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The saga started with a solitary photograph, arguably the most significant ever snapped of a royal family member.

In the frame appeared the Earl of Inverness, arm-in-arm a teenage girl, while an associate beamed suggestively in the rear.

Absent that snapshot, captured at a party in 2001, few would have credited the claims of a young woman who said she was transported across the Atlantic and forced to have brief sexual encounters with a individual of the royal bloodline?

A strange, indicative move by someone who had overtly claimed to have no known about her, asserted he could not have had relations with her, and yet paid millions of family money to settle a drawn-out lawsuit.

Over a Decade of Controversy

Against this backdrop, discussions of the royals acting decisively to cut Andrew off are misguided. This scandal has persisted for the better part of 15 years since that image, and a further photo of Andrew walking amiably with a notorious individual emerged.

• Self-importance: How long did his brothers and sisters, maybe even his relatives, understand that Andrew was so self-entitled?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have realized, if his staff and the police were fulfilling their roles, that he had some extremely unsavory friends given he openly welcomed them to royal residences.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the monarchy did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with state resources.

Trips were documented in royal annual reports: private aircraft transfers from the estate to a golf course and back again in time for midday meal, exclusive air travel instead of regular transport, all for the benefit of "Airmiles Andy".

A Life of Privilege

Additionally the arrogance which demanded subservience when he walked into a area or the profound consciousness about his honorifics used on his official documents in messages to his associates.

He managed to escape consequences while his matriarch, who inexplicably indulged him, was still surviving. The monarch did at least revoke him of royal responsibilities and honorary colonelcies in the consequence of his catastrophic and, it is now clear, untruthful media appearance six years ago.

Current Situation

It was only in the last two weeks that events progressed rapidly, following the issuance of books giving more grim information of his behavior and that of his companions.

Further disclosures have again exposed Andrew's assumption that he could avoid lying about his interaction with a disgraced individual.

Society (and the media) were far ahead of the monarchy. There was nobody of any consequence to defend him, a result of all those years of arrogance.

Institutional Fears

The more astute family members understood that. The primary concern is to transfer the monarchy, if not as before at least complete and untarnished.

Over time the last 190 years trying to reverse the reputation of earlier rulers, demonstrating they are useful, accountable and reactive to their subjects.

Andrew was putting all that in jeopardy in an age when respect and privacy is no longer sufficient.

Consequences

Finally, the notoriously uncertain king was pushed further. There was little choice. The royal household had lost control of the story.

Currently the loss of designations and the ongoing and permanent social disgrace that will hurt Andrew most severely.

• Downgrading: Lowered to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor
• Historical Precedent: The primary monarch to forfeit his titles in contemporary era
• Military Service: Especially hurtful given his role in the conflict

He continues to be a constitutional officer, on paper able to act for the monarch, and he is still in the lineage to the crown, but none of these will ever happen.

Future Prospects

Will people he encounters still acknowledge him? Might they still make mistakes and call him Sir? Will they even say Mr,

Certainly, he is not withdrawing to a common area, but to the monarchy's vast grounds at a royal residence.

At that location, he will be supplied by the sovereign with one of the grace and favour houses and given some type of personal stipend.

This differs from his prior accommodation, where he paid a minimal lease for more than 20 years, and Norfolk is a bit distant, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed.

Unresolved Issues

Matters remain unresolved. There are still documents in the hands of US Congress to be disclosed.

• Parliamentary Interest: Will parliament seek further action
• Fiscal Review: Or investigate the misuse of public money
• Legal Possibility: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his conduct

Maybe for the time being the reputational impact to the crown is limited. The narrative from the royal household was evidently that the stripping of designations was what the sovereign, and notably other senior monarchical figures, desired.

A Shift in Position

No more illusion that Andrew was acting willingly. And, significantly, the short communication showed plainly that the institution were supporting the accuser's narrative of events.

Furthermore, for the first time they finally showed regard for the affected individuals: "These actions are judged required, despite the truth that he persists in refuting the claims against him."

In the end it is entitlement, self-seeking and indolence that will undermine the institution. In his folly, self-indulgence and greed, Andrew seems never to have understood that reality.