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It all began with a single photograph, perhaps the most impactful ever snapped of a member of the monarchy.

In the frame appeared the Baron Killyleagh, arm-in-arm a female youth, while an associate smiled suggestively in the backdrop.

Lacking that photograph, shot at a party in 2001, who would have believed the allegations of a teenager who said she was moved across the Atlantic and compelled to have brief sexual encounters with a prince of the royal family?

A strange, revealing action by someone who had overtly claimed to have never known about her, said he could no have had intimate contact with her, and yet paid millions of family resources to resolve a protracted legal case.

Years of Scandal

Against this backdrop, conversations of the royals acting decisively to distance themselves from Andrew are misguided. This affair has persisted for the majority of 15 years since that image, and another image of Andrew strolling congenially with a convicted sex offender surfaced.

• Arrogance: To what extent did his brothers and sisters, maybe even his mother and father, realize that Andrew was so self-entitled?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have understood, if his employees and the police were fulfilling their roles, that he had some deeply disreputable associates given he publicly invited them to estates.
• Financial Extravagance: If the monarchy did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his extravagance with state resources.

Trips were documented in royal annual reports: helicopter travel from the estate to a golf course and back again in time for lunch, chartered planes instead of commercial flights, all for the benefit of "Airmiles Andy".

Existence of Entitlement

Furthermore the arrogance which demanded deference when he appeared in a room or the extreme consciousness about his designations used on his letterheads in communication to his associates.

He avoided accountability while his matriarch, who strangely indulged him, was still surviving. The Queen did at least revoke him of official roles and ceremonial ranks in the aftermath of his catastrophic and, as revealed, deceptive media appearance six years ago.

Recent Developments

Just in the last 14 days that events sped up, following the release of accounts giving more disturbing particulars of his behavior and that of his associates.

More information have again highlighted Andrew's belief that he could avoid lying about his interaction with a notorious figure.

Society (and the press) were far ahead of the monarchy. There was not a single person of any importance to support him, a consequence of all those years of presumption.

Institutional Fears

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

They have spent the last 190 years trying to reverse the reputation of earlier rulers, showing they are beneficial, accountable and responsive to their subjects.

He was placing all that in danger in an time when submission and privacy is no longer adequate.

Consequences

Finally, the notoriously indecisive king was prodded more. There was little choice. The royal household had relinquished authority of the account.

Presently the stripping of designations and the ongoing and lifetime public humiliation that will afflict Andrew the most.

• Demotion: Demoted to just a commoner
• Prior Instance: The primary member to forfeit his designations in modern times
• Armed Forces: Particularly painful given his role in the Falklands war

He continues to be a constitutional officer, theoretically able to stand in for the king, and he is still eighth in line to the monarchy, but none of these will truly happen.

What Lies Ahead

Can persons he meets still acknowledge him? Might they still make mistakes and call him Prince? Would they say Andrew,

Naturally, he is not moving to a common area, but to the sovereign's vast grounds at Sandringham.

There, he will be furnished by the monarch with one of the estate properties and given some type of personal stipend.

This differs from his former home, where he paid a minimal lease for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit remote, but even so it may not be adequate distance.

Outstanding Concerns

The situation continues. There are still records in the hands of American legislators to be revealed.

• Parliamentary Interest: Could parliament seek further action
• Fiscal Review: Or examine the misuse of public money
• Judicial Potential: There may even be a police investigation into his conduct

Maybe for the moment the institutional damage to the crown is contained. The narrative from the institution was evidently that the removal of honorifics was what the king, and notably other senior family members, wanted.

Changed Stance

An end to pretence that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, notably, the short announcement showed evidently that the institution were aligning with the victim's version of incidents.

Furthermore, for the premiere occasion they eventually showed concern for the victims: "The measures are judged required, regardless of the fact that he continues to deny the accusations against him."

Finally it is arrogance, self-seeking and inactivity that will destroy the crown. In his foolishness, self-indulgence and venality, Andrew gives the impression never to have learned that truth.