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

Present was the Baron Killyleagh, with his arm around a teenage girl, while an associate grinned knowingly in the background.

Absent that image, captured at a social event in 2001, who would have believed the claims of a young woman who said she was trafficked across the ocean and obliged to have brief relations with a member of the royal bloodline?

A curious, telling gesture by someone who had overtly claimed to have never heard of her, asserted he could no have had relations with her, and yet provided a substantial sum of his mother's funds to avert a long-delayed court action.

Over a Decade of Disgrace

In this context, discussions of the monarchy acting decisively to distance themselves from Andrew are wide of the mark. This scandal has continued for the majority of 15 years since that photograph, and a further image of Andrew walking pleasantly with a convicted sex offender came to light.

• Hubris: How long did his family members, possibly even his mother and father, understand that Andrew was so self-entitled?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have known, if his employees and the police were fulfilling their roles, that he had some extremely unsavory associates given he publicly invited them to palaces.
• Financial Extravagance: If the family did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with public money.

Journeys were documented in royal annual reports: chopper flights from the palace to a country club and back again in time for midday meal, chartered planes instead of scheduled services, all for the benefit of "Airmiles Andy".

Existence of Entitlement

Furthermore the entitlement which required respect when he walked into a room or the extreme awareness about his honorifics used on his letterheads in letters to his friends.

He avoided accountability while his parent, who inexplicably spoiled him, was still surviving. The monarch did at least revoke him of official roles and honorary colonelcies in the consequence of his ill-fated and, we now know, deceptive television interview six years ago.

Current Situation

Just in the last 14 days that events sped up, following the release of biographical works giving more troubling details of his behavior and that of his associates.

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

Society (and the journalists) were far ahead of the royals. There was no one of any significance to defend him, a result of all those years of hubris.

Monarchical Concerns

The more intelligent family members recognized that. The key objective is to hand down the monarchy, if not as previously at least intact and unstained.

Over time the last 190 years trying to undo the legacy of earlier rulers, showing they are valuable, accountable and attentive to their subjects.

He was placing all that in danger in an time when respect and discretion is no longer enough.

Consequences

Finally, the famously uncertain king was prodded further. There was no other option. The institution had relinquished authority of the account.

Now it is the loss of titles and the continued and lifetime personal shame that will afflict Andrew most deeply.

• Downgrading: Lowered to just a commoner
• Historical Precedent: The first member to lose his honorifics in contemporary era
• Military Service: Notably hurtful given his service in the Falklands war

He continues to be a counsellor of state, on paper able to stand in for the king, and he is still in the succession to the crown, but none of these will truly happen.

What Lies Ahead

Can persons he meets still show respect to him? Will they still forget themselves and call him Sir? Would they say Andrew,

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

At that location, he will be provided by the monarch with one of the royal residences and given some sort of financial support.

It is not his previous residence, where he paid a nominal payment for more than 20 years, and Norfolk is a bit remote, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed.

Unresolved Issues

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

• Parliamentary Interest: Might parliament seek further action
• Financial Investigation: Or examine the improper use of taxpayer funds
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his conduct

Possibly for the present the harm to the monarchy to the crown is limited. The narrative from the institution was plainly that the revocation of honorifics was what the sovereign, and notably other senior monarchical figures, wanted.

A Shift in Position

The cessation of deception that Andrew was acting willingly. And, significantly, the concise communication showed clearly that the institution were siding with the complainant's narrative of occurrences.

Even more, for the initial instance they ultimately showed consideration for the affected individuals: "These actions are considered essential, regardless of the truth that he continues to deny the allegations against him."

In the end it is arrogance, self-interest and inactivity that will kill the crown. In his stupidity, self-gratification and venality, Andrew seems never to have learned that reality.