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It all began with a solitary photograph, possibly the most consequential ever snapped of a member of the monarchy.

There stood the Earl of Inverness, arm-in-arm a female youth, while a companion grinned suggestively in the rear.

Lacking that snapshot, shot at a social event in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the assertions of a young woman who said she was trafficked across the ocean and obliged to have perfunctory intimate contact with a member of the royal bloodline?

A curious, indicative gesture by someone who had openly asserted to have not known about her, claimed he could never have had intimate contact with her, and yet provided a substantial sum of his mother's resources to settle a drawn-out legal case.

Over a Decade of Disgrace

Against this backdrop, talk of the monarchy acting firmly to cut Andrew off are wide of the mark. This controversy has continued for the better part of 15 years since that picture, and an additional snapshot of Andrew strolling amiably with a notorious individual emerged.

• Hubris: To what extent did his brothers and sisters, maybe even his parents, know that Andrew was so arrogant?
• Problematic Connections: They must have understood, if his staff and the police were doing their jobs, that he had some highly questionable companions given he openly welcomed them to estates.
• Monetary Excess: If the monarchy did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his extravagance with public money.

Journeys were printed in public records: private aircraft travel from the palace to a sporting venue and back again in time for dining, chartered planes instead of regular transport, all for the convenience of "the travel enthusiast".

World of Deference

Then there was the presumption which demanded deference when he entered a area or the extreme obsession about his designations used on his official documents in communication to his personal acquaintances.

He managed to escape consequences while his mother, who unaccountably indulged him, was still alive. The Queen did at least revoke him of royal responsibilities and honorary colonelcies in the wake of his catastrophic and, it is now clear, untruthful public statement six years ago.

Current Situation

It was only in the last fortnight that events progressed rapidly, following the release of biographical works giving more disturbing information of his actions and that of his companions.

More information have again revealed Andrew's assumption that he could escape lying about his contact with a notorious figure.

The public (and the press) were far ahead of the royals. There was nobody of any consequence to speak up for him, a consequence of all those years of hubris.

Institutional Fears

The wiser monarchical figures realized that. The primary concern is to hand down the institution, if not as before at least whole and untarnished.

They have spent the last 190 years trying to overcome the reputation of earlier rulers, showing they are beneficial, accountable and attentive to their people.

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

Consequences

Finally, the notoriously hesitant monarch was prodded further. There was no alternative. The royal household had relinquished authority of the account.

Now it is the loss of titles and the persistent and life-long public humiliation that will hurt Andrew most deeply.

• Demotion: Demoted to just a private citizen
• Historical Precedent: The primary royal to surrender his honorifics in contemporary era
• Naval Career: Especially hurtful given his service in the engagement

He continues to be a constitutional officer, on paper able to substitute for the sovereign, and he is still eighth in line to the crown, but not any of these will actually happen.

Coming Developments

Will people he encounters still acknowledge him? Will they still forget themselves and call him Prince? Will they even say Sir,

Naturally, he is not withdrawing to an ordinary town, but to the royal family's vast grounds at Sandringham.

In that place, he will be provided by the sovereign with one of the grace and favour houses and given some form of private allowance.

It is not his prior accommodation, where he paid a minimal lease for more than 20 years, and the area is a bit distant, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed.

Unresolved Issues

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

• Political Pressure: Could lawmakers demand more
• Financial Investigation: Or examine the improper use of taxpayer funds
• Legal Possibility: There may even be a criminal probe into his actions

Maybe for the present the reputational impact to the institution is restricted. The message from the palace was clearly that the revocation of honorifics was what the sovereign, and particularly other senior royals, wanted.

Changed Stance

An end to illusion that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, notably, the short announcement showed evidently that the monarchy were supporting the victim's account of occurrences.

Additionally, for the first time they eventually showed consideration for the victims: "The censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the reality that he persists in refuting the allegations against him."

In the end it is presumption, self-seeking and indolence that will destroy the crown. In his folly, self-indulgence and venality, Andrew gives the impression never to have learned that reality.