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

Present was the Duke of York, with his arm around a young woman, while an associate beamed conspiratorially in the rear.

Absent that snapshot, captured at a gathering in 2001, few would have credited the assertions of a adolescent who said she was trafficked across the Atlantic and compelled to have brief sexual encounters with a prince of the royal bloodline?

An odd, revealing gesture by someone who had overtly asserted to have not heard of her, said he could no have had intimate contact with her, and yet handed over a substantial sum of family resources to resolve a protracted lawsuit.

A Long Period of Disgrace

In this context, discussions of the royals acting firmly to sever ties with Andrew are inaccurate. This scandal has continued for the better part of 15 years since that image, and an additional snapshot of Andrew walking pleasantly with a disgraced financier came to light.

• Arrogance: How long did his siblings, possibly even his relatives, realize that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Questionable Associations: They must have realized, if his staff and the law enforcement were fulfilling their roles, that he had some deeply disreputable friends given he openly welcomed them to royal residences.
• Monetary Excess: If the monarchy did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his overspending with taxpayer funds.

Trips were listed in official documents: helicopter travel from the estate to a golf course and back again in time for midday meal, private flights instead of scheduled services, all for the benefit of "the frequent flyer".

A Life of Privilege

Additionally the arrogance which demanded respect when he appeared in a room or the supreme obsession about his honorifics used on his correspondence in letters to his personal acquaintances.

He avoided accountability while his mother, who inexplicably spoiled him, was still alive. The monarch did at least remove him of royal responsibilities and military positions in the wake of his catastrophic and, we now know, untruthful public statement six years ago.

Current Situation

It was only in the last 14 days that events progressed rapidly, following the issuance of accounts giving more troubling particulars of his behavior and that of his companions.

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

The public (and the journalists) were far in advance of the monarchy. There was not a single person of any consequence to support him, a outcome of all those years of presumption.

Royal Worries

The more intelligent monarchical figures recognized that. The primary concern is to pass on the monarchy, if not as previously at least intact and unstained.

Over time the last 190 years trying to overcome the legacy of previous monarchs, proving they are valuable, dutiful and responsive to their citizens.

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

Consequences

Eventually, the notoriously indecisive sovereign was pushed further. There was little choice. The palace had relinquished authority of the account.

Presently the stripping of titles and the persistent and permanent personal shame that will hurt Andrew the most.

• Demotion: Demoted to just a private citizen
• Historical Precedent: The initial royal to lose his honorifics in contemporary era
• Naval Career: Notably painful given his duty in the Falklands war

He remains a constitutional officer, on paper able to substitute for the king, and he is still in the succession to the throne, but neither of these will truly come to pass.

What Lies Ahead

Do individuals he encounters still acknowledge him? Might they still forget themselves and call him Sir? Would they say Andrew,

Of course, he is not withdrawing to suburbia, but to the sovereign's large estate at a royal residence.

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

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

Outstanding Concerns

This is not over. There are still documents in the custody of US Congress to be revealed.

• Governmental Scrutiny: Could lawmakers request additional information
• Fiscal Review: Or investigate the waste of taxpayer funds
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his conduct

Maybe for the present the harm to the monarchy to the monarchy is restricted. The statement from the palace was plainly that the revocation of titles was what the king, and especially other senior monarchical figures, wanted.

Altered Approach

An end to pretence that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, remarkably, the concise communication showed clearly that the royals were siding with the accuser's account of occurrences.

Additionally, for the first time they finally showed concern for the victims: "The measures are considered essential, notwithstanding the reality that he continues to deny the accusations against him."

Finally it is entitlement, self-interest and laziness that will destroy the institution. In his foolishness, personal excess and greed, Andrew appears never to have understood that truth.