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

Present was the Earl of Inverness, standing closely beside a female youth, while a companion grinned knowingly in the background.

Without that snapshot, shot at a party in 2001, who would have believed the assertions of a teenager who declared she was moved across the sea and forced to have perfunctory sexual encounters with a member of the royal family?

A curious, telling gesture by someone who had publicly asserted to have not heard of her, claimed he could never have had relations with her, and yet handed over millions of his mother's resources to settle a protracted legal case.

Over a Decade of Controversy

Against this backdrop, discussions of the royal family acting firmly to cut Andrew off are misguided. This affair has endured for the better part of 15 years since that image, and a further image of Andrew strolling pleasantly with a convicted sex offender surfaced.

• Self-importance: To what extent did his siblings, perhaps even his relatives, know that Andrew was so arrogant?
• Problematic Connections: They must have understood, if his employees and the police were fulfilling their roles, that he had some extremely unsavory associates given he publicly welcomed them to royal residences.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the household did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with public money.

Journeys were documented in royal annual reports: chopper flights from the palace to a golf course and back again in time for lunch, exclusive air travel instead of commercial flights, all for the comfort of "Airmiles Andy".

World of Deference

Additionally the arrogance which demanded subservience when he appeared in a area or the supreme consciousness about his royal titles used on his official documents in letters to his friends.

He could get away with it while his parent, who strangely pampered him, was still living. The sovereign did at least strip him of public duties and military positions in the consequence of his disastrous and, we now know, deceptive media appearance six years ago.

Current Situation

Merely in the last 14 days that events sped up, following the publication of accounts giving more grim details of his actions and that of his connections.

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

The public (and the journalists) were far in advance of the royals. There was no one of any importance to support him, a outcome of all those years of presumption.

Monarchical Concerns

The more astute royals understood that. The primary concern is to pass on the monarchy, if not as heretofore at least whole and unstained.

For generations the last 190 years trying to undo the legacy of earlier rulers, proving they are beneficial, accountable and attentive to their subjects.

His actions endangered all that in peril in an age when submission and discretion is no longer enough.

The Fallout

Eventually, the famously indecisive monarch was pressured further. There was no alternative. The palace had surrendered command of the story.

Currently the removal of titles and the continued and life-long public humiliation that will hurt Andrew most severely.

• Downgrading: Demoted to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor
• Prior Instance: The initial monarch to surrender his titles in recent history
• Military Service: Particularly hurtful given his role in the engagement

He is still a constitutional officer, in principle able to act for the sovereign, and he is still in the lineage to the throne, but neither of these will ever happen.

What Lies Ahead

Can persons he meets still show respect to him? Might they still forget themselves and call him Prince? Might they say Andrew,

Naturally, he is not retiring to a common area, but to the sovereign's large property at a royal residence.

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

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

Pending Matters

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

• Political Pressure: Might lawmakers request additional information
• Financial Investigation: Or investigate the misuse of state resources
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a criminal probe into his conduct

Perhaps for the moment the institutional damage to the monarchy is restricted. The statement from the palace was plainly that the stripping of designations was what the monarch, and notably other senior royals, desired.

A Shift in Position

The cessation of deception that Andrew was acting willingly. And, remarkably, the brief communication showed plainly that the royals were supporting the victim's version of occurrences.

Even more, for the initial instance they ultimately showed concern for the survivors: "The measures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the claims against him."

Finally it is arrogance, self-seeking and inactivity that will destroy the crown. In his stupidity, self-indulgence and corruption, Andrew appears never to have understood that reality.