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The saga started with a isolated photograph, perhaps the most consequential ever taken of a royal family member.

Present was the Duke of York, standing closely beside a teenage girl, while a companion beamed knowingly in the background.

Without that image, shot at a party in 2001, few would have credited the assertions of a adolescent who said she was moved across the Atlantic and forced to have cursory intimate contact with a individual of the monarchy?

A strange, indicative gesture by someone who had publicly claimed to have not known about her, claimed he could no have had intimate contact with her, and yet provided millions of monarchical money to resolve a drawn-out court action.

A Long Period of Controversy

Against this backdrop, discussions of the monarchy acting decisively to sever ties with Andrew are inaccurate. This controversy has endured for the largest portion of 15 years since that picture, and an additional image of Andrew walking amiably with a convicted sex offender surfaced.

• Self-importance: To what extent did his family members, possibly even his relatives, know that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have known, if his employees and the authorities were fulfilling their roles, that he had some extremely unsavory companions given he openly welcomed them to palaces.
• Financial Extravagance: If the family did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his extravagance with state resources.

Journeys were printed in royal annual reports: private aircraft travel from the royal residence to a country club and back again in time for dining, chartered planes instead of commercial flights, all for the convenience of "the travel enthusiast".

World of Deference

Then there was the arrogance which demanded deference when he walked into a room or the extreme awareness about his royal titles used on his correspondence in messages to his friends.

He managed to escape consequences while his mother, who strangely spoiled him, was still surviving. The monarch did at least revoke him of public duties and honorary colonelcies in the aftermath of his catastrophic and, as revealed, deceptive media appearance six years ago.

Latest Events

Just in the last fortnight that events sped up, following the release of books giving more grim details of his conduct and that of his companions.

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

The public (and the press) were far in advance of the royals. There was not a single person of any importance to defend him, a result of all those years of hubris.

Institutional Fears

The wiser family members recognized that. The one imperative is to pass on the crown, if not as before at least whole and unblemished.

They have spent the last 190 years trying to overcome the image of previous monarchs, proving they are useful, dutiful and reactive to their subjects.

Andrew was putting all that in peril in an era when respect and discretion is no longer adequate.

Aftermath

Ultimately, the well-known indecisive king was pressured additional. There was little choice. The royal household had surrendered command of the story.

Currently the loss of honorifics and the persistent and life-long personal shame that will hurt Andrew most severely.

• Demotion: Reduced to just a commoner
• Historical Precedent: The initial royal to lose his titles in recent history
• Military Service: Notably stinging given his role in the engagement

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

Coming Developments

Will people he encounters still acknowledge him? Could they still forget themselves and call him Sir? Might they say Mr,

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

At that location, he will be supplied by the king with one of the estate properties and given some type of financial support.

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

Pending Matters

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

• Political Pressure: Might legislators seek further action
• Financial Investigation: Or investigate the misuse of state resources
• Judicial Potential: There may even be a criminal probe into his behavior

Maybe for the present the harm to the monarchy to the institution is limited. The message from the palace was plainly that the removal of titles was what the monarch, and especially other senior family members, sought.

Changed Stance

No more pretence that Andrew was acting willingly. And, remarkably, the concise statement showed evidently that the institution were aligning with the accuser's version of occurrences.

Furthermore, for the first time they ultimately showed concern for the affected individuals: "These actions are considered essential, notwithstanding the truth that he maintains his innocence of the claims against him."

In the end it is presumption, self-interest and laziness that will undermine the monarchy. In his stupidity, personal excess and corruption, Andrew gives the impression never to have learned that truth.