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This episode commenced with a solitary photograph, possibly the most consequential ever captured of a individual from the royal household.

Present was the Duke of York, standing closely beside a young woman, while another individual grinned conspiratorially in the rear.

Absent that photograph, captured at a party in 2001, who would have believed the assertions of a adolescent who declared she was trafficked across the sea and obliged to have perfunctory intimate contact with a member of the monarchy?

An odd, revealing action by someone who had openly asserted to have never heard of her, said he could never have had relations with her, and yet provided a large amount of family funds to settle a protracted legal case.

A Long Period of Disgrace

Against this backdrop, talk of the royals acting firmly to cut Andrew off are wide of the mark. This scandal has endured for the largest portion of 15 years since that picture, and another snapshot of Andrew strolling congenially with a disgraced financier came to light.

• Hubris: How long did his brothers and sisters, maybe even his parents, understand that Andrew was so self-entitled?
• Problematic Connections: They must have understood, if his employees and the law enforcement were performing their duties, that he had some deeply disreputable friends given he unabashedly welcomed them to palaces.
• Monetary Excess: If the household did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his overspending with public money.

Travel were listed in royal annual reports: chopper transfers from the estate to a country club and back again in time for midday meal, exclusive air travel instead of commercial flights, all for the benefit of "the frequent flyer".

A Life of Privilege

Furthermore the entitlement which demanded respect when he appeared in a room or the extreme consciousness about his honorifics used on his letterheads in communication to his friends.

He managed to escape consequences while his mother, who unaccountably indulged him, was still surviving. The Queen did at least strip him of royal responsibilities and military positions in the consequence of his disastrous and, it is now clear, untruthful media appearance six years ago.

Recent Developments

Merely in the last two weeks that events accelerated, following the release of biographical works giving more disturbing information of his conduct and that of his companions.

More information have again highlighted Andrew's thinking that he could escape being untruthful about his relationship with a notorious figure.

Society (and the press) were far more perceptive of the monarchy. There was not a single person of any consequence to speak up for him, a outcome of all those years of hubris.

Royal Worries

The wiser royals recognized that. The primary concern is to pass on the institution, if not as before at least complete and untarnished.

They have spent the last 190 years trying to undo the image of previous monarchs, demonstrating they are useful, dutiful and responsive to their subjects.

He was placing all that in peril in an era when respect and privacy is no longer enough.

The Fallout

Eventually, the famously hesitant monarch was prodded further. There was no other option. The palace had surrendered command of the narrative.

Now it is the loss of honorifics and the ongoing and permanent public humiliation that will afflict Andrew the most.

• Reduction: Reduced to just a private citizen
• Historical Precedent: The primary royal to lose his titles in contemporary era
• Armed Forces: Particularly painful given his duty in the conflict

He remains a constitutional officer, theoretically able to substitute for the king, and he is still in the succession to the throne, but not any of these will actually occur.

What Lies Ahead

Will people he meets still acknowledge him? Will they still make mistakes and call him Sir? Will they even say Mr,

Certainly, he is not moving to an ordinary town, but to the royal family's vast property at a monarchical property.

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

It is not his previous residence, where he paid a minimal rent for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit distant, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed.

Outstanding Concerns

The situation continues. There are still documents in the possession of overseas authorities to be disclosed.

• Political Pressure: Will parliament request additional information
• Financial Investigation: Or investigate the improper use of public money
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a criminal probe into his actions

Perhaps for the time being the harm to the monarchy to the institution is contained. The message from the palace was evidently that the removal of honorifics was what the king, and especially other senior monarchical figures, wanted.

Changed Stance

No more illusion that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, notably, the brief statement showed clearly that the royals were aligning with the accuser's account of incidents.

Furthermore, for the premiere occasion they eventually showed concern for the survivors: "These actions are deemed necessary, despite the truth that he continues to deny the allegations against him."

Ultimately it is arrogance, self-seeking and indolence that will undermine the monarchy. In his folly, self-gratification and venality, Andrew gives the impression never to have learned that truth.