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

There stood the Earl of Inverness, arm-in-arm a young woman, while an associate smiled conspiratorially in the rear.

Without that photograph, taken at a party in 2001, few would have credited the assertions of a teenager who declared she was trafficked across the sea and obliged to have brief relations with a individual of the royal bloodline?

An odd, telling gesture by someone who had publicly stated to have no been aware of her, claimed he could never have had intimate contact with her, and yet provided a large amount of monarchical funds to avert a protracted legal case.

Years of Scandal

In this context, discussions of the royals acting decisively to sever ties with Andrew are inaccurate. This scandal has persisted for the better part of 15 years since that picture, and a further image of Andrew ambling congenially with a convicted sex offender emerged.

• Arrogance: How long did his brothers and sisters, perhaps even his relatives, know that Andrew was so self-entitled?
• Problematic Connections: They must have known, if his aides and the authorities were doing their jobs, that he had some extremely unsavory associates given he unabashedly welcomed them to royal residences.
• Monetary Excess: If the household did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with state resources.

Travel were printed in royal annual reports: chopper transfers from the estate to a golf course and back again in time for lunch, private flights instead of scheduled services, all for the convenience of "the frequent flyer".

A Life of Privilege

Furthermore the arrogance which demanded respect when he appeared in a area or the profound awareness about his royal titles used on his letterheads in communication to his friends.

He managed to escape consequences while his matriarch, who unaccountably pampered him, was still living. The monarch did at least revoke him of royal responsibilities and ceremonial ranks in the aftermath of his disastrous and, it is now clear, untruthful public statement six years ago.

Latest Events

Merely in the last two weeks that events progressed rapidly, following the publication of accounts giving more grim information of his behavior and that of his companions.

Further disclosures have again exposed Andrew's belief that he could avoid lying about his relationship with a notorious figure.

The public (and the journalists) were far ahead of the royals. There was not a single person of any consequence to defend him, a consequence of all those years of presumption.

Royal Worries

The wiser family members understood that. The one imperative is to hand down the monarchy, if not as previously at least whole and unblemished.

They have spent the last 190 years trying to reverse the legacy of past sovereigns, showing they are useful, accountable and attentive to their citizens.

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

Aftermath

Eventually, the famously uncertain sovereign was pushed additional. There was little choice. The institution had relinquished authority of the account.

Currently the loss of honorifics and the ongoing and lifetime personal shame that will hurt Andrew most deeply.

• Reduction: Demoted to just a private citizen
• Historical Precedent: The primary monarch to lose his honorifics in recent history
• Naval Career: Particularly stinging given his service in the engagement

He continues to be a constitutional officer, on paper able to act for the king, and he is still eighth in line to the throne, but neither of these will ever happen.

Future Prospects

Do individuals he meets still defer to him? Could they still slip up and call him Prince? Will they even say Sir,

Naturally, he is not withdrawing to suburbia, but to the sovereign's extensive property at a monarchical property.

In that place, he will be furnished by the sovereign with one of the estate properties and given some form of financial support.

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

Outstanding Concerns

Matters remain unresolved. There are still records in the possession of overseas authorities to be made public.

• Governmental Scrutiny: Might legislators seek further action
• Financial Investigation: Or scrutinize the improper use of state resources
• Judicial Potential: There may even be a police investigation into his conduct

Possibly for the present the institutional damage to the institution is limited. The narrative from the institution was plainly that the stripping of honorifics was what the monarch, and especially other senior monarchical figures, desired.

A Shift in Position

The cessation of deception that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, notably, the short communication showed evidently that the monarchy were supporting the accuser's account of events.

Additionally, for the first time they eventually showed regard for the survivors: "The measures are judged required, notwithstanding the truth that he persists in refuting the allegations against him."

Finally it is entitlement, self-seeking and inactivity that will undermine the crown. In his foolishness, self-gratification and greed, Andrew appears never to have understood that truth.