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It all began with a single photograph, arguably the most consequential ever taken of a member of the monarchy.

Present was the Duke of York, with his arm around a teenage girl, while a companion grinned knowingly in the background.

Lacking that photograph, shot at a gathering in 2001, few would have credited the claims of a adolescent who said she was moved across the Atlantic and obliged to have perfunctory intimate contact with a prince of the royal bloodline?

A strange, indicative action by someone who had overtly stated to have no known about her, asserted he could no have had relations with her, and yet provided millions of monarchical funds to resolve a long-delayed court action.

A Long Period of Scandal

Considering this, talk of the monarchy acting decisively to sever ties with Andrew are inaccurate. This controversy has endured for the better part of 15 years since that photograph, and a further image of Andrew strolling amiably with a notorious individual emerged.

• Hubris: How long did his family members, perhaps even his parents, know that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Problematic Connections: They must have known, if his employees and the police were doing their jobs, that he had some extremely unsavory friends given he publicly hosted them to estates.
• Monetary Excess: If the family did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his extravagance with state resources.

Trips were listed in public records: private aircraft flights from the royal residence to a golf course and back again in time for lunch, private flights instead of commercial flights, all for the convenience of "the frequent flyer".

Existence of Entitlement

Then there was the arrogance which expected respect when he walked into a area or the profound obsession about his royal titles used on his letterheads in letters to his personal acquaintances.

He avoided accountability while his parent, who strangely pampered him, was still surviving. The sovereign did at least strip him of official roles and honorary colonelcies in the consequence of his disastrous and, we now know, mendacious television interview six years ago.

Latest Events

Merely in the last 14 days that events accelerated, following the release of biographical works giving more grim particulars of his conduct and that of his associates.

More information have again exposed Andrew's belief that he could escape lying about his relationship with a convicted criminal.

People (and the media) were far more perceptive of the royal family. There was not a single person of any importance to support him, a outcome of all those years of presumption.

Institutional Fears

The more intelligent family members recognized that. The primary concern is to transfer the monarchy, if not as heretofore at least whole and unstained.

For generations the last 190 years trying to overcome the legacy of earlier rulers, proving they are useful, accountable and reactive to their subjects.

He was placing all that in peril in an age when respect and discretion is no longer sufficient.

Consequences

Eventually, the well-known uncertain monarch was prodded additional. There was no alternative. The institution had lost control of the account.

Currently the removal of honorifics and the persistent and permanent personal shame that will pain Andrew most deeply.

• Demotion: Lowered to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor
• Past Example: The first royal to lose his honorifics in modern times
• Military Service: Particularly painful given his role in the Falklands war

He remains a constitutional officer, on paper able to act for the king, and he is still eighth in line to the throne, but none of these will ever come to pass.

What Lies Ahead

Will people he comes across still show respect to him? Will they still forget themselves and call him Prince? Might they say Andrew,

Naturally, he is not withdrawing to suburbia, but to the monarchy's extensive estate at a monarchical property.

There, he will be provided by the sovereign with one of the royal residences and given some type of private allowance.

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

Pending Matters

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

• Parliamentary Interest: Might legislators demand more
• Fiscal Review: Or investigate the waste of state resources
• Legal Possibility: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his conduct

Possibly for the time being the institutional damage to the monarchy is limited. The statement from the institution was clearly that the removal of designations was what the sovereign, and especially other senior family members, wanted.

Altered Approach

The cessation of illusion that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, notably, the brief statement showed plainly that the monarchy were supporting the complainant's version of occurrences.

Furthermore, for the first time they eventually showed consideration for the affected individuals: "The censures are judged required, regardless of the fact that he continues to deny the accusations against him."

Finally it is presumption, self-interest and inactivity that will destroy the monarchy. In his stupidity, self-gratification and greed, Andrew seems never to have understood that truth.