without that snapshot, taken at a social event in 2001, who would have believed the assertions of a adolescent who declared she was trafficked across the ocean and obliged to have brief intimate contact with a individual of the royal family?

A strange, telling action by someone who had openly stated to have not been aware of her, claimed he could no have had relations with her, and yet provided a large amount of his mother's funds to avert a drawn-out legal case.

Over a Decade of Scandal

Considering this, talk of the monarchy acting swiftly to sever ties with Andrew are misguided. This affair has endured for the majority of 15 years since that image, and a further snapshot of Andrew walking pleasantly with a disgraced financier came to light.

• Hubris: To what extent did his brothers and sisters, maybe even his relatives, understand that Andrew was so self-entitled?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have realized, if his staff and the police were doing their jobs, that he had some highly questionable companions given he publicly hosted them to palaces.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the monarchy did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with state resources.

Trips were documented in royal annual reports: helicopter transfers from the estate to a golf course and back again in time for midday meal, chartered planes instead of scheduled services, all for the comfort of "the frequent flyer".

World of Deference

Additionally the arrogance which required respect when he appeared in a room or the extreme consciousness about his designations used on his correspondence in communication to his friends.

He avoided accountability while his parent, who inexplicably spoiled him, was still living. The monarch did at least remove him of royal responsibilities and military positions in the consequence of his catastrophic and, it is now clear, untruthful media appearance six years ago.

Current Situation

It was only in the last two weeks that events progressed rapidly, following the release of biographical works giving more grim details of his conduct and that of his associates.

Further disclosures have again exposed Andrew's thinking that he could avoid deceiving about his contact with a disgraced individual.

People (and the media) were far in advance of the monarchy. There was no one of any consequence to defend him, a outcome of all those years of presumption.

Royal Worries

The more astute monarchical figures understood that. The primary concern is to pass on the crown, if not as heretofore at least complete and unblemished.

They have spent the last 190 years trying to overcome the image of past sovereigns, showing they are valuable, dutiful and reactive to their citizens.

Andrew was putting all that in jeopardy in an era when submission and secrecy is no longer enough.

Consequences

Ultimately, the notoriously hesitant sovereign was pressured additional. There was no other option. The royal household had lost control of the account.

Presently the stripping of honorifics and the ongoing and life-long personal shame that will pain Andrew most deeply.

• Demotion: Reduced to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor
• Past Example: The initial royal to lose his designations in contemporary era
• Military Service: Notably stinging given his duty in the engagement

He continues to be a royal advisor, in principle able to substitute for the king, and he is still in the lineage to the crown, but not any of these will ever occur.

What Lies Ahead

Will people he comes across still defer to him? Could they still forget themselves and call him Sir? Would they say Mr,

Certainly, he is not moving to a common area, but to the sovereign's vast grounds at Sandringham.

At that location, he will be provided by the monarch with one of the estate properties and given some sort of personal stipend.

It is not his former home, where he paid a minimal lease for more than 20 years, and the area is a bit far, but even so it may not be far enough.

Unresolved Issues

The situation continues. There are still documents in the custody of overseas authorities to be revealed.

• Political Pressure: Might legislators demand more
• Fiscal Review: Or investigate the improper use of public money
• Legal Possibility: There may even be a police investigation into his behavior

Perhaps for the moment the reputational impact to the institution is restricted. The statement from the institution was clearly that the stripping of honorifics was what the monarch, and particularly other senior royals, wanted.

Altered Approach

The cessation of pretence that Andrew was acting willingly. And, notably, the short statement showed evidently that the royals were supporting the victim's account of occurrences.

Additionally, for the initial instance they ultimately showed concern for the survivors: "The measures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the reality that he continues to deny the allegations against him."

In the end it is arrogance, self-seeking and indolence that will destroy the institution. In his foolishness, personal excess and venality, Andrew gives the impression never to have grasped that lesson.