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This episode commenced with a solitary photograph, arguably the most impactful ever captured of a member of the monarchy.

In the frame appeared the Duke of York, standing closely beside a teenage girl, while an associate grinned suggestively in the rear.

Without that image, taken at a party in 2001, who would have believed the assertions of a young woman who said she was transported across the sea and compelled to have perfunctory sexual encounters with a individual of the monarchy?

A strange, telling move by someone who had openly stated to have never been aware of her, said he could never have had intimate contact with her, and yet paid a substantial sum of his mother's funds to resolve a protracted legal case.

Years of Controversy

In this context, conversations of the royal family acting firmly to sever ties with Andrew are wide of the mark. This affair has endured for the majority of 15 years since that image, and an additional photo of Andrew strolling congenially with a convicted sex offender came to light.

• Arrogance: To what extent did his brothers and sisters, possibly even his parents, realize that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Problematic Connections: They must have known, if his staff and the law enforcement were doing their jobs, that he had some highly questionable companions given he openly hosted them to estates.
• Monetary Excess: If the household did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his overspending with public money.

Travel were documented in official documents: helicopter travel from the royal residence to a sporting venue and back again in time for lunch, private flights instead of scheduled services, all for the convenience of "the travel enthusiast".

World of Deference

Furthermore the arrogance which demanded subservience when he walked into a room or the extreme obsession about his honorifics used on his correspondence in messages to his personal acquaintances.

He could get away with it while his mother, who unaccountably indulged him, was still living. The Queen did at least strip him of official roles and military positions in the aftermath of his disastrous and, we now know, mendacious television interview six years ago.

Current Situation

Just in the last fortnight that events progressed rapidly, following the publication of books giving more troubling details of his behavior and that of his connections.

More information have again highlighted Andrew's assumption that he could escape lying about his relationship with a disgraced individual.

People (and the media) were far in advance of the monarchy. There was not a single person of any importance to defend him, a consequence of all those years of hubris.

Royal Worries

The more astute royals understood that. The primary concern is to pass on the monarchy, if not as heretofore at least intact and unstained.

For generations the last 190 years trying to reverse the legacy of previous monarchs, showing they are valuable, responsible and attentive to their subjects.

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

Aftermath

Ultimately, the famously indecisive king was prodded further. There was no alternative. The royal household had lost control of the story.

Now it is the loss of titles and the continued and permanent social disgrace that will pain Andrew the most.

• Downgrading: Reduced to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor
• Historical Precedent: The primary royal to lose his designations in contemporary era
• Naval Career: Particularly hurtful given his duty in the Falklands war

He is still a royal advisor, on paper able to act for the monarch, and he is still in the succession to the throne, but neither of these will actually come to pass.

What Lies Ahead

Do individuals he encounters still show respect to him? Will they still forget themselves and call him Prince? Might they say Mr,

Naturally, he is not withdrawing to an ordinary town, but to the sovereign's large estate at a monarchical property.

There, he will be furnished by the sovereign with one of the royal residences and given some sort of private allowance.

This is not his previous residence, where he paid a minimal payment for more than 20 years, and Norfolk is a bit far, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed.

Pending Matters

Matters remain unresolved. There are still records in the hands of overseas authorities to be made public.

• Governmental Scrutiny: Will parliament request additional information
• Fiscal Review: Or investigate the misuse of taxpayer funds
• Legal Possibility: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his conduct

Perhaps for the moment the reputational impact to the monarchy is restricted. The statement from the institution was plainly that the removal of titles was what the king, and notably other senior family members, sought.

A Shift in Position

The cessation of pretence that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, remarkably, the short communication showed plainly that the royals were aligning with the complainant's account of events.

Additionally, for the first time they eventually showed consideration for the victims: "The measures are judged required, despite the reality that he maintains his innocence of the allegations against him."

In the end it is entitlement, self-seeking and laziness that will undermine the monarchy. In his stupidity, self-gratification and corruption, Andrew gives the impression never to have understood that truth.