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The saga started with a isolated photograph, arguably the most significant ever captured of a member of the monarchy.

Present was the Earl of Inverness, arm-in-arm a young woman, while an associate smiled knowingly in the background.

Absent that image, captured at a social event in 2001, who would have believed the allegations of a young woman who said she was moved across the ocean and obliged to have perfunctory relations with a member of the royal bloodline?

An odd, indicative move by someone who had publicly asserted to have no known about her, asserted he could not have had sex with her, and yet paid a large amount of his mother's funds to settle a drawn-out lawsuit.

Over a Decade of Disgrace

Considering this, discussions of the royals acting swiftly to sever ties with Andrew are misguided. This controversy has endured for the better part of 15 years since that photograph, and an additional snapshot of Andrew strolling amiably with a notorious individual surfaced.

• Arrogance: To what extent did his family members, perhaps even his parents, know that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Questionable Associations: They must have understood, if his aides and the police were doing their jobs, that he had some deeply disreputable associates given he openly hosted them to palaces.
• Monetary Excess: If the monarchy did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his overspending with state resources.

Travel were printed in royal annual reports: private aircraft flights from the estate to a country club and back again in time for dining, exclusive air travel instead of commercial flights, all for the convenience of "the frequent flyer".

A Life of Privilege

Furthermore the presumption which demanded subservience when he walked into a area or the supreme awareness about his honorifics used on his letterheads in letters to his friends.

He managed to escape consequences while his matriarch, who strangely indulged him, was still surviving. The monarch did at least strip him of royal responsibilities and honorary colonelcies in the consequence of his ill-fated and, as revealed, untruthful media appearance six years ago.

Recent Developments

It was only in the last 14 days that events accelerated, following the issuance of accounts giving more troubling details of his conduct and that of his connections.

More information have again exposed Andrew's thinking that he could escape being untruthful about his interaction with a disgraced individual.

People (and the press) were far in advance of the royal family. There was no one of any consequence to support him, a consequence of all those years of hubris.

Royal Worries

The wiser family members understood that. The one imperative is to hand down the crown, if not as before at least complete and unblemished.

Over time the last 190 years trying to overcome the image of earlier rulers, showing they are beneficial, responsible and responsive to their people.

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

Aftermath

Eventually, the notoriously indecisive king was pushed more. There was no alternative. The palace had relinquished authority of the narrative.

Currently the removal of designations and the ongoing and lifetime personal shame that will pain Andrew most severely.

• Demotion: Lowered to just a private citizen
• Past Example: The first member to forfeit his honorifics in modern times
• Military Service: Notably hurtful given his role in the conflict

He remains a royal advisor, theoretically able to stand in for the king, and he is still in the lineage to the monarchy, but none of these will truly come to pass.

What Lies Ahead

Do individuals he meets still show respect to him? Might they still make mistakes and call him Your Highness? Might they say Mr,

Certainly, he is not moving to an ordinary town, but to the monarchy's large property at a monarchical property.

There, he will be provided by the sovereign with one of the royal residences and given some form of personal stipend.

This is not his former home, where he paid a token rent for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit remote, but even so it may not be adequate distance.

Outstanding Concerns

This is not over. There are still documents in the hands of US Congress to be made public.

• Political Pressure: Might lawmakers demand more
• Fiscal Review: Or investigate the waste of state resources
• Judicial Potential: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his conduct

Maybe for the time being the institutional damage to the institution is restricted. The narrative from the palace was clearly that the stripping of titles was what the king, and notably other senior monarchical figures, desired.

Changed Stance

The cessation of illusion that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, remarkably, the short announcement showed plainly that the monarchy were siding with the complainant's narrative of incidents.

Furthermore, for the initial instance they eventually showed regard for the survivors: "The measures are considered essential, despite the fact that he maintains his innocence of the allegations against him."

Finally it is entitlement, self-interest and laziness that will kill the monarchy. In his stupidity, personal excess and corruption, Andrew gives the impression never to have understood that lesson.