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The saga started with a solitary photograph, possibly the most impactful ever taken of a individual from the royal household.

In the frame appeared the Duke of York, with his arm around a young woman, while another individual grinned conspiratorially in the backdrop.

Without that image, captured at a party in 2001, who would have believed the assertions of a young woman who declared she was moved across the ocean and forced to have cursory relations with a individual of the monarchy?

An odd, telling action by someone who had openly stated to have never been aware of her, asserted he could not have had intimate contact with her, and yet provided a large amount of his mother's money to settle a protracted court action.

Over a Decade of Controversy

Considering this, discussions of the royals acting decisively to distance themselves from Andrew are wide of the mark. This scandal has persisted for the better part of 15 years since that photograph, and an additional snapshot of Andrew ambling amiably with a convicted sex offender surfaced.

• Hubris: For what duration did his brothers and sisters, perhaps even his mother and father, know that Andrew was so self-entitled?
• Problematic Connections: They must have known, if his employees and the police were performing their duties, that he had some extremely unsavory associates given he publicly welcomed them to estates.
• Financial Extravagance: If the family did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with public money.

Journeys were printed in official documents: chopper travel from the estate to a country club and back again in time for lunch, exclusive air travel instead of regular transport, all for the benefit of "the travel enthusiast".

World of Deference

Then there was the presumption which expected respect when he appeared in a space or the supreme awareness about his designations used on his letterheads in communication to his associates.

He avoided accountability while his mother, who inexplicably spoiled him, was still surviving. The monarch did at least strip him of official roles and ceremonial ranks in the aftermath of his catastrophic and, as revealed, mendacious public statement six years ago.

Latest Events

Just in the last 14 days that events progressed rapidly, following the publication of accounts giving more disturbing particulars of his actions and that of his companions.

Further disclosures have again exposed Andrew's assumption that he could avoid deceiving about his interaction with a disgraced individual.

People (and the media) were far ahead of the monarchy. There was not a single person of any importance to defend him, a result of all those years of arrogance.

Royal Worries

The more intelligent monarchical figures recognized that. The one imperative is to transfer the institution, if not as previously at least whole and unblemished.

They have spent the last 190 years trying to reverse the legacy of previous monarchs, demonstrating they are beneficial, accountable and attentive to their citizens.

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

Consequences

Finally, the famously hesitant monarch was prodded more. There was little choice. The institution had surrendered command of the account.

Presently the loss of designations and the persistent and life-long public humiliation that will hurt Andrew most severely.

• Downgrading: Lowered to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor
• Past Example: The initial monarch to surrender his designations in recent history
• Naval Career: Particularly hurtful given his role in the Falklands war

He continues to be a royal advisor, on paper able to stand in for the monarch, and he is still eighth in line to the monarchy, but not any of these will truly occur.

Future Prospects

Can persons he encounters still acknowledge him? Might they still forget themselves and call him Prince? Might they say Mr,

Naturally, he is not moving to an ordinary town, but to the sovereign's large estate at a monarchical property.

At that location, he will be supplied by the king with one of the royal residences and given some form of personal stipend.

This differs from his former home, where he paid a minimal payment for more than 20 years, and Norfolk is a bit remote, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed.

Unresolved Issues

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

• Political Pressure: Will legislators demand more
• Monetary Probe: Or scrutinize the improper use of public money
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his actions

Maybe for the time being the reputational impact to the monarchy is limited. The narrative from the institution was plainly that the revocation of titles was what the monarch, and particularly other senior monarchical figures, wanted.

A Shift in Position

The cessation of deception that Andrew was acting willingly. And, remarkably, the concise statement showed evidently that the institution were siding with the victim's account of incidents.

Even more, for the premiere occasion they eventually showed consideration for the affected individuals: "The measures are judged required, despite the fact that he maintains his innocence of the accusations against him."

Ultimately it is arrogance, selfishness and inactivity that will destroy the institution. In his stupidity, self-gratification and greed, Andrew seems never to have grasped that reality.