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This episode commenced with a single photograph, arguably the most impactful ever taken of a individual from the royal household.

In the frame appeared the Duke of York, arm-in-arm a female youth, while an associate beamed suggestively in the backdrop.

Absent that snapshot, taken at a gathering in 2001, who would have believed the assertions of a teenager who said she was transported across the Atlantic and compelled to have perfunctory sexual encounters with a individual of the royal bloodline?

A strange, telling move by someone who had overtly asserted to have never known about her, said he could no have had intimate contact with her, and yet provided a large amount of his mother's funds to avert a protracted lawsuit.

Years of Scandal

Against this backdrop, talk of the royal family acting decisively to distance themselves from Andrew are inaccurate. This affair has endured for the better part of 15 years since that photograph, and a further image of Andrew ambling amiably with a notorious individual came to light.

• Hubris: For what duration did his siblings, maybe even his relatives, realize that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have realized, if his aides and the law enforcement were doing their jobs, that he had some deeply disreputable companions given he publicly welcomed them to royal residences.
• Financial Extravagance: If the monarchy did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his extravagance with public money.

Journeys were listed in official documents: chopper flights from the palace to a sporting venue and back again in time for midday meal, exclusive air travel instead of commercial flights, all for the comfort of "the travel enthusiast".

A Life of Privilege

Furthermore the arrogance which expected deference when he walked into a room or the supreme consciousness about his honorifics used on his correspondence in letters to his friends.

He could get away with it while his mother, who strangely indulged him, was still alive. The monarch did at least revoke him of public duties and military positions in the consequence of his disastrous and, as revealed, untruthful television interview six years ago.

Latest Events

It was only in the last fortnight that events progressed rapidly, following the publication of books giving more grim details of his conduct and that of his associates.

Further disclosures have again exposed Andrew's thinking that he could escape lying about his contact with a disgraced individual.

People (and the journalists) were far more perceptive of the royals. There was no one of any significance to support him, a outcome of all those years of presumption.

Royal Worries

The more intelligent royals understood that. The one imperative is to transfer 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, demonstrating they are beneficial, dutiful and responsive to their people.

His actions endangered all that in peril in an age when submission and secrecy is no longer enough.

The Fallout

Ultimately, the well-known indecisive monarch was pushed further. There was little choice. The royal household had lost control of the account.

Presently the stripping of titles and the ongoing and lifetime public humiliation that will pain Andrew the most.

• Reduction: Reduced to just a commoner
• Past Example: The initial monarch to forfeit his designations in recent history
• Armed Forces: Notably stinging given his service in the Falklands war

He continues to be a counsellor of state, in principle able to act for the sovereign, and he is still in the succession to the throne, but none of these will ever occur.

What Lies Ahead

Can persons he meets still show respect to him? Will they still make mistakes and call him Sir? Might they say Andrew,

Certainly, he is not moving to an ordinary town, but to the monarchy's large property at a monarchical property.

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

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

Pending Matters

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

• Governmental Scrutiny: Might lawmakers demand more
• Monetary Probe: Or examine the misuse of taxpayer funds
• Legal Possibility: There may even be a police investigation into his actions

Perhaps for the time being the harm to the monarchy to the crown is contained. The message from the institution was plainly that the removal of titles was what the king, and notably other senior royals, desired.

Changed Stance

No more pretence that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, significantly, the concise statement showed clearly that the monarchy were supporting the victim's narrative of events.

Even more, for the premiere occasion they eventually showed regard for the victims: "These actions are considered essential, regardless of the truth that he continues to deny the claims against him."

Finally it is presumption, selfishness and laziness that will undermine the institution. In his folly, self-gratification and venality, Andrew gives the impression never to have understood that lesson.