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The saga started with a single photograph, possibly the most impactful ever snapped of a royal family member.

In the frame appeared the Baron Killyleagh, standing closely beside a teenage girl, while a companion beamed conspiratorially in the backdrop.

Absent that photograph, taken at a social event in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the assertions of a teenager who said she was transported across the sea and obliged to have brief relations with a member of the royal bloodline?

A curious, indicative gesture by someone who had openly claimed to have never been aware of her, claimed he could never have had relations with her, and yet provided millions of monarchical funds to resolve a long-delayed court action.

Years of Controversy

Against this backdrop, discussions of the royals acting swiftly to sever ties with Andrew are wide of the mark. This affair has continued for the better part of 15 years since that picture, and a further snapshot of Andrew ambling amiably with a notorious individual came to light.

• Self-importance: How long did his siblings, perhaps even his relatives, understand that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Questionable Associations: They must have understood, if his employees and the authorities were performing their duties, that he had some highly questionable companions given he openly welcomed them to palaces.
• Financial Extravagance: If the monarchy did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his extravagance with public money.

Travel were printed in official documents: private aircraft transfers from the estate to a golf course and back again in time for midday meal, chartered planes instead of scheduled services, all for the benefit of "the frequent flyer".

World of Deference

Additionally the arrogance which expected respect when he appeared in a room or the extreme awareness about his honorifics used on his letterheads in letters to his personal acquaintances.

He managed to escape consequences while his mother, who strangely pampered him, was still alive. The Queen did at least strip him of royal responsibilities and military positions in the consequence of his catastrophic and, as revealed, deceptive public statement six years ago.

Recent Developments

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

More information have again exposed Andrew's belief that he could get away with deceiving about his relationship with a notorious figure.

People (and the journalists) were far more perceptive of the royals. There was not a single person of any consequence to speak up for him, a result of all those years of arrogance.

Institutional Fears

The wiser monarchical figures recognized that. The primary concern is to transfer the institution, if not as before at least intact and unstained.

They have spent the last 190 years trying to overcome the reputation of earlier rulers, demonstrating they are valuable, dutiful and responsive to their people.

His actions endangered all that in danger in an era when respect and secrecy is no longer enough.

Consequences

Ultimately, the notoriously uncertain king was pushed more. There was no alternative. The institution had surrendered command of the account.

Presently the loss of honorifics and the continued and life-long public humiliation that will pain Andrew the most.

• Downgrading: Lowered to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor
• Prior Instance: The initial monarch to forfeit his honorifics in contemporary era
• Military Service: Especially stinging given his service in the conflict

He is still a royal advisor, in principle able to act for the king, and he is still in the lineage to the crown, but neither of these will ever occur.

Future Prospects

Do individuals he comes across still acknowledge him? Will they still slip up and call him Your Highness? Might they say Sir,

Of course, he is not moving to suburbia, but to the royal family's large estate at a monarchical property.

In that place, he will be supplied by the sovereign with one of the estate properties and given some sort of private allowance.

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

Outstanding Concerns

Matters remain unresolved. There are still records in the possession of American legislators to be revealed.

• Parliamentary Interest: Could lawmakers seek further action
• Monetary Probe: Or scrutinize the misuse of taxpayer funds
• Judicial Potential: There may even be a criminal probe into his conduct

Possibly for the present the institutional damage to the crown is limited. The narrative from the royal household was clearly that the stripping of honorifics was what the monarch, and notably other senior royals, wanted.

A Shift in Position

An end to illusion that Andrew was acting willingly. And, notably, the short communication showed clearly that the institution were aligning with the complainant's narrative of occurrences.

Even more, for the initial instance they eventually showed regard for the affected individuals: "The censures are considered essential, regardless of the reality that he continues to deny the allegations against him."

Ultimately it is arrogance, self-interest and indolence that will undermine the monarchy. In his folly, self-indulgence and venality, Andrew gives the impression never to have learned that reality.