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The saga started with a single photograph, arguably the most impactful ever taken of a member of the monarchy.

In the frame appeared the Duke of York, arm-in-arm a female youth, while an associate beamed suggestively in the rear.

Lacking that snapshot, captured at a gathering in 2001, who would have believed the allegations of a adolescent who stated she was trafficked across the ocean and obliged to have brief sexual encounters with a member of the royal bloodline?

A strange, indicative action by someone who had openly stated to have no known about her, said he could not have had relations with her, and yet paid millions of family funds to avert a drawn-out legal case.

Over a Decade of Disgrace

Against this backdrop, talk of the royals acting decisively to cut Andrew off are wide of the mark. This affair has endured for the largest portion of 15 years since that image, and a further photo of Andrew ambling amiably with a convicted sex offender came to light.

• Arrogance: For what duration did his family members, maybe even his parents, know that Andrew was so self-entitled?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have realized, if his staff and the police were fulfilling their roles, that he had some deeply disreputable friends given he unabashedly welcomed them to palaces.
• Monetary Excess: If the family did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with taxpayer funds.

Travel were printed in public records: chopper travel from the estate to a golf course and back again in time for dining, private flights instead of commercial flights, all for the benefit of "the travel enthusiast".

World of Deference

Furthermore the entitlement which required subservience when he walked into a room or the extreme consciousness about his honorifics used on his letterheads in communication to his personal acquaintances.

He avoided accountability while his matriarch, who unaccountably pampered him, was still alive. The sovereign did at least revoke him of royal responsibilities and ceremonial ranks in the wake of his disastrous and, as revealed, deceptive media appearance six years ago.

Current Situation

It was only in the last 14 days that events accelerated, following the issuance of biographical works giving more disturbing particulars of his conduct and that of his associates.

Further disclosures have again revealed Andrew's thinking that he could escape deceiving about his interaction with a convicted criminal.

People (and the press) were far ahead of the monarchy. There was no one of any importance to defend him, a outcome of all those years of hubris.

Royal Worries

The more astute royals realized that. The one imperative is to pass on the monarchy, if not as heretofore at least intact and untarnished.

Over time the last 190 years trying to reverse the reputation of previous monarchs, proving they are useful, responsible and reactive to their people.

He was placing all that in peril in an age when submission and secrecy is no longer adequate.

Consequences

Eventually, the famously uncertain sovereign was pressured more. There was no other option. The palace had lost control of the account.

Presently the stripping of designations and the persistent and lifetime public humiliation that will hurt Andrew most deeply.

• Reduction: Lowered to just a commoner
• Prior Instance: The first member to forfeit his titles in recent history
• Naval Career: Particularly hurtful given his service in the engagement

He continues to be a constitutional officer, in principle able to stand in for the sovereign, and he is still in the succession to the throne, but neither of these will truly occur.

Future Prospects

Will people he meets still acknowledge him? Could they still slip up and call him Prince? Might they say Andrew,

Naturally, he is not retiring to a common area, but to the royal family's vast property at Sandringham.

At that location, he will be furnished by the monarch with one of the royal residences and given some form of private allowance.

It is not his previous residence, where he paid a token rent for more than 20 years, and the area is a bit remote, but even so it may not be adequate distance.

Unresolved Issues

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

• Governmental Scrutiny: Might legislators demand more
• Monetary Probe: Or examine the improper use of taxpayer funds
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his actions

Perhaps for the time being the reputational impact to the institution is restricted. The narrative from the royal household was plainly that the removal of titles was what the monarch, and notably other senior monarchical figures, sought.

Altered Approach

No more pretence that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, remarkably, the short announcement showed plainly that the monarchy were aligning with the accuser's version of events.

Furthermore, for the initial instance they finally showed consideration for the survivors: "The measures are judged required, despite the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him."

In the end it is entitlement, self-interest and indolence that will destroy the crown. In his foolishness, self-gratification and venality, Andrew gives the impression never to have grasped that truth.