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It all began with a isolated photograph, perhaps the most consequential ever captured of a royal family member.

Present was the Duke of York, with his arm around a female youth, while a companion beamed suggestively in the rear.

Absent that snapshot, shot at a party in 2001, few would have credited the assertions of a young woman who declared she was moved across the ocean and obliged to have perfunctory intimate contact with a individual of the royal bloodline?

A strange, revealing gesture by someone who had publicly asserted to have never been aware of her, asserted he could no have had sex with her, and yet handed over millions of his mother's resources to avert a drawn-out court action.

Over a Decade of Controversy

In this context, discussions of the royal family acting swiftly to sever ties with Andrew are wide of the mark. This controversy has persisted for the majority of 15 years since that photograph, and an additional photo of Andrew ambling pleasantly with a convicted sex offender emerged.

• Hubris: To what extent did his brothers and sisters, maybe even his mother and father, realize that Andrew was so arrogant?
• Questionable Associations: They must have understood, if his aides and the authorities were doing their jobs, that he had some extremely unsavory friends given he unabashedly welcomed them to estates.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the household did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his overspending with state resources.

Journeys were documented in royal annual reports: chopper transfers from the estate to a country club and back again in time for lunch, private flights instead of regular transport, all for the convenience of "Airmiles Andy".

World of Deference

Then there was the arrogance which expected respect when he entered a space or the extreme consciousness about his royal titles used on his correspondence in communication to his associates.

He could get away with it while his parent, who inexplicably indulged him, was still living. The sovereign did at least revoke him of royal responsibilities and ceremonial ranks in the consequence of his ill-fated and, we now know, untruthful public statement six years ago.

Recent Developments

It was only in the last two weeks that events sped up, following the publication of accounts giving more grim information of his actions and that of his associates.

More information have again revealed Andrew's belief that he could escape lying about his interaction with a notorious figure.

Society (and the media) were far ahead of the royals. There was no one of any consequence to defend him, a outcome of all those years of presumption.

Monarchical Concerns

The wiser family members realized that. The one imperative is to pass on the crown, if not as before at least complete and unblemished.

Over time the last 190 years trying to overcome the image of past sovereigns, proving they are valuable, dutiful and responsive to their subjects.

Andrew was putting all that in danger in an era when respect and discretion is no longer enough.

The Fallout

Finally, the famously hesitant king was pushed additional. There was no other option. The institution had surrendered command of the story.

Now it is the stripping of designations and the continued and lifetime social disgrace that will pain Andrew most severely.

• Demotion: Reduced to just a private citizen
• Past Example: The primary royal to surrender his designations in recent history
• Armed Forces: Especially hurtful given his service in the conflict

He remains a counsellor of state, theoretically able to substitute for the king, and he is still in the lineage to the monarchy, but none of these will ever come to pass.

Coming Developments

Do individuals he encounters still defer to him? Will they still slip up and call him Sir? Would they say Mr,

Certainly, he is not withdrawing to a common area, but to the monarchy's vast estate at Sandringham.

At that location, he will be furnished by the king with one of the estate properties and given some sort of private allowance.

This is not his prior accommodation, where he paid a nominal rent for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit far, but even so it may not be adequate distance.

Pending Matters

The situation continues. There are still records in the hands of overseas authorities to be revealed.

• Governmental Scrutiny: Might parliament request additional information
• Fiscal Review: Or scrutinize the waste of public money
• Judicial Potential: There may even be a police investigation into his behavior

Perhaps for the present the reputational impact to the institution is limited. The statement from the royal household was plainly that the revocation of designations was what the sovereign, and especially other senior family members, sought.

A Shift in Position

No more pretence that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, significantly, the concise announcement showed evidently that the monarchy were siding with the victim's account of occurrences.

Even more, for the premiere occasion they finally showed regard for the affected individuals: "These actions are considered essential, regardless of the reality that he maintains his innocence of the accusations against him."

In the end it is entitlement, self-seeking and inactivity that will kill the crown. In his stupidity, personal excess and venality, Andrew appears never to have grasped that lesson.