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

In the frame appeared the Baron Killyleagh, standing closely beside a female youth, while an associate grinned suggestively in the background.

Absent that snapshot, captured at a party in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the assertions of a teenager who declared she was transported across the sea and obliged to have perfunctory intimate contact with a member of the royal family?

A strange, telling gesture by someone who had overtly asserted to have not been aware of her, asserted he could not have had sex with her, and yet handed over millions of monarchical resources to settle a drawn-out lawsuit.

Over a Decade of Disgrace

Against this backdrop, conversations of the royal family acting decisively to sever ties with Andrew are inaccurate. This affair has persisted for the majority of 15 years since that picture, and a further photo of Andrew walking congenially with a notorious individual surfaced.

• Arrogance: To what extent did his siblings, possibly even his mother and father, understand that Andrew was so arrogant?
• Problematic Connections: They must have understood, if his aides and the police were doing their jobs, that he had some extremely unsavory friends given he openly welcomed them to palaces.
• Monetary Excess: If the family did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with state resources.

Trips were documented in public records: private aircraft travel from the royal residence to a country club and back again in time for lunch, private flights instead of commercial flights, all for the convenience of "Airmiles Andy".

Existence of Entitlement

Then there was the entitlement which expected respect when he walked into a room or the profound consciousness about his royal titles used on his correspondence in letters to his associates.

He could get away with it while his matriarch, who inexplicably indulged him, was still alive. The sovereign did at least strip him of public duties and military positions in the aftermath of his catastrophic and, we now know, mendacious public statement six years ago.

Latest Events

Just in the last 14 days that events progressed rapidly, following the publication of books giving more grim details of his conduct and that of his associates.

More information have again revealed Andrew's belief that he could escape lying about his contact with a disgraced individual.

People (and the press) were far more perceptive of the royals. There was not a single person of any significance to defend him, a result of all those years of presumption.

Institutional Fears

The more astute family members understood that. The key objective is to hand down the institution, if not as before at least intact and unblemished.

For generations the last 190 years trying to reverse the legacy of earlier rulers, showing they are beneficial, accountable and reactive to their people.

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

Consequences

Eventually, the famously uncertain monarch was pushed additional. There was no other option. The institution had lost control of the narrative.

Now it is the stripping of designations and the persistent and life-long personal shame that will hurt Andrew the most.

• Downgrading: Demoted to just a private citizen
• Prior Instance: The primary monarch to lose his titles in contemporary era
• Armed Forces: Notably hurtful given his service in the engagement

He continues to be a royal advisor, on paper able to act for the sovereign, and he is still eighth in line to the throne, but none of these will truly happen.

Coming Developments

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

Certainly, he is not moving to a common area, but to the monarchy's large grounds at a monarchical property.

There, he will be provided by the king with one of the estate properties and given some type of personal stipend.

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

Unresolved Issues

The situation continues. There are still documents in the possession of American legislators to be made public.

• Political Pressure: Will lawmakers demand more
• Fiscal Review: Or scrutinize the improper use of taxpayer funds
• Judicial Potential: There may even be a criminal probe into his behavior

Possibly for the moment the institutional damage to the crown is restricted. The message from the palace was clearly that the stripping of titles was what the sovereign, and particularly other senior family members, wanted.

A Shift in Position

No more illusion that Andrew was acting willingly. And, notably, the short communication showed clearly that the royals were supporting the accuser's narrative of events.

Even more, for the premiere occasion they eventually showed consideration for the affected individuals: "These actions are considered essential, regardless of the fact that he persists in refuting the claims against him."

Ultimately it is presumption, selfishness and indolence that will destroy the monarchy. In his foolishness, personal excess and corruption, Andrew gives the impression never to have grasped that reality.