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It all began with a solitary photograph, perhaps the most consequential ever taken of a member of the monarchy.

Present was the Duke of York, standing closely beside a teenage girl, while a companion smiled knowingly in the backdrop.

Lacking that image, shot at a party in 2001, who would have believed the assertions of a adolescent who stated she was transported across the Atlantic and compelled to have brief relations with a prince of the monarchy?

A curious, indicative action by someone who had openly asserted to have no known about her, asserted he could never have had intimate contact with her, and yet provided millions of his mother's resources to resolve a protracted lawsuit.

Over a Decade of Scandal

In this context, discussions of the monarchy acting swiftly to distance themselves from Andrew are inaccurate. This scandal has continued for the majority of 15 years since that image, and another snapshot of Andrew ambling amiably with a disgraced financier surfaced.

• Self-importance: How long did his family members, perhaps even his mother and father, know that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Questionable Associations: They must have known, if his employees and the law enforcement were doing their jobs, that he had some deeply disreputable friends given he publicly hosted them to palaces.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the monarchy did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with public money.

Trips were documented in royal annual reports: private aircraft travel from the palace to a golf course and back again in time for midday meal, exclusive air travel instead of scheduled services, all for the convenience of "the travel enthusiast".

A Life of Privilege

Then there was the arrogance which expected respect when he walked into a room or the extreme awareness about his royal titles used on his letterheads in letters to his friends.

He could get away with it while his parent, who unaccountably pampered him, was still surviving. The monarch did at least revoke him of official roles and honorary colonelcies in the wake of his ill-fated and, it is now clear, untruthful media appearance six years ago.

Recent Developments

It was only in the last 14 days that events progressed rapidly, following the issuance of accounts giving more troubling information 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 journalists) were far in advance of the monarchy. There was not a single person of any significance to defend him, a consequence of all those years of hubris.

Institutional Fears

The more intelligent family members understood that. The primary concern is to hand down the monarchy, if not as previously at least intact and unblemished.

For generations the last 190 years trying to reverse the legacy of previous monarchs, demonstrating they are beneficial, accountable and responsive to their subjects.

His actions endangered all that in danger in an age when deference and discretion is no longer sufficient.

Consequences

Finally, the well-known hesitant sovereign was prodded further. There was no other option. The institution had surrendered command of the story.

Now it is the loss of honorifics and the persistent and life-long personal shame that will afflict Andrew most severely.

• Downgrading: Demoted to just a private citizen
• Past Example: The first member to surrender his designations in recent history
• Military Service: Notably hurtful given his role in the engagement

He remains a counsellor of state, in principle able to act for the monarch, and he is still eighth in line to the throne, but none of these will truly come to pass.

Coming Developments

Will people he encounters still acknowledge him? Could they still slip up and call him Prince? Would they say Sir,

Naturally, he is not retiring to suburbia, but to the royal family's large property at a royal residence.

There, he will be furnished by the monarch with one of the estate properties and given some type of private allowance.

This is not his former home, where he paid a token rent for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit far, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed.

Unresolved Issues

Matters remain unresolved. There are still documents in the hands of American legislators to be disclosed.

• Governmental Scrutiny: Will lawmakers demand more
• Monetary Probe: Or scrutinize the misuse of taxpayer funds
• Judicial Potential: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his conduct

Perhaps for the moment the reputational impact to the monarchy is restricted. The narrative from the institution was evidently that the revocation of designations was what the monarch, and notably other senior family members, wanted.

A Shift in Position

An end to deception that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, notably, the concise communication showed clearly that the monarchy were aligning with the victim's narrative of occurrences.

Additionally, for the first time they ultimately showed concern for the survivors: "The measures are judged required, regardless of the fact that he persists in refuting the allegations against him."

Ultimately it is arrogance, self-seeking and laziness that will destroy the institution. In his folly, personal excess and corruption, Andrew gives the impression never to have grasped that reality.