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It all began with a single photograph, arguably the most consequential ever captured of a member of the monarchy.

Present was the Earl of Inverness, standing closely beside a teenage girl, while a companion grinned conspiratorially in the rear.

Lacking that photograph, taken at a party in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the allegations of a young woman who declared she was trafficked across the Atlantic and obliged to have perfunctory relations with a prince of the monarchy?

A curious, indicative gesture by someone who had overtly claimed to have no heard of her, claimed he could never have had intimate contact with her, and yet paid a substantial sum of monarchical resources to settle a long-delayed lawsuit.

Years of Scandal

Against this backdrop, talk of the monarchy acting firmly to cut Andrew off are inaccurate. This affair has endured for the largest portion of 15 years since that image, and a further snapshot of Andrew strolling congenially with a notorious individual emerged.

• Arrogance: For what duration did his brothers and sisters, possibly even his mother and father, know that Andrew was so self-entitled?
• Problematic Connections: They must have known, if his staff and the police were performing their duties, that he had some extremely unsavory companions given he publicly hosted them to palaces.
• Monetary Excess: If the household did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with state resources.

Trips were printed in public records: private aircraft travel from the estate to a sporting venue and back again in time for dining, private flights instead of regular transport, all for the comfort of "the travel enthusiast".

Existence of Entitlement

Furthermore the presumption which required respect when he entered a area or the extreme consciousness about his designations used on his letterheads in communication to his personal acquaintances.

He could get away with it while his mother, who strangely pampered him, was still alive. The sovereign did at least revoke him of public duties and military positions in the consequence of his disastrous and, it is now clear, deceptive television interview six years ago.

Recent Developments

Just in the last 14 days that events accelerated, following the issuance of accounts giving more disturbing details of his actions and that of his companions.

Additional revelations have again revealed Andrew's belief that he could get away with deceiving about his relationship with a notorious figure.

Society (and the press) were far in advance of the royal family. There was no one of any consequence to support him, a consequence of all those years of arrogance.

Institutional Fears

The wiser royals recognized that. The key objective is to hand down the crown, if not as heretofore at least whole and unblemished.

Over time the last 190 years trying to overcome the legacy of earlier rulers, demonstrating they are useful, dutiful and responsive to their subjects.

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

The Fallout

Finally, the well-known indecisive king was prodded more. There was no other option. The palace had surrendered command of the account.

Now it is the loss of honorifics and the ongoing and lifetime social disgrace that will pain Andrew the most.

• Reduction: Reduced to just a private citizen
• Historical Precedent: The initial member to lose his designations in contemporary era
• Military Service: Particularly painful given his service in the Falklands war

He continues to be a constitutional officer, theoretically able to substitute for the sovereign, and he is still in the succession to the crown, but neither of these will ever happen.

Future Prospects

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

Of course, he is not retiring to a common area, but to the monarchy's extensive grounds at Sandringham.

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

This differs from his previous residence, where he paid a token rent for more than 20 years, and the area is a bit remote, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed.

Unresolved Issues

This is not over. There are still files in the hands of American legislators to be disclosed.

• Political Pressure: Will parliament seek further action
• Fiscal Review: Or examine the misuse of public money
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a criminal probe into his actions

Perhaps for the moment the harm to the monarchy to the monarchy is limited. The statement from the palace was clearly that the removal of titles was what the sovereign, and especially other senior family members, sought.

Changed Stance

The cessation of deception that Andrew was acting willingly. And, remarkably, the brief announcement showed evidently that the monarchy were siding with the accuser's account of occurrences.

Additionally, for the initial instance they ultimately showed consideration for the survivors: "The measures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he maintains his innocence of the claims against him."

Finally it is entitlement, selfishness and laziness that will undermine the institution. In his folly, personal excess and venality, Andrew appears never to have learned that lesson.