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It all began with a single photograph, possibly the most impactful ever snapped of a royal family member.

In the frame appeared the Earl of Inverness, with his arm around a female youth, while an associate grinned conspiratorially in the backdrop.

Without that photograph, shot at a social event in 2001, who would have believed the assertions of a teenager who said she was trafficked across the Atlantic and forced to have brief relations with a member of the royal bloodline?

An odd, telling move by someone who had overtly claimed to have not been aware of her, claimed he could never have had relations with her, and yet provided a substantial sum of family funds to resolve a long-delayed legal case.

A Long Period of Disgrace

In this context, conversations of the royal family 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 an additional snapshot of Andrew ambling amiably with a disgraced financier came to light.

• Arrogance: How long did his siblings, maybe even his parents, know that Andrew was so self-entitled?
• Problematic Connections: They must have understood, if his employees and the law enforcement were doing their jobs, that he had some highly questionable associates given he unabashedly welcomed them to palaces.
• Financial Extravagance: If the household did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his extravagance with taxpayer funds.

Travel were documented in official documents: private aircraft travel from the palace to a sporting venue and back again in time for midday meal, exclusive air travel instead of regular transport, all for the comfort of "Airmiles Andy".

A Life of Privilege

Then there was the arrogance which demanded subservience when he entered a space or the profound obsession about his honorifics used on his official documents in letters to his associates.

He could get away with it while his mother, who unaccountably pampered him, was still alive. The sovereign did at least strip him of royal responsibilities and ceremonial ranks in the consequence of his disastrous and, as revealed, untruthful media appearance six years ago.

Current Situation

It was only in the last 14 days that events accelerated, following the release of accounts giving more disturbing information of his conduct and that of his associates.

Additional revelations have again revealed Andrew's belief that he could escape being untruthful about his interaction with a disgraced individual.

The public (and the press) were far more perceptive of the royal family. There was nobody of any importance to defend him, a result of all those years of presumption.

Monarchical Concerns

The wiser royals recognized that. The primary concern is to transfer the monarchy, if not as heretofore at least complete and unstained.

Over time the last 190 years trying to reverse the reputation of previous monarchs, demonstrating they are useful, responsible and attentive to their citizens.

Andrew was putting all that in danger in an era when respect and privacy is no longer sufficient.

Aftermath

Eventually, the well-known indecisive monarch was pushed further. There was no alternative. The royal household had relinquished authority of the narrative.

Presently the loss of honorifics and the persistent and lifetime social disgrace that will pain Andrew the most.

• Downgrading: Reduced to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor
• Past Example: The primary member to forfeit his titles in contemporary era
• Armed Forces: Especially painful given his duty in the Falklands war

He continues to be a royal advisor, theoretically able to substitute for the sovereign, and he is still in the lineage to the monarchy, but neither of these will truly happen.

What Lies Ahead

Will people he meets still acknowledge him? Might they still forget themselves and call him Your Highness? Will they even say Andrew,

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

At that location, he will be supplied by the sovereign with one of the royal residences and given some form of financial support.

It is not his former home, where he paid a nominal rent for more than 20 years, and Norfolk is a bit far, but even so it may not be adequate distance.

Unresolved Issues

This is not over. There are still files in the possession of US Congress to be revealed.

• Parliamentary Interest: Could lawmakers request additional information
• Fiscal Review: Or examine the waste of state resources
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a criminal probe into his actions

Possibly for the time being the harm to the monarchy to the institution is restricted. The statement from the palace was plainly that the revocation of titles was what the sovereign, and notably other senior monarchical figures, desired.

Altered Approach

No more deception that Andrew was acting willingly. And, notably, the concise communication showed evidently that the monarchy were supporting the complainant's version of incidents.

Furthermore, for the premiere occasion they ultimately showed regard for the victims: "These actions are considered essential, regardless of the truth that he persists in refuting the allegations against him."

Finally it is arrogance, self-interest and laziness that will kill the crown. In his foolishness, self-indulgence and greed, Andrew appears never to have grasped that truth.