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It all began with a isolated photograph, arguably the most impactful ever captured of a individual from the royal household.

Present was the Baron Killyleagh, arm-in-arm a teenage girl, while a companion smiled suggestively in the rear.

Absent that image, taken at a party in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the allegations of a young woman who stated she was transported across the ocean and forced to have brief relations with a individual of the monarchy?

A curious, revealing action by someone who had overtly asserted to have never heard of her, asserted he could never have had relations with her, and yet handed over millions of family resources to avert a protracted court action.

A Long Period of Scandal

Considering this, discussions of the monarchy acting swiftly to distance themselves from Andrew are wide of the mark. This controversy has endured for the largest portion of 15 years since that picture, and a further image of Andrew strolling pleasantly with a notorious individual emerged.

• Hubris: To what extent did his brothers and sisters, perhaps even his relatives, know that Andrew was so self-entitled?
• Questionable Associations: They must have understood, if his aides and the authorities were doing their jobs, that he had some extremely unsavory friends given he unabashedly hosted them to palaces.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the household did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his overspending with public money.

Journeys were documented in royal annual reports: helicopter transfers from the estate to a sporting venue and back again in time for midday meal, chartered planes instead of commercial flights, all for the benefit of "the travel enthusiast".

World of Deference

Furthermore the entitlement which demanded deference when he appeared in a area or the extreme obsession about his honorifics used on his official documents in messages to his personal acquaintances.

He managed to escape consequences while his matriarch, who inexplicably pampered him, was still living. The monarch did at least strip him of royal responsibilities and ceremonial ranks in the wake of his catastrophic and, it is now clear, deceptive media appearance six years ago.

Current Situation

Just in the last 14 days that events accelerated, following the issuance of accounts giving more grim information of his behavior and that of his companions.

Additional revelations have again highlighted Andrew's assumption that he could get away with deceiving about his relationship with a convicted criminal.

People (and the journalists) were far ahead of the royal family. There was nobody of any significance to support him, a consequence of all those years of presumption.

Institutional Fears

The more astute monarchical figures realized that. The key objective is to hand down the crown, if not as previously at least whole and untarnished.

For generations the last 190 years trying to overcome the reputation of previous monarchs, showing they are valuable, responsible and responsive to their citizens.

His actions endangered all that in jeopardy in an time when respect and privacy is no longer sufficient.

Consequences

Finally, the notoriously hesitant sovereign was pushed more. There was no alternative. The institution had surrendered command of the story.

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

• Downgrading: Reduced to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor
• Past Example: The initial royal to forfeit his designations in contemporary era
• Military Service: Especially stinging given his service in the engagement

He is still a counsellor of state, theoretically able to act for the king, and he is still in the lineage to the throne, but none of these will ever occur.

Coming Developments

Will people he encounters still acknowledge him? Could they still slip up and call him Your Highness? Might they say Sir,

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

There, he will be provided by the king with one of the royal residences and given some sort of private allowance.

This differs from his former home, where he paid a token rent for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit remote, but even so it may not be far enough.

Pending Matters

The situation continues. There are still records in the possession of US Congress to be made public.

• Parliamentary Interest: Could parliament request additional information
• Fiscal Review: Or investigate the improper use of taxpayer funds
• Judicial Potential: There may even be a criminal probe into his actions

Possibly for the moment the reputational impact to the monarchy is limited. The statement from the institution was evidently that the stripping of designations was what the sovereign, and particularly other senior monarchical figures, desired.

Altered Approach

The cessation of pretence that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, remarkably, the concise announcement showed clearly that the institution were siding with the accuser's version of incidents.

Additionally, for the premiere occasion they finally showed concern for the victims: "These actions are judged required, regardless of the truth that he maintains his innocence of the accusations against him."

Ultimately it is arrogance, self-seeking and inactivity that will undermine the crown. In his folly, self-indulgence and corruption, Andrew appears never to have learned that lesson.