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It all began with a isolated photograph, possibly the most significant ever taken of a member of the monarchy.

There stood the Duke of York, standing closely beside a female youth, while another individual grinned suggestively in the backdrop.

Without that photograph, captured at a gathering in 2001, who would have believed the allegations of a young woman who said she was moved across the Atlantic and compelled to have perfunctory relations with a member of the monarchy?

A curious, telling gesture by someone who had openly stated to have no heard of her, claimed he could not have had sex with her, and yet paid a substantial sum of his mother's resources to avert a protracted lawsuit.

Years of Scandal

In this context, conversations of the royal family acting decisively to sever ties with Andrew are misguided. This controversy has continued for the majority of 15 years since that picture, and a further snapshot of Andrew strolling pleasantly with a convicted sex offender came to light.

• Self-importance: How long did his brothers and sisters, maybe even his parents, realize that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Problematic Connections: They must have realized, if his staff and the law enforcement were doing their jobs, that he had some deeply disreputable friends given he publicly hosted them to estates.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the household did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his overspending with public money.

Travel were printed in royal annual reports: chopper transfers from the estate to a sporting venue and back again in time for lunch, chartered planes instead of commercial flights, all for the comfort of "Airmiles Andy".

A Life of Privilege

Then there was the presumption which required respect when he entered a space or the supreme consciousness about his royal titles used on his official documents in letters to his associates.

He avoided accountability while his parent, who unaccountably indulged him, was still alive. The Queen did at least strip him of public duties and ceremonial ranks in the aftermath of his disastrous and, as revealed, deceptive media appearance six years ago.

Latest Events

Just in the last two weeks that events accelerated, following the issuance of biographical works giving more grim particulars of his conduct and that of his associates.

Additional revelations have again revealed Andrew's belief that he could escape being untruthful about his relationship with a disgraced individual.

People (and the press) were far more perceptive of the royal family. There was not a single person of any importance to support him, a consequence of all those years of hubris.

Royal Worries

The wiser family members realized that. The primary concern is to transfer the crown, if not as before at least complete and untarnished.

Over time the last 190 years trying to overcome the image of past sovereigns, proving they are useful, dutiful and attentive to their citizens.

He was placing all that in jeopardy in an age when submission and discretion is no longer enough.

The Fallout

Ultimately, the famously uncertain monarch was prodded further. There was no other option. The institution had lost control of the narrative.

Presently the removal of titles and the continued and permanent personal shame that will hurt Andrew most deeply.

• Downgrading: Demoted to just a commoner
• Prior Instance: The initial member to surrender his titles in contemporary era
• Military Service: Especially stinging given his role in the Falklands war

He is still a royal advisor, theoretically able to stand in for the monarch, and he is still in the lineage to the crown, but none of these will ever come to pass.

What Lies Ahead

Will people he meets still show respect to him? Could they still forget themselves and call him Sir? Might they say Andrew,

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

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

This is not his prior accommodation, where he paid a nominal rent for more than 20 years, and the area is a bit distant, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed.

Unresolved Issues

The situation continues. There are still documents in the hands of overseas authorities to be made public.

• Parliamentary Interest: Will parliament demand more
• Fiscal Review: Or scrutinize the waste of public money
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his conduct

Maybe for the time being the institutional damage to the crown is restricted. The statement from the royal household was clearly that the stripping of honorifics was what the monarch, and especially other senior royals, desired.

A Shift in Position

An end to pretence that Andrew was acting willingly. And, significantly, the concise statement showed plainly that the institution were supporting the accuser's narrative of occurrences.

Even more, for the premiere occasion they ultimately showed concern for the survivors: "The censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he persists in refuting the accusations against him."

Finally it is entitlement, selfishness and inactivity that will undermine the monarchy. In his stupidity, personal excess and greed, Andrew seems never to have learned that truth.