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It all began with a solitary photograph, perhaps the most consequential ever snapped of a royal family member.

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

Without that snapshot, captured at a party in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the assertions of a adolescent who declared she was moved across the Atlantic and obliged to have cursory intimate contact with a prince of the monarchy?

An odd, indicative move by someone who had overtly claimed to have not known about her, asserted he could never have had sex with her, and yet handed over millions of family funds to resolve a drawn-out court action.

Over a Decade of Scandal

Against this backdrop, conversations of the royal family acting swiftly to distance themselves from Andrew are wide of the mark. This scandal has continued for the largest portion of 15 years since that picture, and an additional snapshot of Andrew walking pleasantly with a convicted sex offender came to light.

• Arrogance: To what extent did his family members, maybe even his mother and father, understand that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Questionable Associations: They must have realized, if his employees and the authorities were fulfilling their roles, that he had some highly questionable companions given he unabashedly welcomed them to estates.
• Monetary Excess: If the household did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his extravagance with taxpayer funds.

Journeys were printed in public records: chopper flights from the royal residence to a golf course and back again in time for midday meal, private flights instead of scheduled services, all for the convenience of "the travel enthusiast".

A Life of Privilege

Then there was the presumption which demanded respect when he walked into a space or the profound obsession about his designations used on his official documents in messages to his friends.

He could get away with it while his parent, who strangely pampered him, was still living. The Queen did at least strip him of public duties and military positions in the wake of his ill-fated and, it is now clear, mendacious public statement six years ago.

Recent Developments

Merely in the last two weeks that events progressed rapidly, following the issuance of accounts giving more disturbing details of his conduct and that of his connections.

Further disclosures have again exposed Andrew's thinking that he could escape deceiving about his relationship with a notorious figure.

People (and the journalists) were far in advance of the royals. There was no one of any importance to support him, a outcome of all those years of presumption.

Royal Worries

The more astute family members understood that. The primary concern is to transfer the crown, if not as heretofore at least intact and unstained.

For generations the last 190 years trying to undo the image of earlier rulers, demonstrating they are valuable, responsible and attentive to their people.

He was placing all that in jeopardy in an time when submission and discretion is no longer adequate.

Consequences

Ultimately, the notoriously indecisive monarch was pushed further. There was little choice. The palace had lost control of the account.

Currently the stripping of honorifics and the continued and life-long social disgrace that will pain Andrew the most.

• Downgrading: Lowered to just a private citizen
• Historical Precedent: The initial royal to forfeit his honorifics in contemporary era
• Military Service: Especially hurtful given his service in the conflict

He continues to be a constitutional officer, in principle able to stand in for the sovereign, and he is still in the succession to the crown, but neither of these will ever happen.

What Lies Ahead

Will people he comes across still show respect to him? Might they still slip up and call him Sir? Would they say Sir,

Certainly, he is not withdrawing to a common area, but to the monarchy's extensive grounds at a monarchical property.

There, he will be furnished by the sovereign with one of the royal residences and given some type of financial support.

This is not his previous residence, where he paid a nominal payment for more than 20 years, and Norfolk is a bit far, but even so it may not be far enough.

Pending Matters

Matters remain unresolved. There are still files in the custody of overseas authorities to be disclosed.

• Governmental Scrutiny: Could parliament request additional information
• Financial Investigation: Or scrutinize the misuse of taxpayer funds
• Legal Possibility: There may even be a criminal probe into his behavior

Possibly for the time being the reputational impact to the monarchy is contained. The statement from the palace was evidently that the revocation of honorifics was what the monarch, and notably other senior family members, sought.

Changed Stance

No more illusion that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, remarkably, the concise communication showed plainly that the monarchy were siding with the accuser's account of events.

Furthermore, for the premiere occasion they ultimately showed concern for the affected individuals: "The censures are considered essential, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the accusations against him."

In the end it is entitlement, self-interest and inactivity that will destroy the institution. In his foolishness, personal excess and venality, Andrew gives the impression never to have grasped that reality.