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The saga started with a single photograph, arguably the most significant ever taken of a royal family member.

Present was the Duke of York, with his arm around a young woman, while a companion grinned conspiratorially in the rear.

Lacking that snapshot, shot at a gathering in 2001, who would have believed the assertions of a adolescent who declared she was trafficked across the ocean and obliged to have brief relations with a individual of the monarchy?

A strange, telling action by someone who had overtly claimed to have no heard of her, asserted he could never have had intimate contact with her, and yet provided a substantial sum of monarchical money to settle a drawn-out legal case.

Over a Decade of Scandal

In this context, discussions of the royal family acting swiftly to distance themselves from Andrew are misguided. This scandal has endured for the better part of 15 years since that photograph, and a further image of Andrew strolling amiably with a notorious individual emerged.

• Arrogance: To what extent did his brothers and sisters, possibly even his relatives, know that Andrew was so arrogant?
• Problematic Connections: They must have understood, if his aides and the authorities were doing their jobs, that he had some extremely unsavory friends given he unabashedly hosted them to estates.
• Monetary Excess: If the monarchy did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his extravagance with state resources.

Journeys were printed in royal annual reports: private aircraft travel from the palace to a country club and back again in time for midday meal, private flights instead of scheduled services, all for the convenience of "Airmiles Andy".

Existence of Entitlement

Furthermore the arrogance which expected respect when he walked into a space or the extreme obsession about his honorifics used on his correspondence in messages to his associates.

He managed to escape consequences while his parent, who strangely spoiled him, was still alive. The monarch did at least strip him of public duties and ceremonial ranks in the aftermath of his disastrous and, we now know, mendacious public statement six years ago.

Latest Events

Just in the last fortnight that events progressed rapidly, following the release of biographical works giving more troubling particulars of his behavior and that of his associates.

Additional revelations have again highlighted Andrew's assumption that he could get away with being untruthful about his interaction with a disgraced individual.

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

Institutional Fears

The more intelligent royals realized that. The one imperative is to pass on the crown, if not as previously at least intact and untarnished.

For generations the last 190 years trying to overcome the image of past sovereigns, demonstrating they are useful, accountable and responsive to their people.

His actions endangered all that in peril in an era when respect and privacy is no longer adequate.

Aftermath

Ultimately, the well-known indecisive king was pushed more. There was no alternative. The royal household had relinquished authority of the narrative.

Presently the loss of designations and the continued and life-long personal shame that will afflict Andrew most severely.

• Demotion: Lowered to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor
• Historical Precedent: The initial monarch to surrender his designations in contemporary era
• Military Service: Particularly stinging given his duty in the conflict

He continues to be a constitutional officer, in principle able to substitute for the monarch, and he is still eighth in line to the crown, but not any of these will ever come to pass.

What Lies Ahead

Do individuals he meets still acknowledge him? Will they still slip up and call him Your Highness? Will they even say Sir,

Naturally, he is not retiring to a common area, but to the sovereign's large property at a monarchical property.

There, he will be supplied by the king with one of the royal residences and given some sort of private allowance.

This differs from his former home, where he paid a minimal lease for more than 20 years, and Norfolk is a bit far, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed.

Outstanding Concerns

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

• Governmental Scrutiny: Could lawmakers seek further action
• Fiscal Review: Or examine the improper use of taxpayer funds
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a criminal probe into his actions

Maybe for the time being the harm to the monarchy to the crown is restricted. The statement from the royal household was plainly that the removal of titles was what the king, and notably other senior monarchical figures, sought.

A Shift in Position

No more illusion that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, notably, the brief communication showed plainly that the monarchy were supporting the accuser's narrative of occurrences.

Additionally, for the premiere occasion they ultimately showed concern for the victims: "The censures are considered essential, regardless of the truth that he persists in refuting the claims against him."

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