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

Present was the Earl of Inverness, arm-in-arm a female youth, while another individual grinned suggestively in the background.

Lacking that snapshot, taken at a party in 2001, few would have credited the claims of a young woman who said she was transported across the sea and forced to have perfunctory intimate contact with a individual of the royal bloodline?

A strange, indicative gesture by someone who had openly claimed to have no known about her, claimed he could never have had intimate contact with her, and yet provided a substantial sum of monarchical funds to resolve a protracted lawsuit.

A Long Period of Controversy

In this context, conversations of the monarchy acting swiftly to distance themselves from Andrew are wide of the mark. This affair has persisted for the largest portion of 15 years since that image, and an additional image of Andrew walking pleasantly with a convicted sex offender came to light.

• Arrogance: For what duration did his siblings, perhaps even his parents, know that Andrew was so arrogant?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have understood, if his employees and the police were fulfilling their roles, that he had some deeply disreputable companions given he unabashedly invited them to royal residences.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the family did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with state resources.

Trips were documented in official documents: helicopter flights from the estate to a sporting venue and back again in time for midday meal, private flights instead of scheduled services, all for the comfort of "Airmiles Andy".

World of Deference

Then there was the presumption which demanded subservience when he walked into a space or the profound obsession about his honorifics used on his letterheads in messages to his friends.

He could get away with it while his parent, who inexplicably pampered him, was still alive. The sovereign did at least revoke him of public duties and ceremonial ranks in the wake of his catastrophic and, it is now clear, deceptive public statement six years ago.

Recent Developments

It was only in the last two weeks that events progressed rapidly, following the release of biographical works giving more disturbing particulars of his actions and that of his associates.

More information have again revealed Andrew's thinking that he could avoid being untruthful about his interaction with a notorious figure.

The public (and the press) were far more perceptive of the royals. There was not a single person of any consequence to support him, a outcome of all those years of presumption.

Institutional Fears

The wiser family members realized that. The primary concern is to pass on the institution, if not as heretofore at least whole and unstained.

For generations the last 190 years trying to reverse the legacy of previous monarchs, proving they are beneficial, accountable and responsive to their citizens.

He was placing all that in jeopardy in an time when deference and secrecy is no longer adequate.

Consequences

Finally, the notoriously indecisive monarch was prodded further. There was no other option. The palace had relinquished authority of the story.

Presently the removal of honorifics and the persistent and lifetime public humiliation that will pain Andrew the most.

• Demotion: Reduced to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor
• Past Example: The initial monarch to forfeit his titles in contemporary era
• Naval Career: Particularly painful given his service in the engagement

He is still a constitutional officer, on paper able to act for the king, and he is still in the succession to the monarchy, but none of these will truly happen.

Future Prospects

Do individuals he meets still acknowledge him? Might they still slip up and call him Sir? Might they say Andrew,

Certainly, he is not withdrawing to a common area, but to the sovereign's large grounds at Sandringham.

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

This is not his former home, where he paid a minimal rent for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit distant, but even so it may not be far enough.

Pending Matters

This is not over. There are still records in the hands of US Congress to be revealed.

• Political Pressure: Might lawmakers request additional information
• Fiscal Review: Or scrutinize the improper use of taxpayer funds
• Legal Possibility: There may even be a criminal probe into his behavior

Possibly for the moment the institutional damage to the crown is limited. The statement from the institution was evidently that the revocation of titles was what the monarch, and especially other senior family members, desired.

Altered Approach

The cessation of illusion that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, remarkably, the brief communication showed plainly that the royals were supporting the accuser's account of occurrences.

Additionally, for the first time they finally showed consideration for the affected individuals: "The censures are considered essential, regardless of the truth that he maintains his innocence of the accusations against him."

In the end it is presumption, self-seeking and laziness that will destroy the institution. In his foolishness, personal excess and corruption, Andrew gives the impression never to have understood that truth.