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This episode commenced with a isolated photograph, arguably the most significant ever snapped of a member of the monarchy.

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

Absent that photograph, shot at a party in 2001, who would have believed the claims of a young woman who said she was moved across the sea and compelled to have perfunctory sexual encounters with a member of the monarchy?

A strange, telling move by someone who had overtly asserted to have never known about her, asserted he could not have had sex with her, and yet provided a large amount of monarchical resources to avert a protracted court action.

Years of Scandal

Against this backdrop, conversations of the monarchy acting swiftly to cut Andrew off are inaccurate. This affair has continued for the largest portion of 15 years since that picture, and a further snapshot of Andrew ambling congenially with a notorious individual came to light.

• Arrogance: To what extent did his siblings, perhaps even his parents, know that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have known, if his staff and the authorities were performing their duties, that he had some extremely unsavory associates given he publicly invited them to royal residences.
• Financial Extravagance: If the monarchy did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his overspending with public money.

Trips were documented in public records: chopper travel from the palace to a country club and back again in time for midday meal, exclusive air travel instead of scheduled services, all for the comfort of "the travel enthusiast".

A Life of Privilege

Then there was the arrogance which required deference when he entered a area or the supreme awareness about his honorifics used on his official documents in communication to his associates.

He could get away with it while his matriarch, who strangely indulged him, was still surviving. The Queen did at least revoke him of official roles and honorary colonelcies in the aftermath of his catastrophic and, it is now clear, mendacious television interview six years ago.

Recent Developments

It was only in the last fortnight that events progressed rapidly, following the issuance of accounts giving more grim information of his behavior and that of his connections.

Further disclosures have again revealed Andrew's assumption that he could avoid lying about his relationship with a notorious figure.

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

Royal Worries

The wiser family members realized that. The one imperative is to hand down the crown, if not as before at least complete and untarnished.

For generations the last 190 years trying to undo the legacy of past sovereigns, demonstrating they are beneficial, responsible and responsive to their subjects.

He was placing all that in jeopardy in an time when respect and privacy is no longer adequate.

Aftermath

Finally, the well-known indecisive sovereign was pressured more. There was no alternative. The palace had relinquished authority of the story.

Presently the loss of titles and the continued and permanent social disgrace that will afflict Andrew most deeply.

• Reduction: Reduced to just a commoner
• Past Example: The first royal to lose his designations in modern times
• Military Service: Particularly hurtful given his duty in the Falklands war

He remains a constitutional officer, on paper able to stand in for the king, and he is still eighth in line to the throne, but neither of these will actually happen.

What Lies Ahead

Do individuals he encounters still defer to him? Could they still make mistakes and call him Prince? Might they say Mr,

Naturally, he is not retiring to suburbia, but to the monarchy's extensive estate at a royal residence.

There, he will be provided by the sovereign with one of the royal residences and given some form of private allowance.

It is not his former home, where he paid a token lease for more than 20 years, and the area is a bit remote, but even so it may not be adequate distance.

Pending Matters

The situation continues. There are still records in the hands of American legislators to be revealed.

• Parliamentary Interest: Will parliament request additional information
• Financial Investigation: Or examine the misuse of state resources
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his actions

Possibly for the time being the harm to the monarchy to the crown is restricted. The narrative from the royal household was clearly that the removal of titles was what the king, and notably other senior monarchical figures, sought.

Changed Stance

The cessation of deception that Andrew was acting willingly. And, remarkably, the short communication showed clearly that the royals were supporting the complainant's version of occurrences.

Furthermore, for the initial instance they ultimately showed consideration for the victims: "These actions are considered essential, despite the truth that he continues to deny the allegations against him."

In the end it is entitlement, self-interest and laziness that will kill the crown. In his folly, self-indulgence and greed, Andrew seems never to have learned that reality.