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This episode commenced with a solitary photograph, possibly the most consequential ever captured of a royal family member.

In the frame appeared the Earl of Inverness, arm-in-arm a teenage girl, while an associate beamed knowingly in the backdrop.

Without that snapshot, captured at a social event in 2001, few would have credited the assertions of a young woman who stated she was trafficked across the ocean and forced to have brief relations with a prince of the royal bloodline?

An odd, telling gesture by someone who had publicly claimed to have not heard of her, claimed he could not have had sex with her, and yet provided a large amount of monarchical funds to settle a drawn-out court action.

A Long Period of Disgrace

Considering this, discussions of the royals acting swiftly to distance themselves from Andrew are inaccurate. This scandal has continued for the better part of 15 years since that image, and a further snapshot of Andrew walking amiably with a disgraced financier emerged.

• Hubris: How long did his brothers and sisters, maybe even his mother and father, understand that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Problematic Connections: They must have known, if his aides and the police were doing their jobs, that he had some extremely unsavory companions given he openly invited them to estates.
• Financial Extravagance: If the family did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his overspending with state resources.

Journeys were printed in public records: helicopter transfers from the royal residence to a country club and back again in time for midday meal, chartered planes instead of scheduled services, all for the convenience of "the travel enthusiast".

World of Deference

Additionally the arrogance which required deference when he walked into a area or the profound awareness about his designations used on his correspondence in messages to his associates.

He managed to escape consequences while his parent, who inexplicably indulged him, was still surviving. The Queen did at least revoke him of public duties and honorary colonelcies in the wake of his catastrophic and, as revealed, untruthful public statement six years ago.

Latest Events

It was only in the last fortnight that events progressed rapidly, following the issuance of accounts giving more troubling details of his behavior and that of his associates.

Additional revelations have again revealed Andrew's thinking that he could avoid deceiving about his contact with a convicted criminal.

People (and the press) were far ahead of the royals. There was not a single person of any importance to defend him, a consequence of all those years of presumption.

Royal Worries

The more astute family members understood that. The one imperative is to pass on the monarchy, if not as previously at least intact and unblemished.

Over time the last 190 years trying to overcome the image of past sovereigns, showing they are beneficial, accountable and responsive to their citizens.

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

The Fallout

Finally, the well-known indecisive king was pressured additional. There was little choice. The institution had relinquished authority of the narrative.

Presently the loss of titles and the ongoing and life-long public humiliation that will afflict Andrew most severely.

• Downgrading: Demoted to just a private citizen
• Prior Instance: The first royal to forfeit his designations in modern times
• Naval Career: Notably stinging given his role in the engagement

He is still a counsellor of state, theoretically able to stand in for the king, and he is still eighth in line to the throne, but neither of these will ever happen.

Coming Developments

Do individuals he encounters still defer to him? Might they still forget themselves and call him Your Highness? Might they say Sir,

Of course, he is not retiring to a common area, but to the monarchy's vast estate at a monarchical property.

In that place, he will be provided by the monarch with one of the royal residences and given some sort of financial support.

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

Unresolved Issues

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

• Political Pressure: Could parliament seek further action
• Financial Investigation: Or examine the misuse of public money
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his behavior

Perhaps for the time being the institutional damage to the crown is restricted. The statement from the royal household was evidently that the stripping of titles was what the king, and particularly other senior monarchical figures, desired.

Altered Approach

The cessation of pretence that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, significantly, the concise statement showed plainly that the monarchy were siding with the complainant's account of events.

Furthermore, for the first time they ultimately showed regard for the survivors: "The measures are considered essential, notwithstanding the truth that he maintains his innocence of the claims against him."

In the end it is arrogance, self-seeking and indolence that will kill the crown. In his foolishness, self-gratification and corruption, Andrew seems never to have learned that reality.