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This episode commenced with a single photograph, arguably the most significant ever snapped of a royal family member.

Present was the Duke of York, arm-in-arm a female youth, while a companion grinned conspiratorially in the backdrop.

Absent that image, taken at a party in 2001, who would have believed the allegations of a adolescent who stated she was trafficked across the ocean and obliged to have brief sexual encounters with a individual of the royal bloodline?

An odd, telling gesture by someone who had overtly stated to have no heard of her, said he could never have had intimate contact with her, and yet handed over millions of his mother's funds to settle a long-delayed legal case.

Years of Disgrace

Against this backdrop, discussions of the monarchy acting firmly to cut Andrew off are wide of the mark. This scandal has endured for the better part of 15 years since that photograph, and another snapshot of Andrew strolling congenially with a notorious individual came to light.

• Arrogance: How long did his brothers and sisters, maybe even his parents, know that Andrew was so self-entitled?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have realized, if his aides and the authorities were performing their duties, that he had some extremely unsavory companions given he publicly welcomed them to palaces.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the family did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his overspending with public money.

Trips were listed in official documents: private aircraft flights from the royal residence to a sporting venue and back again in time for lunch, exclusive air travel instead of scheduled services, all for the benefit of "the frequent flyer".

A Life of Privilege

Additionally the presumption which required subservience when he entered a room or the profound obsession about his royal titles used on his correspondence in messages to his personal acquaintances.

He avoided accountability while his parent, who inexplicably indulged him, was still living. The monarch did at least strip him of public duties and military positions in the aftermath of his catastrophic and, as revealed, deceptive television interview six years ago.

Recent Developments

Merely in the last fortnight that events accelerated, following the release of accounts giving more troubling details of his conduct and that of his associates.

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

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

Royal Worries

The wiser monarchical figures understood that. The primary concern is to transfer the crown, if not as before at least whole and untarnished.

Over time the last 190 years trying to reverse the image of previous monarchs, showing they are beneficial, responsible and reactive to their subjects.

He was placing all that in danger in an time when deference and privacy is no longer sufficient.

The Fallout

Eventually, the notoriously indecisive king was pressured additional. There was little choice. The palace had relinquished authority of the account.

Presently the removal of designations and the continued and lifetime personal shame that will hurt Andrew most severely.

• Reduction: Reduced to just a commoner
• Historical Precedent: The first monarch to lose his designations in recent history
• Armed Forces: Especially painful given his duty in the Falklands war

He is still a royal advisor, in principle able to act for the monarch, and he is still in the succession to the throne, but none of these will actually come to pass.

What Lies Ahead

Do individuals he encounters still show respect to him? Might they still make mistakes and call him Sir? Would they say Andrew,

Certainly, he is not retiring to a common area, but to the royal family's extensive property at a royal residence.

In that place, he will be furnished by the king with one of the estate properties and given some form of financial support.

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

Unresolved Issues

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

• Parliamentary Interest: Will legislators demand more
• Fiscal Review: Or scrutinize the improper use of state resources
• Judicial Potential: There may even be a police investigation into his conduct

Possibly for the time being the harm to the monarchy to the monarchy is limited. The narrative from the royal household was plainly that the stripping of designations was what the sovereign, and notably other senior family members, sought.

Altered Approach

The cessation of pretence that Andrew was acting willingly. And, remarkably, the short communication showed clearly that the royals were supporting the complainant's narrative of events.

Even more, for the first time they ultimately showed regard for the affected individuals: "The measures are deemed necessary, despite the reality that he maintains his innocence of the accusations against him."

Ultimately it is arrogance, selfishness and indolence that will undermine the institution. In his foolishness, personal excess and greed, Andrew appears never to have grasped that truth.