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This episode commenced with a isolated photograph, possibly the most significant ever taken of a royal family member.

Present was the Duke of York, arm-in-arm a female youth, while a companion beamed suggestively in the rear.

Without that photograph, captured at a gathering in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the claims of a young woman who said she was trafficked across the sea and compelled to have cursory relations with a member of the royal bloodline?

An odd, indicative move by someone who had overtly stated to have not known about her, claimed he could not have had intimate contact with her, and yet provided millions of his mother's resources to settle a drawn-out lawsuit.

A Long Period of Disgrace

Against this backdrop, conversations of the monarchy acting decisively to sever ties with Andrew are inaccurate. This affair has continued for the majority of 15 years since that image, and an additional snapshot of Andrew ambling pleasantly with a disgraced financier surfaced.

• Arrogance: To what extent did his brothers and sisters, perhaps even his relatives, understand that Andrew was so arrogant?
• Questionable Associations: They must have realized, if his staff and the police were performing their duties, that he had some extremely unsavory companions given he unabashedly welcomed them to estates.
• Monetary Excess: If the household did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with taxpayer funds.

Journeys were printed in official documents: helicopter transfers from the royal residence to a golf course and back again in time for dining, exclusive air travel instead of regular transport, all for the benefit of "Airmiles Andy".

Existence of Entitlement

Furthermore the entitlement which expected deference when he walked into a space or the supreme obsession about his royal titles used on his letterheads in communication to his friends.

He avoided accountability while his mother, who unaccountably spoiled him, was still living. The monarch did at least remove him of official roles and honorary colonelcies in the wake of his catastrophic and, as revealed, untruthful television interview six years ago.

Current Situation

It was only in the last fortnight that events sped up, following the release of books giving more disturbing details of his behavior and that of his companions.

More information have again exposed Andrew's assumption that he could get away with being untruthful about his relationship with a convicted criminal.

The public (and the journalists) were far in advance of the monarchy. There was nobody of any consequence to support him, a consequence of all those years of arrogance.

Royal Worries

The more astute royals recognized that. The key objective is to pass on the monarchy, if not as heretofore at least intact and unstained.

Over time the last 190 years trying to undo the legacy of earlier rulers, showing they are beneficial, responsible and attentive to their citizens.

He was placing all that in peril in an era when submission and secrecy is no longer sufficient.

Aftermath

Eventually, the well-known hesitant sovereign was prodded further. There was little choice. The royal household had relinquished authority of the account.

Presently the stripping of titles and the persistent and permanent public humiliation that will hurt Andrew most deeply.

• Downgrading: Reduced to just a commoner
• Prior Instance: The primary monarch to lose his honorifics in recent history
• Military Service: Especially hurtful given his duty in the Falklands war

He is still a royal advisor, theoretically able to substitute for the king, and he is still eighth in line to the throne, but neither of these will actually come to pass.

Future Prospects

Do individuals he encounters still acknowledge him? Might they still slip up and call him Your Highness? Will they even say Andrew,

Naturally, he is not withdrawing to suburbia, but to the monarchy's extensive grounds at a royal residence.

At that location, he will be provided by the monarch with one of the estate properties and given some sort of personal stipend.

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

Outstanding Concerns

Matters remain unresolved. There are still files in the custody of US Congress to be revealed.

• Governmental Scrutiny: Might parliament demand more
• Monetary Probe: Or examine the misuse of taxpayer funds
• Judicial Potential: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his actions

Possibly for the moment the institutional damage to the monarchy is restricted. The statement from the palace was clearly that the removal of honorifics was what the monarch, and particularly other senior family members, sought.

A Shift in Position

The cessation of pretence that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, remarkably, the concise communication showed plainly that the royals were supporting the accuser's account of occurrences.

Even more, for the first time they eventually showed consideration for the affected individuals: "These actions are considered essential, regardless of the reality that he persists in refuting the allegations against him."

Ultimately it is arrogance, self-interest and inactivity that will undermine the institution. In his stupidity, self-gratification and corruption, Andrew seems never to have grasped that reality.