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

Present was the Earl of Inverness, standing closely beside a young woman, while another individual smiled conspiratorially in the background.

Lacking that image, shot at a gathering in 2001, few would have credited the claims of a adolescent who declared she was trafficked across the ocean and forced to have cursory relations with a prince of the royal bloodline?

A curious, indicative action by someone who had openly asserted to have not known about her, claimed he could never have had intimate contact with her, and yet paid millions of monarchical funds to settle a protracted court action.

Years of Scandal

Considering this, discussions of the royal family acting decisively to cut Andrew off are inaccurate. This scandal has continued for the better part of 15 years since that image, and a further image of Andrew strolling congenially with a notorious individual emerged.

• Arrogance: To what extent did his family members, maybe even his mother and father, understand that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Problematic Connections: They must have known, if his staff and the law enforcement were performing their duties, that he had some deeply disreputable associates given he openly invited them to palaces.
• Financial Extravagance: If the family did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with taxpayer funds.

Journeys were listed in royal annual reports: chopper transfers from the estate to a golf course and back again in time for dining, private flights instead of regular transport, all for the comfort of "the travel enthusiast".

A Life of Privilege

Additionally the presumption which expected subservience when he entered a space or the profound awareness about his honorifics used on his correspondence in communication to his personal acquaintances.

He managed to escape consequences while his parent, who inexplicably indulged him, was still living. The sovereign did at least strip him of public duties and honorary colonelcies in the aftermath of his disastrous and, it is now clear, deceptive television interview six years ago.

Recent Developments

Just in the last two weeks that events progressed rapidly, following the release of biographical works giving more grim particulars of his behavior and that of his companions.

More information have again revealed Andrew's assumption that he could escape lying about his interaction with a disgraced individual.

The public (and the press) were far ahead of the monarchy. There was no one of any significance to defend him, a result of all those years of arrogance.

Monarchical Concerns

The more intelligent family members understood that. The key objective is to pass on the crown, if not as before at least intact and unblemished.

For generations the last 190 years trying to undo the reputation of previous monarchs, showing they are valuable, accountable and attentive to their citizens.

He was placing all that in peril in an era when deference and discretion is no longer sufficient.

The Fallout

Ultimately, the famously indecisive sovereign was pushed more. There was little choice. The institution had lost control of the narrative.

Presently the loss of titles and the continued and permanent personal shame that will pain Andrew most deeply.

• Downgrading: Reduced to just a commoner
• Past Example: The primary royal to surrender his honorifics in recent history
• Military Service: Particularly stinging given his role in the Falklands war

He is still a royal advisor, in principle able to stand in for the sovereign, and he is still in the lineage to the crown, but not any of these will ever happen.

Future Prospects

Do individuals he encounters still acknowledge him? Could they still slip up and call him Sir? Would they say Andrew,

Of course, he is not moving to a common area, but to the monarchy's vast estate at Sandringham.

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

This differs from his prior accommodation, where he paid a nominal lease for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit distant, but even so it may not be far enough.

Pending Matters

This is not over. There are still documents in the hands of American legislators to be disclosed.

• Parliamentary Interest: Will parliament seek further action
• Monetary Probe: Or scrutinize the waste of state resources
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his actions

Perhaps for the moment the harm to the monarchy to the institution is limited. The narrative from the institution was clearly that the removal of honorifics was what the monarch, and particularly other senior royals, wanted.

A Shift in Position

No more deception that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, significantly, the short statement showed evidently that the royals were aligning with the victim's account of occurrences.

Additionally, for the premiere occasion they eventually showed consideration for the survivors: "The censures are considered essential, notwithstanding the reality that he persists in refuting the allegations against him."

In the end it is presumption, self-seeking and inactivity that will undermine the monarchy. In his folly, self-gratification and corruption, Andrew gives the impression never to have learned that truth.