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It all began with a solitary photograph, arguably the most consequential ever captured of a royal family member.

In the frame appeared the Earl of Inverness, standing closely beside a young woman, while a companion beamed conspiratorially in the background.

Lacking that photograph, taken at a party in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the claims of a teenager who stated she was transported across the sea and compelled to have cursory intimate contact with a member of the royal family?

A curious, indicative gesture by someone who had openly claimed to have never heard of her, said he could not have had sex with her, and yet paid millions of his mother's funds to resolve a drawn-out court action.

Over a Decade of Disgrace

Considering this, conversations of the royal family acting firmly to cut Andrew off are misguided. This scandal has endured for the majority of 15 years since that picture, and another image of Andrew ambling congenially with a notorious individual came to light.

• Arrogance: To what extent did his siblings, possibly even his parents, realize that Andrew was so arrogant?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have understood, if his staff and the authorities were performing their duties, that he had some deeply disreputable companions given he publicly hosted them to royal residences.
• Financial Extravagance: If the family did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with state resources.

Journeys were documented in official documents: chopper flights from the palace to a sporting venue and back again in time for midday meal, private flights instead of scheduled services, all for the convenience of "Airmiles Andy".

Existence of Entitlement

Then there was the entitlement which expected subservience when he entered a area or the profound obsession about his designations used on his official documents in messages to his personal acquaintances.

He could get away with it while his parent, who unaccountably indulged him, was still alive. The monarch did at least strip him of public duties and honorary colonelcies in the wake of his ill-fated and, we now know, untruthful media appearance six years ago.

Current Situation

It was only in the last 14 days that events accelerated, following the issuance of accounts giving more disturbing particulars of his actions and that of his associates.

Further disclosures have again revealed Andrew's thinking that he could get away with lying about his relationship with a notorious figure.

The public (and the media) were far more perceptive of the royal family. There was not a single person of any consequence to defend him, a outcome of all those years of arrogance.

Institutional Fears

The more intelligent monarchical figures recognized that. The one imperative is to pass on the institution, if not as previously at least intact and untarnished.

They have spent the last 190 years trying to reverse the reputation of past sovereigns, demonstrating they are useful, responsible and attentive to their people.

His actions endangered all that in jeopardy in an time when deference and privacy is no longer sufficient.

The Fallout

Finally, the well-known hesitant king was pressured additional. There was no other option. The palace had surrendered command of the narrative.

Now it is the stripping of designations and the persistent and lifetime personal shame that will afflict Andrew most deeply.

• Downgrading: Demoted to just a commoner
• Historical Precedent: The first member to surrender his designations in recent history
• Military Service: Notably hurtful given his service in the Falklands war

He is still a counsellor of state, in principle able to act for the sovereign, and he is still in the succession to the crown, but not any of these will ever happen.

What Lies Ahead

Can persons he encounters still acknowledge him? Might they still slip up and call him Sir? Might they say Mr,

Naturally, he is not retiring to suburbia, but to the royal family's extensive property at Sandringham.

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

It is not his previous residence, 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 far enough.

Unresolved Issues

Matters remain unresolved. There are still documents in the possession of overseas authorities to be made public.

• Political Pressure: Will legislators demand more
• Fiscal Review: Or scrutinize the waste of taxpayer funds
• Legal Possibility: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his conduct

Maybe for the time being the reputational impact to the institution is contained. The message from the palace was plainly that the stripping of designations was what the king, and particularly other senior royals, wanted.

Altered Approach

The cessation of deception that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, significantly, the short announcement showed evidently that the monarchy were siding with the complainant's version of occurrences.

Furthermore, for the initial instance they eventually showed concern for the victims: "The censures are deemed necessary, despite the fact that he maintains his innocence of the accusations against him."

In the end it is entitlement, self-interest and inactivity that will undermine the monarchy. In his folly, self-indulgence and venality, Andrew seems never to have learned that truth.