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This episode commenced with a isolated photograph, arguably the most significant ever snapped of a individual from the royal household.

There stood the Duke of York, standing closely beside a female youth, while another individual beamed knowingly in the background.

Lacking that snapshot, shot at a party in 2001, few would have credited the assertions of a teenager who declared she was transported across the sea and compelled to have brief intimate contact with a member of the royal family?

A strange, revealing move by someone who had openly asserted to have not known about her, asserted he could not have had relations with her, and yet paid millions of family funds to settle a drawn-out legal case.

Years of Scandal

Against this backdrop, discussions of the royals acting swiftly to cut Andrew off are inaccurate. This controversy has endured for the largest portion of 15 years since that image, and an additional photo of Andrew ambling amiably with a disgraced financier emerged.

• Arrogance: For what duration did his siblings, perhaps even his relatives, understand that Andrew was so arrogant?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have understood, if his staff and the police were performing their duties, that he had some highly questionable associates given he openly invited them to estates.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the family did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his overspending with state resources.

Journeys were printed in official documents: helicopter travel from the royal residence to a golf course and back again in time for midday meal, exclusive air travel instead of scheduled services, all for the comfort of "the travel enthusiast".

A Life of Privilege

Then there was the presumption which required respect when he appeared in a area or the extreme consciousness about his honorifics used on his letterheads in communication to his associates.

He could get away with it while his parent, who strangely indulged him, was still living. The monarch did at least remove him of official roles and honorary colonelcies in the wake of his ill-fated and, it is now clear, untruthful media appearance six years ago.

Latest Events

It was only in the last fortnight that events progressed rapidly, following the publication of books giving more disturbing information of his actions and that of his connections.

Additional revelations have again revealed Andrew's belief that he could get away with lying about his relationship with a notorious figure.

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

Royal Worries

The wiser family members recognized that. The key objective is to transfer the monarchy, if not as before at least complete and unblemished.

They have spent the last 190 years trying to undo the legacy of previous monarchs, proving they are valuable, responsible and reactive to their citizens.

His actions endangered all that in danger in an time when deference and privacy is no longer sufficient.

Aftermath

Eventually, the famously uncertain monarch was pressured further. There was no other option. The royal household had lost control of the account.

Currently the loss of titles and the ongoing and life-long personal shame that will afflict Andrew most severely.

• Reduction: Lowered to just a commoner
• Past Example: The primary monarch to surrender his titles in recent history
• Military Service: Especially stinging given his duty in the conflict

He remains a constitutional officer, on paper able to stand in for the king, and he is still eighth in line to the throne, but neither of these will ever happen.

Future Prospects

Can persons he meets still defer to him? Could they still slip up and call him Your Highness? Would they say Mr,

Naturally, he is not moving to suburbia, but to the monarchy's large grounds at a royal residence.

There, he will be furnished by the king with one of the estate properties and given some type of financial support.

This is not his former home, where he paid a token payment for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit distant, but even so it may not be adequate distance.

Outstanding Concerns

This is not over. There are still files in the possession of overseas authorities to be made public.

• Political Pressure: Could legislators demand more
• Monetary Probe: Or investigate the misuse of taxpayer funds
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his behavior

Maybe for the moment the reputational impact to the institution is contained. The statement from the royal household was evidently that the revocation of designations was what the sovereign, and notably other senior monarchical figures, wanted.

Changed Stance

The cessation of deception that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, notably, the short communication showed plainly that the royals were aligning with the accuser's version of occurrences.

Additionally, for the premiere occasion they finally showed consideration for the affected individuals: "These actions are judged required, notwithstanding the truth that he maintains his innocence of the allegations against him."

In the end it is arrogance, selfishness and inactivity that will undermine the crown. In his foolishness, self-gratification and greed, Andrew gives the impression never to have understood that lesson.