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It all began with a solitary photograph, possibly the most impactful ever taken of a individual from the royal household.

There stood the Baron Killyleagh, arm-in-arm a female youth, while a companion smiled knowingly in the rear.

Without that image, taken at a gathering in 2001, few would have credited the claims of a adolescent who said she was trafficked across the sea and compelled to have brief sexual encounters with a individual of the royal bloodline?

A strange, indicative gesture by someone who had openly claimed to have no been aware of her, claimed he could no have had sex with her, and yet paid millions of family resources to avert a long-delayed lawsuit.

A Long Period of Scandal

In this context, talk of the royals acting firmly to cut Andrew off are misguided. This scandal has persisted for the better part of 15 years since that image, and an additional photo of Andrew strolling congenially with a convicted sex offender surfaced.

• Hubris: For what duration did his brothers and sisters, perhaps even his parents, know that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have realized, if his aides and the authorities were doing their jobs, that he had some extremely unsavory friends given he publicly invited them to estates.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the family did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his overspending with state resources.

Travel were listed in public records: helicopter travel from the palace to a sporting venue and back again in time for lunch, chartered planes instead of regular transport, all for the convenience of "the frequent flyer".

World of Deference

Then there was the arrogance which demanded deference when he entered a area or the profound awareness about his honorifics used on his official documents in messages to his associates.

He avoided accountability while his matriarch, who strangely spoiled him, was still living. The Queen did at least revoke him of official roles and ceremonial ranks in the aftermath of his catastrophic and, as revealed, untruthful media appearance six years ago.

Latest Events

Just in the last two weeks that events accelerated, following the publication of biographical works giving more grim information of his actions and that of his connections.

Further disclosures have again highlighted Andrew's assumption that he could avoid being untruthful about his relationship with a disgraced individual.

Society (and the media) were far ahead of the royal family. There was nobody of any significance to support him, a outcome of all those years of arrogance.

Institutional Fears

The more intelligent family members understood that. The one imperative is to transfer the crown, if not as heretofore at least complete and unblemished.

For generations the last 190 years trying to reverse the legacy of earlier rulers, proving they are useful, responsible and attentive to their subjects.

He was placing all that in jeopardy in an time when deference and privacy is no longer enough.

Consequences

Finally, the notoriously uncertain monarch was pressured more. There was little choice. The institution had surrendered command of the story.

Now it is the stripping of designations and the ongoing and life-long social disgrace that will pain Andrew most deeply.

• Reduction: Demoted to just a private citizen
• Prior Instance: The primary member to lose his designations in recent history
• Armed Forces: Notably stinging given his duty in the engagement

He continues to be a constitutional officer, theoretically able to substitute for the monarch, and he is still in the lineage to the crown, but neither of these will actually occur.

What Lies Ahead

Do individuals he comes across still acknowledge him? Could they still slip up and call him Prince? Will they even say Mr,

Naturally, he is not retiring to an ordinary town, but to the royal family's extensive estate at Sandringham.

In that place, he will be supplied by the monarch with one of the royal residences and given some type of private allowance.

This differs from his former home, where he paid a nominal rent for more than 20 years, and Norfolk is a bit far, but even so it may not be far enough.

Pending Matters

This is not over. There are still records in the hands of American legislators to be made public.

• Political Pressure: Might parliament demand more
• Financial Investigation: Or scrutinize the waste of public money
• Judicial Potential: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his behavior

Possibly for the present the reputational impact to the crown is contained. The narrative from the royal household was plainly that the removal of designations was what the sovereign, and especially other senior monarchical figures, desired.

Altered Approach

No more deception that Andrew was acting willingly. And, significantly, the concise statement showed plainly that the royals were aligning with the victim's narrative of occurrences.

Even more, for the premiere occasion they ultimately showed regard for the victims: "The measures are judged required, regardless of the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him."

Ultimately it is arrogance, self-interest and laziness that will undermine the monarchy. In his foolishness, self-gratification and venality, Andrew gives the impression never to have understood that lesson.