🔗 Share this article

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

Present was the Baron Killyleagh, arm-in-arm a teenage girl, while another individual smiled suggestively in the background.

Lacking that snapshot, taken at a gathering in 2001, who would have believed the claims of a adolescent who declared she was trafficked across the sea and compelled to have perfunctory relations with a prince of the royal family?

A curious, indicative gesture by someone who had publicly claimed to have no known about her, said he could never have had intimate contact with her, and yet handed over a large amount of his mother's money to resolve a protracted lawsuit.

A Long Period of Scandal

Considering this, conversations of the royals acting firmly to sever ties with Andrew are inaccurate. This scandal has endured for the majority of 15 years since that picture, and another image of Andrew strolling pleasantly with a notorious individual came to light.

• Self-importance: How long did his brothers and sisters, possibly even his relatives, understand that Andrew was so arrogant?
• Problematic Connections: They must have realized, if his aides and the authorities were doing their jobs, that he had some highly questionable companions given he openly invited them to estates.
• Monetary Excess: If the family did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his overspending with state resources.

Travel were listed in official documents: chopper transfers from the estate to a country club and back again in time for lunch, chartered planes instead of regular transport, all for the benefit of "the travel enthusiast".

Existence of Entitlement

Then there was the presumption which demanded deference when he entered a room or the extreme awareness about his designations used on his letterheads in letters to his personal acquaintances.

He could get away with it while his parent, who inexplicably spoiled him, was still surviving. The monarch did at least strip him of official roles and military positions in the consequence of his catastrophic and, we now know, deceptive media appearance six years ago.

Recent Developments

It was only in the last 14 days that events sped up, following the release of biographical works giving more grim information of his behavior and that of his companions.

More information have again revealed Andrew's thinking that he could get away with lying about his interaction with a convicted criminal.

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

Monarchical Concerns

The wiser family members realized that. The key objective is to pass on the monarchy, if not as before at least whole and unstained.

They have spent the last 190 years trying to reverse the image of previous monarchs, demonstrating they are beneficial, responsible and responsive to their subjects.

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

Aftermath

Ultimately, the well-known indecisive sovereign was pushed additional. There was little choice. The royal household had lost control of the story.

Presently the removal of titles and the ongoing and permanent personal shame that will afflict Andrew most severely.

• Downgrading: Lowered to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor
• Past Example: The first member to lose his honorifics in modern times
• Armed Forces: Especially painful given his service in the engagement

He is still a constitutional officer, in principle able to act for the king, and he is still eighth in line to the crown, but not any of these will ever come to pass.

What Lies Ahead

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

Certainly, he is not withdrawing to a common area, but to the royal family's large property at a royal residence.

At that location, he will be supplied by the sovereign with one of the estate properties and given some form of personal stipend.

It is not his previous residence, where he paid a token lease for more than 20 years, and the area is a bit far, but even so it may not be far enough.

Unresolved Issues

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

• Governmental Scrutiny: Could parliament seek further action
• Monetary Probe: Or scrutinize the misuse of taxpayer funds
• Legal Possibility: There may even be a criminal probe into his actions

Maybe for the time being the reputational impact to the monarchy is contained. The statement from the institution was plainly that the removal of honorifics was what the monarch, and notably other senior family members, sought.

A Shift in Position

No more deception that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, remarkably, the concise announcement showed evidently that the institution were supporting the accuser's narrative of events.

Additionally, for the premiere occasion they ultimately showed consideration for the victims: "The measures are considered essential, notwithstanding the truth that he maintains his innocence of the allegations against him."

Ultimately it is arrogance, selfishness and indolence that will kill the institution. In his foolishness, self-indulgence and greed, Andrew appears never to have learned that reality.