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It all began with a solitary photograph, arguably the most significant ever captured of a individual from the royal household.

There stood the Duke of York, with his arm around a female youth, while another individual beamed knowingly in the rear.

Absent that snapshot, shot at a gathering in 2001, few would have credited the claims of a teenager who declared she was trafficked across the ocean and obliged to have cursory relations with a prince of the royal family?

A curious, revealing gesture by someone who had publicly stated to have no heard of her, asserted he could never have had relations with her, and yet handed over a large amount of his mother's funds to avert a protracted court action.

Years of Controversy

Considering this, talk of the monarchy acting swiftly to distance themselves from Andrew are misguided. This affair has endured for the largest portion of 15 years since that picture, and an additional photo of Andrew walking congenially with a convicted sex offender came to light.

• Hubris: For what duration did his siblings, perhaps even his mother and father, know that Andrew was so arrogant?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have realized, if his employees and the authorities were doing their jobs, that he had some deeply disreputable friends given he unabashedly invited them to palaces.
• Financial Extravagance: If the family did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his overspending with state resources.

Trips were printed in public records: helicopter flights from the estate to a country club and back again in time for lunch, private flights instead of regular transport, all for the benefit of "the frequent flyer".

Existence of Entitlement

Then there was the entitlement which demanded subservience when he entered a space or the extreme awareness about his designations used on his official documents in communication to his personal acquaintances.

He could get away with it while his parent, who strangely indulged him, was still surviving. The monarch did at least revoke him of royal responsibilities and ceremonial ranks in the wake of his catastrophic and, it is now clear, untruthful media appearance six years ago.

Current Situation

Just in the last two weeks that events accelerated, following the release of biographical works giving more grim information of his conduct and that of his associates.

Further disclosures have again revealed Andrew's belief that he could get away with lying about his interaction with a convicted criminal.

Society (and the media) were far in advance of the monarchy. There was nobody of any significance to support him, a outcome of all those years of presumption.

Institutional Fears

The more astute royals recognized that. The primary concern is to pass on the institution, if not as heretofore at least whole and unstained.

They have spent the last 190 years trying to reverse the legacy of earlier rulers, demonstrating they are beneficial, responsible and reactive to their citizens.

Andrew was putting all that in jeopardy in an time when deference and secrecy is no longer adequate.

The Fallout

Eventually, the notoriously uncertain monarch was pressured further. There was no alternative. The institution had surrendered command of the narrative.

Presently the stripping of titles and the persistent and life-long social disgrace that will hurt Andrew the most.

• Demotion: Demoted to just a commoner
• Past Example: The primary monarch to surrender his designations in contemporary era
• Naval Career: Notably hurtful given his service in the Falklands war

He remains a royal advisor, in principle able to substitute for the king, and he is still eighth in line to the monarchy, but neither of these will ever occur.

Future Prospects

Do individuals he comes across still acknowledge him? Could they still forget themselves and call him Your Highness? Might they say Andrew,

Of course, he is not withdrawing to suburbia, but to the sovereign's vast grounds at a monarchical property.

In that place, he will be supplied by the king with one of the grace and favour houses and given some sort of personal stipend.

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

Unresolved Issues

This is not over. There are still records in the possession of overseas authorities to be revealed.

• Political Pressure: Might lawmakers request additional information
• Financial Investigation: Or scrutinize the waste of taxpayer funds
• Legal Possibility: There may even be a criminal probe into his actions

Maybe for the present the reputational impact to the monarchy is limited. The narrative from the institution was clearly that the revocation of designations was what the sovereign, and especially other senior monarchical figures, wanted.

A Shift in Position

The cessation of deception that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, notably, the brief announcement showed clearly that the institution were supporting the accuser's account of incidents.

Even more, for the first time they ultimately showed consideration for the affected individuals: "The censures are considered essential, despite the fact that he persists in refuting the allegations against him."

In the end it is arrogance, self-interest and laziness that will undermine the crown. In his folly, personal excess and corruption, Andrew gives the impression never to have grasped that truth.