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It all began with a solitary photograph, perhaps the most impactful ever captured of a member of the monarchy.

In the frame appeared the Earl of Inverness, standing closely beside a female youth, while another individual grinned conspiratorially in the rear.

Lacking that image, shot at a gathering in 2001, who would have believed the assertions of a teenager who declared she was moved across the sea and compelled to have brief relations with a individual of the royal bloodline?

An odd, revealing move by someone who had publicly claimed to have not known about her, said he could not have had relations with her, and yet paid millions of his mother's funds to resolve a long-delayed court action.

Years of Scandal

Against this backdrop, conversations of the monarchy acting decisively to sever ties with Andrew are misguided. This affair has continued for the better part of 15 years since that photograph, and another photo of Andrew strolling congenially with a convicted sex offender surfaced.

• Arrogance: To what extent did his brothers and sisters, perhaps even his mother and father, know that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Problematic Connections: They must have known, if his aides and the authorities were fulfilling their roles, that he had some highly questionable friends given he publicly hosted them to estates.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the monarchy did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his extravagance with taxpayer funds.

Trips were listed in official documents: private aircraft flights from the estate to a country club and back again in time for dining, private flights instead of scheduled services, all for the comfort of "the travel enthusiast".

World of Deference

Furthermore the presumption which required deference when he walked into a area or the supreme consciousness about his designations used on his official documents in letters to his friends.

He could get away with it while his matriarch, who unaccountably indulged him, was still living. The Queen did at least strip him of royal responsibilities and honorary colonelcies in the aftermath of his disastrous and, it is now clear, untruthful television interview six years ago.

Recent Developments

It was only in the last fortnight that events accelerated, following the publication of accounts giving more grim information of his actions and that of his companions.

Further disclosures have again exposed Andrew's belief that he could avoid deceiving about his relationship with a convicted criminal.

Society (and the press) were far in advance of the royals. There was not a single person of any importance to defend him, a result of all those years of arrogance.

Monarchical Concerns

The more intelligent monarchical figures realized that. The primary concern is to pass on the crown, if not as previously at least intact and untarnished.

Over time the last 190 years trying to reverse the legacy of previous monarchs, showing they are beneficial, accountable and responsive to their people.

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

Consequences

Ultimately, the notoriously uncertain sovereign was prodded more. There was no other option. The institution had lost control of the narrative.

Presently the removal of titles and the ongoing and lifetime personal shame that will pain Andrew the most.

• Demotion: Lowered to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor
• Past Example: The initial member to surrender his designations in modern times
• Naval Career: Particularly hurtful given his service in the conflict

He is still a royal advisor, theoretically able to act for the monarch, and he is still in the lineage to the crown, but not any of these will ever come to pass.

Coming Developments

Can persons he meets still acknowledge him? Could they still make mistakes and call him Your Highness? Will they even say Mr,

Certainly, he is not moving to a common area, but to the sovereign's large grounds at a royal residence.

There, he will be provided by the king with one of the grace and favour houses and given some type of personal stipend.

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

Outstanding Concerns

Matters remain unresolved. There are still records in the custody of American legislators to be made public.

• Governmental Scrutiny: Might legislators request additional information
• Monetary Probe: Or investigate the misuse of public money
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a criminal probe into his actions

Perhaps for the time being the institutional damage to the monarchy is restricted. The narrative from the royal household was clearly that the revocation of honorifics was what the king, and particularly other senior royals, desired.

Altered Approach

No more illusion that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, remarkably, the brief announcement showed evidently that the institution were siding with the accuser's account of incidents.

Furthermore, for the premiere occasion they eventually showed consideration for the victims: "The censures are judged required, despite the truth that he continues to deny the accusations against him."

Finally it is entitlement, self-seeking and laziness that will destroy the institution. In his folly, self-indulgence and corruption, Andrew gives the impression never to have understood that lesson.