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

In the frame appeared the Baron Killyleagh, arm-in-arm a young woman, while an associate smiled conspiratorially in the background.

Lacking that photograph, captured at a party in 2001, few would have credited the assertions of a teenager who stated she was moved across the ocean and compelled to have perfunctory intimate contact with a individual of the royal family?

A curious, revealing gesture by someone who had openly stated to have never known about her, said he could no have had sex with her, and yet handed over a substantial sum of family money to avert a protracted legal case.

Years of Controversy

Against this backdrop, talk of the royal family acting firmly to cut Andrew off are inaccurate. This controversy has continued for the better part of 15 years since that photograph, and a further snapshot of Andrew ambling congenially with a disgraced financier emerged.

• Hubris: For what duration did his siblings, possibly even his parents, know that Andrew was so arrogant?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have known, if his staff and the authorities were fulfilling their roles, that he had some deeply disreputable friends given he openly welcomed them to royal residences.
• Monetary Excess: If the family did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his overspending with state resources.

Trips were listed in royal annual reports: 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".

World of Deference

Then there was the entitlement which expected respect when he walked into a room or the extreme obsession about his designations used on his correspondence in letters to his friends.

He could get away with it while his mother, who strangely indulged him, was still living. The monarch did at least strip him of royal responsibilities and ceremonial ranks in the aftermath of his disastrous and, as revealed, mendacious television interview six years ago.

Current Situation

Just in the last 14 days that events sped up, following the issuance of biographical works giving more disturbing information of his conduct and that of his companions.

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

The public (and the journalists) were far ahead of the monarchy. There was not a single person of any significance to speak up for him, a consequence of all those years of arrogance.

Royal Worries

The more intelligent monarchical figures recognized that. The key objective is to pass on the monarchy, if not as previously at least complete and unblemished.

For generations the last 190 years trying to undo the reputation of previous monarchs, demonstrating they are valuable, responsible and attentive to their subjects.

He was placing all that in jeopardy in an time when deference and privacy is no longer enough.

Aftermath

Finally, the well-known hesitant monarch was pressured further. There was little choice. The palace had surrendered command of the narrative.

Now it is the stripping of honorifics and the continued and life-long personal shame that will afflict Andrew most severely.

• Downgrading: Lowered to just a commoner
• Prior Instance: The first monarch to surrender his honorifics in modern times
• Armed Forces: Notably hurtful given his role in the Falklands war

He remains a counsellor of state, theoretically able to stand in for the monarch, and he is still in the succession to the crown, but neither of these will actually happen.

What Lies Ahead

Do individuals he comes across still acknowledge him? Will they still forget themselves and call him Sir? Will they even say Sir,

Naturally, he is not moving to a common area, but to the sovereign's large estate at a royal residence.

At that location, he will be furnished by the king with one of the estate properties and given some type of private allowance.

This is not his previous residence, where he paid a nominal rent for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit remote, but even so it may not be far enough.

Pending Matters

The situation continues. There are still documents in the possession of US Congress to be revealed.

• Political Pressure: Might parliament seek further action
• Fiscal Review: Or examine the improper use of public money
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a criminal probe into his actions

Perhaps for the present the harm to the monarchy to the crown is limited. The statement from the institution was evidently that the revocation of honorifics was what the sovereign, and notably other senior royals, wanted.

Altered Approach

An end to illusion that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, significantly, the short statement showed plainly that the institution were supporting the victim's account of incidents.

Furthermore, for the first time they eventually showed consideration for the victims: "These actions are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the truth that he maintains his innocence of the claims against him."

Ultimately it is presumption, selfishness and indolence that will undermine the crown. In his foolishness, self-indulgence and greed, Andrew gives the impression never to have grasped that reality.