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This episode commenced with a isolated photograph, arguably the most impactful ever captured of a royal family member.

There stood the Baron Killyleagh, standing closely beside a young woman, while another individual smiled suggestively in the background.

Absent that image, taken at a party in 2001, who would have believed the assertions of a young woman who stated she was transported across the ocean and forced to have cursory intimate contact with a member of the royal family?

A strange, telling action by someone who had overtly asserted to have not known about her, claimed he could not have had sex with her, and yet handed over a substantial sum of monarchical funds to settle a drawn-out lawsuit.

A Long Period of Scandal

Against this backdrop, conversations of the royal family acting firmly to sever ties with Andrew are inaccurate. This affair has continued for the better part of 15 years since that image, and a further image of Andrew walking amiably with a notorious individual emerged.

• Hubris: To what extent did his brothers and sisters, maybe even his relatives, understand that Andrew was so self-entitled?
• Questionable Associations: They must have known, if his employees and the authorities were performing their duties, that he had some extremely unsavory associates given he unabashedly welcomed them to palaces.
• Monetary Excess: If the family did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with public money.

Travel were documented in official documents: private aircraft flights from the royal residence to a golf course and back again in time for dining, chartered planes instead of commercial flights, all for the benefit of "the frequent flyer".

Existence of Entitlement

Then there was the arrogance which expected respect when he appeared in a area or the extreme consciousness about his royal titles used on his correspondence in letters to his friends.

He managed to escape consequences while his mother, who inexplicably indulged him, was still alive. The Queen did at least revoke him of royal responsibilities and ceremonial ranks in the consequence of his ill-fated and, it is now clear, mendacious television interview six years ago.

Current Situation

It was only in the last two weeks that events progressed rapidly, following the publication of books giving more disturbing details of his actions and that of his connections.

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

Society (and the press) were far more perceptive of the royal family. There was nobody of any significance to support him, a result of all those years of arrogance.

Royal Worries

The wiser royals realized that. The key objective is to transfer the crown, if not as heretofore at least intact and unstained.

They have spent the last 190 years trying to reverse the image of earlier rulers, demonstrating they are beneficial, responsible and reactive to their subjects.

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

Consequences

Ultimately, the notoriously indecisive sovereign was pushed additional. There was no other option. The palace had surrendered command of the account.

Currently the loss of titles and the ongoing and life-long personal shame that will afflict Andrew most severely.

• Downgrading: Demoted to just a commoner
• Historical Precedent: The primary member to surrender his honorifics in recent history
• Naval Career: Notably stinging given his duty in the engagement

He is still a constitutional officer, on paper able to stand in for the monarch, and he is still in the lineage to the monarchy, but neither of these will truly come to pass.

Future Prospects

Will people he encounters still defer to him? Could they still slip up and call him Your Highness? Will they even say Sir,

Of course, he is not retiring to suburbia, but to the sovereign's extensive grounds at a royal residence.

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

This differs from his former home, where he paid a token rent for more than 20 years, and the area is a bit distant, but even so it may not be far enough.

Outstanding Concerns

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

• Parliamentary Interest: Could lawmakers request additional information
• Financial Investigation: Or examine the improper use of state resources
• Judicial Potential: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his conduct

Perhaps for the moment the harm to the monarchy to the monarchy is limited. The statement from the institution was evidently that the stripping of designations was what the monarch, and particularly other senior royals, sought.

A Shift in Position

The cessation of pretence that Andrew was acting willingly. And, notably, the concise communication showed evidently that the institution were supporting the accuser's version of occurrences.

Even more, for the initial instance they ultimately showed concern for the affected individuals: "These actions are considered essential, despite the fact 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 foolishness, self-indulgence and greed, Andrew gives the impression never to have understood that reality.