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The saga started with a solitary photograph, arguably the most consequential ever taken of a royal family member.

There stood the Baron Killyleagh, standing closely beside a female youth, while a companion smiled conspiratorially in the background.

Lacking that photograph, shot at a gathering in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the allegations of a young woman who declared she was trafficked across the Atlantic and compelled to have cursory intimate contact with a individual of the monarchy?

A strange, revealing gesture by someone who had openly claimed to have not heard of her, claimed he could never have had sex with her, and yet provided a large amount of monarchical money to settle a long-delayed court action.

A Long Period of Disgrace

Against this backdrop, discussions of the royals acting decisively to cut Andrew off are wide of the mark. This scandal has persisted for the largest portion of 15 years since that image, and another image of Andrew walking pleasantly with a convicted sex offender surfaced.

• Self-importance: To what extent did his family members, maybe even his parents, realize that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have known, if his aides and the authorities were performing their duties, that he had some extremely unsavory associates given he publicly welcomed them to royal residences.
• Monetary Excess: If the family did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his overspending with public money.

Travel were printed in public records: helicopter flights from the estate to a sporting venue and back again in time for midday meal, exclusive air travel instead of regular transport, all for the benefit of "the frequent flyer".

World of Deference

Furthermore the entitlement which demanded deference when he walked into a room or the supreme consciousness about his royal titles used on his correspondence in communication to his friends.

He avoided accountability while his mother, who unaccountably spoiled him, was still surviving. The sovereign did at least strip him of official roles and military positions in the wake of his disastrous and, it is now clear, mendacious media appearance six years ago.

Current Situation

It was only in the last two weeks that events accelerated, following the release of biographical works giving more disturbing details of his behavior and that of his companions.

Further disclosures have again revealed Andrew's assumption that he could escape being untruthful about his interaction with a convicted criminal.

The public (and the journalists) were far in advance of the royals. There was nobody of any consequence to defend him, a result of all those years of arrogance.

Monarchical Concerns

The more intelligent family members recognized that. The primary concern is to transfer the crown, if not as before at least whole and untarnished.

Over time the last 190 years trying to overcome the image of previous monarchs, demonstrating they are beneficial, responsible and reactive to their citizens.

His actions endangered all that in jeopardy in an age when deference and privacy is no longer adequate.

Aftermath

Eventually, the well-known uncertain sovereign was prodded more. There was little choice. The royal household had surrendered command of the narrative.

Now it is the stripping of honorifics and the continued and life-long social disgrace that will hurt Andrew most deeply.

• Reduction: Reduced to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor
• Past Example: The initial royal to forfeit his designations in recent history
• Military Service: Particularly painful given his duty in the Falklands war

He remains a counsellor of state, on paper able to stand in for the king, and he is still eighth in line to the monarchy, but none of these will actually come to pass.

What Lies Ahead

Will people he meets still acknowledge him? Might they still forget themselves and call him Your Highness? Will they even say Sir,

Of course, he is not moving to suburbia, but to the royal family's extensive property at Sandringham.

At that location, he will be supplied by the monarch with one of the estate properties and given some type of private allowance.

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

Pending Matters

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

• Political Pressure: Will parliament seek further action
• Fiscal Review: Or examine the improper use of public money
• Judicial Potential: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his actions

Possibly for the time being the institutional damage to the crown is restricted. The message from the royal household was evidently that the removal of titles was what the king, and notably other senior family members, sought.

Changed Stance

The cessation of illusion that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, notably, the concise statement showed plainly that the monarchy were siding with the victim's version of occurrences.

Additionally, for the premiere occasion they ultimately showed regard for the survivors: "The censures are deemed necessary, despite the fact that he persists in refuting the claims against him."

Finally it is presumption, selfishness and laziness that will destroy the institution. In his stupidity, self-indulgence and venality, Andrew seems never to have grasped that lesson.