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

In the frame appeared the Earl of Inverness, with his arm around a teenage girl, while an associate smiled knowingly in the rear.

Without that snapshot, captured at a gathering in 2001, who would have believed the allegations of a teenager who stated she was moved across the Atlantic and compelled to have cursory intimate contact with a prince of the monarchy?

A strange, indicative gesture by someone who had publicly stated to have no known about her, said he could not have had relations with her, and yet paid a substantial sum of family money to settle a long-delayed lawsuit.

Over a Decade of Disgrace

Against this backdrop, talk of the royal family acting decisively to cut Andrew off are misguided. This affair has endured for the better part of 15 years since that picture, and a further image of Andrew walking amiably with a disgraced financier emerged.

• Arrogance: How long did his brothers and sisters, possibly even his mother and father, understand that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Questionable Associations: They must have understood, if his aides and the police were doing their jobs, that he had some extremely unsavory companions given he publicly welcomed them to palaces.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the family did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with public money.

Journeys were printed in official documents: helicopter flights from the palace to a sporting venue and back again in time for lunch, chartered planes instead of scheduled services, all for the benefit of "the frequent flyer".

A Life of Privilege

Furthermore the entitlement which demanded subservience when he appeared in a area or the supreme consciousness about his royal titles used on his correspondence in messages to his associates.

He avoided accountability while his mother, who strangely pampered him, was still surviving. The Queen did at least strip him of public duties and military positions in the aftermath of his catastrophic and, as revealed, mendacious public statement six years ago.

Latest Events

It was only in the last fortnight that events accelerated, following the publication of books giving more grim details of his behavior and that of his companions.

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

Society (and the press) were far in advance of the royals. There was not a single person of any consequence to speak up for him, a consequence of all those years of arrogance.

Royal Worries

The wiser monarchical figures recognized that. The primary concern is to hand down the crown, if not as before at least intact and unstained.

They have spent the last 190 years trying to overcome the legacy of earlier rulers, showing they are valuable, responsible and attentive to their people.

His actions endangered all that in jeopardy in an era when submission and secrecy is no longer adequate.

Aftermath

Eventually, the notoriously uncertain monarch was pushed further. There was no other option. The institution had relinquished authority of the story.

Presently the loss of titles and the persistent and lifetime public humiliation that will pain Andrew most severely.

• Downgrading: Lowered to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor
• Historical Precedent: The initial member to lose his honorifics in modern times
• Naval Career: Notably painful given his duty in the engagement

He remains a royal advisor, theoretically able to substitute for the sovereign, and he is still in the lineage to the crown, but not any of these will truly occur.

Future Prospects

Can persons he encounters still defer to him? Will they still slip up and call him Prince? Might they say Sir,

Of course, he is not withdrawing to an ordinary town, but to the royal family's vast property at a monarchical property.

At that location, he will be furnished by the sovereign with one of the royal residences and given some form of personal stipend.

This differs from his prior accommodation, where he paid a nominal payment for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit remote, but even so it may not be far enough.

Pending Matters

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

• Parliamentary Interest: Will legislators demand more
• Fiscal Review: Or investigate the improper use of taxpayer funds
• Legal Possibility: There may even be a police investigation into his actions

Perhaps for the time being the harm to the monarchy to the crown is contained. The statement from the institution was clearly that the stripping of designations was what the sovereign, and especially other senior monarchical figures, desired.

Changed Stance

An end to pretence that Andrew was acting willingly. And, remarkably, the short communication showed plainly that the royals were supporting the accuser's version of incidents.

Additionally, for the first time they ultimately showed consideration for the affected individuals: "The censures are deemed necessary, regardless of the fact that he persists in refuting the allegations against him."

Ultimately it is entitlement, self-interest and laziness that will kill the monarchy. In his stupidity, self-indulgence and venality, Andrew gives the impression never to have grasped that lesson.