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It all began with a solitary photograph, arguably the most impactful ever taken of a member of the monarchy.

Present was the Earl of Inverness, standing closely beside a female youth, while another individual smiled conspiratorially in the background.

Lacking that snapshot, taken at a gathering in 2001, few would have credited the allegations of a adolescent who said she was trafficked across the sea and obliged to have brief sexual encounters with a member of the royal family?

A strange, telling action by someone who had publicly claimed to have not heard of her, asserted he could no have had relations with her, and yet handed over a large amount of monarchical funds to resolve a long-delayed court action.

Years of Scandal

Considering this, talk of the monarchy acting swiftly to distance themselves from Andrew are inaccurate. This controversy has persisted for the better part of 15 years since that photograph, and another image of Andrew ambling congenially with a notorious individual emerged.

• Arrogance: How long did his family members, perhaps even his relatives, know that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Problematic Connections: They must have understood, if his employees and the law enforcement were performing their duties, that he had some extremely unsavory friends given he unabashedly welcomed them to palaces.
• Financial Extravagance: If the family did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his overspending with taxpayer funds.

Journeys were listed in royal annual reports: private aircraft travel from the estate to a golf course and back again in time for midday meal, private flights instead of regular transport, all for the comfort of "the frequent flyer".

World of Deference

Furthermore the arrogance which required respect when he appeared in a space or the supreme consciousness about his honorifics used on his official documents in messages to his friends.

He managed to escape consequences while his parent, who strangely pampered him, was still surviving. The monarch did at least remove him of official roles and honorary colonelcies in the aftermath of his catastrophic and, we now know, untruthful media appearance six years ago.

Current Situation

Just in the last fortnight that events progressed rapidly, following the release of accounts giving more grim particulars of his behavior and that of his companions.

Further disclosures have again highlighted Andrew's thinking that he could avoid lying about his contact with a convicted criminal.

Society (and the press) were far ahead of the monarchy. There was not a single person of any significance to speak up for him, a result of all those years of hubris.

Royal Worries

The wiser monarchical figures understood that. The one imperative is to transfer the monarchy, if not as previously at least whole and untarnished.

They have spent the last 190 years trying to undo the legacy of earlier rulers, proving they are valuable, accountable and responsive to their people.

Andrew was putting all that in jeopardy in an era when submission and secrecy is no longer adequate.

Consequences

Ultimately, the well-known indecisive sovereign was pushed more. There was no other option. The palace had surrendered command of the account.

Presently the removal of titles and the ongoing and life-long social disgrace that will pain Andrew most deeply.

• Downgrading: Demoted to just a private citizen
• Past Example: The initial monarch to forfeit his designations in modern times
• Naval Career: Particularly stinging given his role 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 monarchy, but not any of these will truly happen.

Future Prospects

Will people he meets still defer to him? Will they still make mistakes and call him Sir? Might they say Mr,

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

In that place, he will be furnished by the king with one of the royal residences and given some type of financial support.

It is not his prior accommodation, where he paid a nominal payment for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit far, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed.

Outstanding Concerns

The situation continues. There are still records in the custody of US Congress to be made public.

• Political Pressure: Will lawmakers seek further action
• Fiscal Review: Or scrutinize the misuse of public money
• Judicial Potential: There may even be a criminal probe into his conduct

Possibly for the time being the harm to the monarchy to the crown is restricted. The statement from the palace was evidently that the removal of titles was what the monarch, and notably other senior royals, desired.

Changed Stance

The cessation of illusion that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, significantly, the short statement showed plainly that the institution were siding with the complainant's narrative of occurrences.

Additionally, for the initial instance they finally showed concern for the victims: "These actions are deemed necessary, regardless of the reality that he maintains his innocence of the allegations against him."

In the end it is arrogance, selfishness and inactivity that will destroy the monarchy. In his foolishness, self-gratification and venality, Andrew seems never to have learned that reality.