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It all began with a solitary photograph, arguably the most impactful ever taken of a individual from the royal household.

In the frame appeared the Earl of Inverness, with his arm around a female youth, while another individual beamed conspiratorially in the background.

Absent that photograph, shot at a party in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the claims of a young woman who said she was transported across the ocean and obliged to have cursory intimate contact with a member of the monarchy?

A strange, indicative move by someone who had openly asserted to have no been aware of her, said he could not have had sex with her, and yet handed over a large amount of family money to avert a protracted court action.

A Long Period of Controversy

Considering this, discussions of the royals acting swiftly to sever ties with Andrew are wide of the mark. This affair has persisted for the largest portion of 15 years since that picture, and another snapshot of Andrew walking congenially with a notorious individual surfaced.

• Hubris: How long did his brothers and sisters, possibly even his relatives, understand that Andrew was so self-entitled?
• Problematic Connections: They must have known, if his aides and the law enforcement were fulfilling their roles, that he had some highly questionable companions given he unabashedly hosted them to estates.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the family did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his extravagance with state resources.

Travel were printed in official documents: chopper travel from the palace to a golf course and back again in time for midday meal, chartered planes instead of commercial flights, all for the benefit of "the travel enthusiast".

A Life of Privilege

Then there was the presumption which demanded respect when he walked into a room or the profound obsession about his honorifics used on his letterheads in letters to his personal acquaintances.

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

Current Situation

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

More information have again revealed Andrew's assumption that he could get away with lying about his interaction with a disgraced individual.

The public (and the press) were far in advance of the monarchy. There was not a single person of any consequence to support him, a outcome of all those years of presumption.

Royal Worries

The wiser royals recognized that. The primary concern is to transfer the monarchy, if not as before at least complete and unblemished.

They have spent the last 190 years trying to reverse the reputation of previous monarchs, proving they are valuable, dutiful and reactive to their people.

He was placing all that in jeopardy in an era when submission and privacy is no longer enough.

The Fallout

Ultimately, the famously uncertain monarch was pressured more. There was no alternative. The institution had surrendered command of the account.

Presently the stripping of titles and the persistent and life-long personal shame that will pain Andrew most deeply.

• Demotion: Lowered to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor
• Past Example: The initial monarch to surrender his honorifics in recent history
• Military Service: Particularly stinging given his role in the conflict

He continues to be a counsellor of state, in principle able to substitute for the sovereign, and he is still in the lineage to the throne, but not any of these will ever come to pass.

Coming Developments

Do individuals he comes across still show respect to him? Will they still slip up and call him Prince? Will they even say Mr,

Of course, he is not withdrawing to suburbia, but to the monarchy's large property at Sandringham.

There, he will be provided by the sovereign with one of the estate properties and given some form of private allowance.

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

Pending Matters

This is not over. There are still records in the possession of American legislators to be made public.

• Governmental Scrutiny: Might lawmakers request additional information
• Fiscal Review: Or investigate the misuse of taxpayer funds
• Judicial Potential: There may even be a criminal probe into his actions

Maybe for the time being the reputational impact to the crown is contained. The statement from the institution was clearly that the removal of honorifics was what the king, and particularly other senior royals, desired.

Altered Approach

The cessation of illusion that Andrew was acting willingly. And, notably, the short statement showed evidently that the institution were supporting the victim's account of events.

Even more, for the first time they eventually showed regard for the survivors: "These actions are judged required, despite the fact that he persists in refuting the allegations against him."

Finally it is entitlement, self-interest and indolence that will undermine the institution. In his stupidity, self-indulgence and corruption, Andrew seems never to have learned that truth.