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It all began with a isolated photograph, arguably the most significant ever snapped of a member of the monarchy.

In the frame appeared the Baron Killyleagh, with his arm around a young woman, while an associate grinned suggestively in the background.

Absent that photograph, taken at a social event in 2001, few would have credited the allegations of a young woman who stated she was transported across the ocean and obliged to have brief intimate contact with a member of the royal family?

An odd, telling action by someone who had publicly asserted to have never known about her, asserted he could no have had intimate contact with her, and yet handed over a large amount of his mother's money to resolve a drawn-out court action.

Years of Controversy

In this context, conversations of the royal family acting swiftly to cut Andrew off are wide of the mark. This affair has continued for the majority of 15 years since that photograph, and a further photo of Andrew strolling amiably with a convicted sex offender surfaced.

• Hubris: How long did his siblings, maybe even his parents, know that Andrew was so self-entitled?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have understood, if his aides and the police were performing their duties, that he had some extremely unsavory companions given he publicly invited them to estates.
• Monetary Excess: If the monarchy did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with state resources.

Trips were listed in royal annual reports: private aircraft transfers from the palace to a country club and back again in time for dining, chartered planes instead of commercial flights, all for the convenience of "the frequent flyer".

World of Deference

Then there was the arrogance which demanded subservience when he walked into a room or the supreme obsession about his royal titles used on his official documents in messages to his associates.

He managed to escape consequences while his parent, who strangely indulged him, was still surviving. The monarch did at least remove him of royal responsibilities and military positions in the wake of his catastrophic and, we now know, untruthful media appearance six years ago.

Latest Events

Just in the last fortnight that events accelerated, following the release of books giving more grim information of his behavior and that of his connections.

Additional revelations have again revealed Andrew's thinking that he could avoid being untruthful about his contact with a notorious figure.

People (and the press) were far ahead of the monarchy. There was nobody of any consequence to defend him, a outcome of all those years of presumption.

Monarchical Concerns

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

Over time the last 190 years trying to undo the reputation of earlier rulers, proving they are useful, accountable and reactive to their subjects.

He was placing all that in danger in an era when submission and secrecy is no longer sufficient.

Consequences

Ultimately, the well-known indecisive sovereign was prodded additional. There was no other option. The royal household had surrendered command of the narrative.

Now it is the stripping of designations and the persistent and lifetime personal shame that will afflict Andrew most deeply.

• Downgrading: Reduced to just a private citizen
• Prior Instance: The first monarch to lose his titles in contemporary era
• Armed Forces: Especially stinging given his duty in the Falklands war

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

Coming Developments

Can persons he meets still show respect to him? Could they still slip up and call him Sir? Might they say Andrew,

Of course, he is not withdrawing to a common area, but to the monarchy's large property at Sandringham.

At that location, he will be provided by the sovereign with one of the estate properties and given some type of financial support.

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

Unresolved Issues

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

• Governmental Scrutiny: Will lawmakers request additional information
• Financial Investigation: Or scrutinize the improper use of state resources
• Legal Possibility: There may even be a police investigation into his conduct

Perhaps for the time being the reputational impact to the institution is contained. The message from the royal household was evidently that the revocation of titles was what the monarch, and especially other senior family members, wanted.

Altered Approach

No more illusion that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, significantly, the brief announcement showed plainly that the royals were siding with the victim's version of events.

Furthermore, for the premiere occasion they eventually showed regard for the affected individuals: "The censures are deemed necessary, despite the reality that he maintains his innocence of the accusations against him."

Finally it is entitlement, self-interest and indolence that will destroy the crown. In his folly, self-gratification and corruption, Andrew seems never to have grasped that lesson.