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

Present was the Earl of Inverness, standing closely beside a teenage girl, while a companion grinned suggestively in the background.

Lacking that photograph, captured at a party in 2001, few would have credited the allegations of a adolescent who declared she was transported across the sea and obliged to have cursory sexual encounters with a prince of the monarchy?

A strange, telling gesture by someone who had publicly asserted to have no known about her, claimed he could no have had intimate contact with her, and yet provided a substantial sum of his mother's funds to settle a protracted court action.

A Long Period of Controversy

Against this backdrop, discussions of the monarchy 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 image, and a further photo of Andrew strolling pleasantly with a notorious individual emerged.

• Hubris: How long did his family members, perhaps even his relatives, know that Andrew was so self-entitled?
• Problematic Connections: They must have realized, if his employees and the law enforcement were performing their duties, that he had some deeply disreputable associates given he publicly invited them to estates.
• Monetary Excess: If the monarchy did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his extravagance with public money.

Journeys were documented in royal annual reports: chopper transfers from the estate to a golf course and back again in time for dining, private flights instead of regular transport, all for the benefit of "the frequent flyer".

Existence of Entitlement

Then there was the entitlement which required subservience when he appeared in a room or the extreme obsession about his royal titles used on his official documents in letters to his personal acquaintances.

He could get away with it while his parent, who strangely pampered him, was still alive. The sovereign did at least remove him of royal responsibilities and ceremonial ranks in the wake of his catastrophic and, it is now clear, untruthful public statement six years ago.

Latest Events

It was only in the last two weeks that events sped up, following the release of accounts giving more disturbing details of his conduct and that of his companions.

Further disclosures have again exposed Andrew's belief that he could avoid being untruthful about his contact with a convicted criminal.

The public (and the press) were far in advance of the royals. There was not a single person of any significance to speak up for him, a outcome of all those years of presumption.

Royal Worries

The more intelligent monarchical figures realized that. The one imperative is to hand down the monarchy, if not as previously at least whole and unstained.

They have spent the last 190 years trying to undo the image of earlier rulers, showing they are valuable, accountable and reactive to their people.

Andrew was putting all that in jeopardy in an time when deference and secrecy is no longer enough.

Consequences

Finally, the well-known indecisive king was pushed further. There was no alternative. The palace had relinquished authority of the account.

Presently the loss of honorifics and the continued and permanent personal shame that will hurt Andrew most deeply.

• Reduction: Reduced to just a commoner
• Historical Precedent: The first royal to forfeit his honorifics in modern times
• Military Service: Particularly painful given his role in the conflict

He is still a royal advisor, on paper able to substitute for the king, and he is still in the lineage to the crown, but none of these will truly happen.

Future Prospects

Do individuals he meets still acknowledge him? Might they still slip up and call him Prince? Would they say Mr,

Certainly, he is not withdrawing to a common area, but to the sovereign's extensive estate at a monarchical property.

In that place, he will be furnished by the king with one of the royal residences and given some type of financial support.

This is not his previous residence, where he paid a nominal lease for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit far, but even so it may not be adequate distance.

Pending Matters

The situation continues. There are still records in the possession of US Congress to be made public.

• Political Pressure: Will legislators seek further action
• Fiscal Review: Or examine the waste of state resources
• Legal Possibility: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his behavior

Possibly for the moment the reputational impact to the monarchy is limited. The statement from the institution was evidently that the removal of titles was what the king, and particularly other senior royals, sought.

A Shift in Position

The cessation of deception that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, remarkably, the short statement showed plainly that the institution were supporting the victim's account of incidents.

Furthermore, for the first time they eventually showed concern for the affected individuals: "These actions are considered essential, notwithstanding the reality that he persists in refuting the allegations against him."

Finally it is entitlement, self-interest and laziness that will kill the institution. In his stupidity, self-indulgence and greed, Andrew appears never to have learned that lesson.