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This episode commenced with a solitary photograph, possibly the most impactful ever taken of a member of the monarchy.

Present was the Baron Killyleagh, standing closely beside a young woman, while a companion grinned suggestively in the backdrop.

Lacking that snapshot, shot at a gathering in 2001, who would have believed the assertions of a young woman who declared she was trafficked across the ocean and obliged to have brief relations with a individual of the royal family?

A strange, revealing move by someone who had publicly asserted to have never heard of her, said he could no have had sex with her, and yet handed over a large amount of family funds to resolve a drawn-out court action.

A Long Period of Controversy

Considering this, discussions of the royals acting decisively to cut Andrew off are wide of the mark. This affair has endured for the majority of 15 years since that photograph, and another image of Andrew walking congenially with a notorious individual emerged.

• Arrogance: For what duration did his family members, possibly even his relatives, realize that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have known, if his aides and the police were doing their jobs, that he had some highly questionable associates given he openly hosted them to palaces.
• Monetary Excess: If the household did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his overspending with public money.

Journeys were documented in royal annual reports: private aircraft flights from the estate to a golf course and back again in time for lunch, private flights instead of commercial flights, all for the convenience of "Airmiles Andy".

World of Deference

Furthermore the entitlement which required respect when he entered a room or the extreme awareness about his designations used on his letterheads in communication to his associates.

He managed to escape consequences while his mother, who unaccountably pampered him, was still surviving. The monarch did at least remove him of official roles and military positions in the consequence of his catastrophic and, we now know, untruthful public statement six years ago.

Latest Events

It was only in the last two weeks that events sped up, following the publication of books giving more grim information of his actions and that of his associates.

Further disclosures have again highlighted Andrew's assumption that he could avoid lying about his contact with a notorious figure.

Society (and the press) were far in advance of the royals. There was no one of any importance to defend him, a result of all those years of hubris.

Institutional Fears

The more intelligent family members recognized that. The one imperative is to pass on the monarchy, if not as heretofore at least intact and untarnished.

For generations the last 190 years trying to undo the reputation of earlier rulers, demonstrating they are valuable, accountable and reactive to their people.

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

Consequences

Finally, the notoriously uncertain sovereign was pushed further. There was no other option. The institution had relinquished authority of the story.

Currently the removal of titles and the ongoing and permanent public humiliation that will pain Andrew most deeply.

• Reduction: Demoted to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor
• Past Example: The first member to lose his honorifics in contemporary era
• Armed Forces: Especially hurtful given his role in the engagement

He continues to be a royal advisor, in principle able to act for the monarch, and he is still eighth in line to the crown, but not any of these will ever come to pass.

Coming Developments

Will people he comes across still defer to him? Could they still make mistakes and call him Sir? Will they even say Andrew,

Certainly, he is not moving to an ordinary town, but to the royal family's large grounds at Sandringham.

At that location, he will be provided by the sovereign with one of the grace and favour houses and given some type of private allowance.

This differs from his previous residence, where he paid a minimal rent for more than 20 years, and Norfolk is a bit remote, but even so it may not be far enough.

Outstanding Concerns

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

• Parliamentary Interest: Will lawmakers demand more
• Monetary Probe: Or examine the improper use of taxpayer funds
• Judicial Potential: There may even be a criminal probe into his actions

Possibly for the moment the institutional damage to the crown is limited. The narrative from the palace was evidently that the removal of designations was what the king, and notably other senior royals, desired.

Altered Approach

The cessation of illusion that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, significantly, the concise statement showed clearly that the royals were supporting the complainant's version of events.

Furthermore, for the first time they ultimately showed regard for the survivors: "The measures are judged required, despite the reality that he continues to deny the accusations against him."

In the end it is presumption, selfishness and indolence that will destroy the monarchy. In his foolishness, self-gratification and greed, Andrew appears never to have grasped that truth.