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It all began with a single photograph, arguably the most impactful ever taken of a individual from the royal household.

There stood the Earl of Inverness, with his arm around a female youth, while a companion smiled knowingly in the backdrop.

Lacking that photograph, taken at a party in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the assertions of a adolescent who declared she was transported across the Atlantic and forced to have cursory intimate contact with a member of the monarchy?

An odd, telling action by someone who had openly claimed to have never heard of her, said he could no have had relations with her, and yet paid a substantial sum of his mother's funds to resolve a protracted lawsuit.

Over a Decade of Scandal

Against this backdrop, conversations of the royal family acting swiftly to sever ties with Andrew are misguided. This affair has endured for the better part of 15 years since that photograph, and an additional image of Andrew strolling pleasantly with a convicted sex offender surfaced.

• Hubris: To what extent did his siblings, perhaps even his relatives, understand that Andrew was so self-entitled?
• Questionable Associations: They must have realized, if his staff and the police were doing their jobs, that he had some deeply disreputable friends given he unabashedly hosted them to royal residences.
• Monetary Excess: If the family did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his extravagance with taxpayer funds.

Journeys were documented in royal annual reports: chopper flights from the royal residence to a golf course and back again in time for dining, exclusive air travel instead of regular transport, all for the benefit of "Airmiles Andy".

A Life of Privilege

Furthermore the presumption which demanded respect when he entered a room or the profound awareness about his honorifics used on his correspondence in communication to his friends.

He could get away with it while his parent, who inexplicably spoiled him, was still surviving. The Queen did at least strip him of official roles and ceremonial ranks in the aftermath of his ill-fated and, we now know, mendacious television interview six years ago.

Recent Developments

Merely in the last 14 days that events sped up, following the publication of biographical works giving more grim information of his conduct and that of his connections.

More information have again exposed Andrew's thinking that he could escape deceiving about his relationship with a convicted criminal.

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

Monarchical Concerns

The more intelligent family members understood that. The one imperative is to transfer the monarchy, if not as previously at least complete and unblemished.

For generations the last 190 years trying to undo the reputation of earlier rulers, proving they are beneficial, responsible and responsive to their citizens.

His actions endangered all that in jeopardy in an era when submission and privacy is no longer adequate.

The Fallout

Ultimately, the famously uncertain sovereign was pressured further. There was little choice. The palace had lost control of the narrative.

Presently the removal of designations and the continued and lifetime public humiliation that will hurt Andrew most severely.

• Demotion: Reduced to just a commoner
• Historical Precedent: The primary member to lose his titles in recent history
• Military Service: Particularly stinging given his duty in the conflict

He continues to be a constitutional officer, on paper able to stand in for the monarch, and he is still eighth in line to the crown, but neither of these will truly happen.

What Lies Ahead

Will people he meets still show respect to him? Could they still make mistakes and call him Sir? Might they say Sir,

Of course, he is not withdrawing to a common area, but to the royal family's vast property at a royal residence.

There, he will be furnished by the sovereign with one of the royal residences and given some type of private allowance.

This differs from his previous residence, where he paid a token lease for more than 20 years, and Norfolk is a bit remote, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed.

Unresolved Issues

Matters remain unresolved. There are still files in the hands of US Congress to be disclosed.

• Parliamentary Interest: Might parliament request additional information
• Financial Investigation: Or investigate the improper use of state resources
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a police investigation into his actions

Possibly for the time being the reputational impact to the crown is contained. The narrative from the institution was plainly that the removal of designations was what the king, and particularly other senior royals, wanted.

Changed Stance

No more deception that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, significantly, the short communication showed plainly that the institution were siding with the accuser's narrative of events.

Additionally, for the premiere occasion they ultimately showed consideration for the victims: "These actions are deemed necessary, despite the fact that he maintains his innocence of the accusations against him."

In the end it is entitlement, selfishness and indolence that will destroy the monarchy. In his folly, self-gratification and greed, Andrew gives the impression never to have understood that lesson.