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This episode commenced with a isolated photograph, possibly the most impactful ever snapped of a royal family member.

Present was the Earl of Inverness, with his arm around a female youth, while a companion beamed conspiratorially in the background.

Without that snapshot, taken at a party in 2001, who would have believed the claims of a young woman who declared she was moved across the Atlantic and forced to have perfunctory relations with a individual of the royal bloodline?

An odd, revealing move by someone who had openly claimed to have not been aware of her, asserted he could not have had relations with her, and yet paid a substantial sum of family resources to resolve a drawn-out lawsuit.

Years of Disgrace

Against this backdrop, conversations of the royals acting swiftly to sever ties with Andrew are wide of the mark. This affair has endured for the majority of 15 years since that picture, and another snapshot of Andrew walking amiably with a notorious individual came to light.

• Hubris: To what extent did his siblings, maybe even his mother and father, know that Andrew was so arrogant?
• Questionable Associations: They must have understood, if his employees and the law enforcement were performing their duties, that he had some extremely unsavory friends given he unabashedly invited them to palaces.
• Financial Extravagance: If the monarchy did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with public money.

Travel were listed in public records: helicopter transfers from the royal residence to a sporting venue and back again in time for midday meal, private flights instead of commercial flights, all for the benefit of "the frequent flyer".

Existence of Entitlement

Then there was the entitlement which demanded deference when he appeared in a area or the extreme consciousness about his royal titles used on his correspondence in messages to his friends.

He avoided accountability while his matriarch, who inexplicably spoiled him, was still alive. The Queen did at least strip him of royal responsibilities and military positions in the aftermath of his ill-fated and, as revealed, deceptive media appearance six years ago.

Current Situation

Just in the last fortnight that events progressed rapidly, following the issuance of accounts giving more disturbing information of his conduct and that of his companions.

More information have again exposed Andrew's belief that he could escape lying about his relationship with a notorious figure.

People (and the media) were far in advance of the royal family. There was no one of any importance to speak up for him, a consequence of all those years of presumption.

Royal Worries

The more intelligent monarchical figures understood that. The primary concern is to transfer the crown, if not as previously at least complete and unblemished.

They have spent the last 190 years trying to overcome the reputation of previous monarchs, demonstrating they are useful, responsible and reactive to their subjects.

He was placing all that in jeopardy in an age when respect and secrecy is no longer enough.

The Fallout

Eventually, the notoriously hesitant monarch was pushed further. There was little choice. The palace had relinquished authority of the account.

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

• Downgrading: Reduced to just a commoner
• Past Example: The first member to surrender his titles in modern times
• Naval Career: Especially painful given his role in the engagement

He remains a royal advisor, in principle able to act for the sovereign, and he is still eighth in line to the crown, but none of these will ever occur.

Coming Developments

Will people he encounters still defer to him? Will they still make mistakes and call him Prince? Will they even say Mr,

Of course, he is not moving to suburbia, but to the sovereign's vast estate at a royal residence.

In that place, he will be supplied by the king with one of the royal residences and given some type of financial support.

This differs from his former home, where he paid a token payment for more than 20 years, and Norfolk is a bit distant, but even so it may not be adequate distance.

Pending Matters

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

• Parliamentary Interest: Could legislators seek further action
• Monetary Probe: Or examine the improper use of taxpayer funds
• Judicial Potential: There may even be a police investigation into his behavior

Perhaps for the time being the reputational impact to the monarchy is limited. The narrative from the institution was plainly that the revocation of honorifics was what the sovereign, and especially other senior royals, sought.

Changed Stance

No more illusion that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, notably, the concise communication showed plainly that the monarchy were siding with the complainant's account of occurrences.

Even more, for the first time they ultimately showed concern for the victims: "These actions are judged required, regardless of the fact that he continues to deny the claims against him."

Ultimately it is arrogance, selfishness and laziness that will kill the crown. In his stupidity, personal excess and venality, Andrew seems never to have grasped that lesson.