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The saga started with a isolated photograph, arguably the most impactful ever taken of a member of the monarchy.

Present was the Duke of York, standing closely beside a teenage girl, while another individual grinned knowingly in the backdrop.

Without that photograph, taken at a gathering in 2001, who would have believed the assertions of a adolescent who declared she was transported across the ocean and obliged to have cursory relations with a member of the royal family?

A strange, telling action by someone who had publicly stated to have not heard of her, said he could not have had sex with her, and yet paid millions of family funds to resolve a drawn-out lawsuit.

Over a Decade of Controversy

Against this backdrop, talk of the royal family acting swiftly to distance themselves from Andrew are wide of the mark. This controversy has persisted for the better part of 15 years since that image, and an additional photo of Andrew ambling pleasantly with a disgraced financier came to light.

• Arrogance: To what extent did his brothers and sisters, perhaps even his parents, know that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Questionable Associations: They must have realized, if his staff and the police were performing their duties, that he had some extremely unsavory companions given he unabashedly welcomed them to palaces.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the household did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his overspending with state resources.

Trips were printed in public records: helicopter flights from the estate to a golf course and back again in time for lunch, chartered planes instead of commercial flights, all for the comfort of "the frequent flyer".

World of Deference

Furthermore the entitlement which expected subservience when he entered a room or the extreme awareness about his royal titles used on his correspondence in letters to his associates.

He managed to escape consequences while his parent, who inexplicably spoiled him, was still living. The Queen did at least strip him of royal responsibilities and ceremonial ranks in the aftermath of his disastrous and, it is now clear, mendacious public statement six years ago.

Latest Events

Just in the last two weeks that events sped up, following the publication of accounts giving more troubling information of his behavior and that of his companions.

Further disclosures have again exposed Andrew's assumption that he could get away with being untruthful about his contact with a convicted criminal.

People (and the media) were far more perceptive of the royal family. There was nobody of any significance to speak up for him, a result of all those years of arrogance.

Monarchical Concerns

The wiser royals understood that. The key objective is to pass on the institution, if not as heretofore at least whole and unblemished.

They have spent the last 190 years trying to reverse the reputation of previous monarchs, demonstrating they are valuable, accountable and attentive to their people.

His actions endangered all that in jeopardy in an age when submission and secrecy is no longer enough.

Aftermath

Finally, the famously indecisive sovereign was pushed more. There was no alternative. The palace had relinquished authority of the story.

Presently the stripping of designations and the persistent and life-long social disgrace that will pain Andrew most deeply.

• Demotion: Reduced to just a commoner
• Past Example: The primary member to surrender his honorifics in contemporary era
• Military Service: Notably stinging given his role in the conflict

He is still a constitutional officer, on paper able to stand in for the monarch, and he is still eighth in line to the crown, but neither of these will ever happen.

Coming Developments

Do individuals he encounters still show respect to him? Could they still slip up and call him Prince? Would they say Mr,

Of course, he is not moving to a common area, but to the sovereign's vast grounds at a monarchical property.

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

This is not his former home, where he paid a token rent for more than 20 years, and the area is a bit remote, but even so it may not be adequate distance.

Unresolved Issues

Matters remain unresolved. There are still records in the possession of American legislators to be made public.

• Governmental Scrutiny: Might parliament seek further action
• Financial Investigation: Or scrutinize the improper use of state resources
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a criminal probe into his behavior

Perhaps for the time being the institutional damage to the crown is limited. The narrative from the institution was clearly that the revocation of honorifics was what the sovereign, and especially other senior family members, sought.

Changed Stance

No more pretence that Andrew was acting willingly. And, notably, the short announcement showed plainly that the institution were supporting the complainant's account of occurrences.

Additionally, for the first time they finally showed regard for the affected individuals: "The measures are considered essential, regardless of the truth that he persists in refuting the allegations against him."

Ultimately it is entitlement, selfishness and indolence that will kill the institution. In his folly, self-gratification and venality, Andrew appears never to have understood that truth.