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

Present was the Duke of York, standing closely beside a young woman, while a companion grinned knowingly in the rear.

Without that snapshot, captured at a party in 2001, few would have credited the claims of a teenager who stated she was trafficked across the ocean and forced to have brief sexual encounters with a prince of the royal bloodline?

An odd, indicative move by someone who had publicly claimed to have not known about her, asserted he could never have had sex with her, and yet paid a substantial sum of his mother's resources to resolve a protracted legal case.

Years of Disgrace

In this context, discussions of the royals acting swiftly to sever ties with Andrew are inaccurate. This scandal has endured for the better part of 15 years since that picture, and an additional snapshot of Andrew strolling pleasantly with a disgraced financier emerged.

• Hubris: To what extent did his family members, perhaps even his mother and father, realize that Andrew was so self-entitled?
• Questionable Associations: They must have known, if his employees and the law enforcement were fulfilling their roles, that he had some highly questionable companions given he publicly invited them to palaces.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the household did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with taxpayer funds.

Journeys were printed in public records: helicopter travel from the estate to a country club and back again in time for midday meal, exclusive air travel instead of scheduled services, all for the comfort of "Airmiles Andy".

A Life of Privilege

Then there was the presumption which expected subservience when he walked into a room or the supreme consciousness about his royal titles used on his official documents in messages to his friends.

He avoided accountability while his matriarch, who unaccountably spoiled him, was still living. The monarch did at least remove him of royal responsibilities and honorary colonelcies in the consequence of his disastrous and, as revealed, untruthful public statement six years ago.

Latest Events

Merely in the last 14 days that events accelerated, following the issuance of books giving more troubling particulars of his actions and that of his associates.

More information have again highlighted Andrew's belief that he could escape deceiving about his interaction with a disgraced individual.

People (and the journalists) were far more perceptive of the monarchy. There was no one of any importance to speak up for him, a result of all those years of hubris.

Royal Worries

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

Over time the last 190 years trying to undo the reputation of previous monarchs, showing they are beneficial, dutiful and attentive to their subjects.

His actions endangered all that in peril in an time when respect and discretion is no longer enough.

Aftermath

Finally, the well-known indecisive king was pressured more. There was little choice. The institution had relinquished authority of the account.

Now it is the stripping of titles and the continued and lifetime social disgrace that will afflict Andrew most severely.

• Reduction: Lowered to just a commoner
• Historical Precedent: The primary monarch to surrender his honorifics in contemporary era
• Naval Career: Particularly stinging given his role in the conflict

He is still a counsellor of state, in principle able to stand in for the monarch, and he is still eighth in line to the throne, but not any of these will actually come to pass.

What Lies Ahead

Do individuals he meets still acknowledge him? Could they still slip up and call him Sir? Might they say Sir,

Naturally, he is not retiring to an ordinary town, but to the sovereign's large estate at a royal residence.

In that place, he will be provided by the monarch with one of the royal residences and given some type of personal stipend.

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

Outstanding Concerns

The situation continues. There are still documents in the hands of overseas authorities to be made public.

• Governmental Scrutiny: Might parliament request additional information
• Financial Investigation: Or investigate the improper use of public money
• Judicial Potential: There may even be a police investigation into his actions

Maybe for the moment the harm to the monarchy to the monarchy is limited. The statement from the palace was plainly that the revocation of honorifics was what the king, and notably other senior royals, wanted.

Altered Approach

The cessation of pretence that Andrew was acting willingly. And, significantly, the short statement showed plainly that the royals were aligning with the accuser's account of incidents.

Furthermore, for the initial instance they eventually showed consideration for the victims: "The measures are considered essential, notwithstanding the truth that he maintains his innocence of the claims against him."

In the end it is arrogance, self-interest and indolence that will undermine the institution. In his folly, personal excess and greed, Andrew seems never to have understood that reality.