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The saga started with a solitary photograph, possibly the most consequential ever taken of a member of the monarchy.

There stood the Earl of Inverness, arm-in-arm a teenage girl, while an associate smiled knowingly in the background.

Lacking that image, taken at a social event in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the allegations of a teenager who declared she was transported across the ocean and obliged to have brief intimate contact with a member of the royal family?

An odd, telling gesture by someone who had publicly stated to have never known about her, claimed he could not have had relations with her, and yet provided millions of monarchical resources to avert a drawn-out legal case.

A Long Period of Scandal

Considering this, discussions of the monarchy acting firmly to sever ties with Andrew are misguided. This affair has endured for the largest portion of 15 years since that photograph, and a further photo of Andrew ambling pleasantly with a disgraced financier came to light.

• Self-importance: How long did his family members, possibly even his parents, realize that Andrew was so self-entitled?
• Problematic Connections: They must have known, if his aides and the authorities were fulfilling their roles, that he had some deeply disreputable companions given he unabashedly hosted them to royal residences.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the household did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his overspending with public money.

Journeys were documented in royal annual reports: helicopter flights from the estate to a sporting venue and back again in time for dining, private flights instead of scheduled services, all for the convenience of "the frequent flyer".

A Life of Privilege

Furthermore the arrogance which expected respect when he entered a space or the extreme awareness about his royal titles used on his letterheads in messages to his personal acquaintances.

He avoided accountability while his mother, who strangely indulged him, was still living. The monarch did at least revoke him of public duties and ceremonial ranks in the wake of his catastrophic and, we now know, deceptive media appearance six years ago.

Current Situation

Just in the last two weeks that events sped up, following the release of biographical works giving more troubling particulars of his behavior and that of his connections.

More information have again exposed Andrew's assumption that he could avoid lying about his relationship with a notorious figure.

The public (and the media) were far in advance of the royals. There was nobody of any importance to defend him, a outcome of all those years of arrogance.

Royal Worries

The more astute royals understood that. The one imperative is to hand down the crown, if not as heretofore at least intact and unblemished.

For generations the last 190 years trying to reverse the reputation of previous monarchs, proving they are useful, accountable and reactive to their subjects.

Andrew was putting all that in peril in an age when respect and privacy is no longer adequate.

The Fallout

Ultimately, the well-known uncertain king was pushed further. There was no other option. The palace had surrendered command of the story.

Presently the removal of designations and the continued and lifetime personal shame that will hurt Andrew most deeply.

• Demotion: Reduced to just a private citizen
• Historical Precedent: The first royal to forfeit his designations in contemporary era
• Naval Career: Notably hurtful given his role in the Falklands war

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

What Lies Ahead

Can persons he meets still acknowledge him? Will they still slip up and call him Sir? Will they even say Sir,

Of course, he is not retiring to an ordinary town, but to the monarchy's extensive estate at Sandringham.

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

It is not his prior accommodation, where he paid a token lease for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit distant, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed.

Outstanding Concerns

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

• Political Pressure: Will legislators seek further action
• Monetary Probe: Or examine the misuse of public money
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his actions

Possibly for the present the harm to the monarchy to the crown is restricted. The statement from the institution was clearly that the stripping of honorifics was what the king, and notably other senior family members, wanted.

Changed Stance

No more pretence that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, notably, the concise announcement showed plainly that the institution were siding with the complainant's narrative of occurrences.

Even more, for the initial instance they ultimately showed regard for the affected individuals: "The censures are judged required, notwithstanding the reality that he continues to deny the claims against him."

Finally it is presumption, self-seeking and indolence that will destroy the monarchy. In his stupidity, self-indulgence and corruption, Andrew appears never to have grasped that lesson.