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This episode commenced with a single photograph, possibly the most impactful ever snapped of a royal family member.

There stood the Duke of York, arm-in-arm a female youth, while a companion beamed conspiratorially in the background.

Lacking that photograph, shot at a gathering in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the assertions of a young woman who declared she was moved across the sea and obliged to have perfunctory sexual encounters with a individual of the royal bloodline?

A curious, indicative gesture by someone who had overtly stated to have not heard of her, said he could not have had sex with her, and yet handed over a large amount of his mother's funds to settle a protracted lawsuit.

A Long Period of Disgrace

Against this backdrop, discussions of the royals acting decisively to sever ties with Andrew are inaccurate. This controversy has persisted for the largest portion of 15 years since that image, and an additional snapshot of Andrew walking amiably with a convicted sex offender came to light.

• Self-importance: How long did his siblings, maybe even his relatives, understand that Andrew was so arrogant?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have understood, if his employees and the authorities were fulfilling their roles, that he had some extremely unsavory associates given he openly hosted them to estates.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the household did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his overspending with taxpayer funds.

Trips were documented in official documents: chopper travel from the estate to a country club and back again in time for midday meal, private flights instead of commercial flights, all for the convenience of "the frequent flyer".

A Life of Privilege

Additionally the arrogance which required subservience when he entered a room or the supreme consciousness about his designations used on his official documents in letters to his personal acquaintances.

He avoided accountability while his matriarch, who strangely pampered him, was still surviving. The monarch did at least strip him of public duties and military positions in the consequence of his ill-fated and, as revealed, deceptive television interview six years ago.

Current Situation

Merely in the last two weeks that events sped up, following the release of books giving more disturbing information of his conduct and that of his companions.

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

People (and the journalists) were far ahead of the monarchy. There was not a single person of any significance to speak up for him, a consequence of all those years of hubris.

Monarchical Concerns

The more intelligent family members realized that. The primary concern is to hand down the institution, if not as before at least whole and unblemished.

For generations the last 190 years trying to overcome the legacy of past sovereigns, showing they are beneficial, accountable and attentive to their citizens.

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

Aftermath

Eventually, the well-known hesitant sovereign was pushed additional. There was little choice. The palace had relinquished authority of the account.

Now it is the loss of honorifics and the ongoing and permanent social disgrace that will pain Andrew most severely.

• Demotion: Lowered to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor
• Past Example: The initial member to lose his honorifics in recent history
• Military Service: Notably hurtful given his duty in the conflict

He is still a counsellor of state, theoretically able to act for the sovereign, and he is still eighth in line to the monarchy, but none of these will ever happen.

Future Prospects

Do individuals he comes across still defer to him? Could they still forget themselves and call him Prince? Might they say Sir,

Certainly, he is not retiring to suburbia, but to the sovereign's extensive property at Sandringham.

At that location, he will be supplied by the king with one of the estate properties and given some sort of financial support.

It is not his former home, where he paid a minimal lease for more than 20 years, and the area is a bit far, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed.

Outstanding Concerns

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

• Governmental Scrutiny: Could parliament request additional information
• Monetary Probe: Or investigate the misuse of public money
• Legal Possibility: There may even be a police investigation into his behavior

Maybe for the present the reputational impact to the crown is limited. The message from the institution was evidently that the stripping of honorifics was what the monarch, and notably other senior family members, desired.

A Shift in Position

An end to illusion that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, significantly, the concise communication showed clearly that the institution were supporting the victim's narrative of incidents.

Even more, for the premiere occasion they ultimately showed regard for the affected individuals: "The measures are deemed necessary, regardless of the reality that he continues to deny the accusations against him."

In the end it is arrogance, self-seeking and inactivity that will destroy the crown. In his foolishness, self-indulgence and corruption, Andrew appears never to have grasped that truth.