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

There stood the Duke of York, with his arm around a young woman, while a companion smiled knowingly in the backdrop.

Absent that photograph, captured at a social event in 2001, who would have believed the allegations of a adolescent who said she was transported across the sea and obliged to have brief intimate contact with a member of the monarchy?

A strange, revealing gesture by someone who had openly stated to have no known about her, said he could not have had relations with her, and yet provided a substantial sum of monarchical money to resolve a drawn-out legal case.

Over a Decade of Controversy

Against this backdrop, talk of the monarchy acting swiftly to distance themselves from Andrew are misguided. This controversy has continued for the better part of 15 years since that photograph, and a further photo of Andrew walking congenially with a convicted sex offender came to light.

• Arrogance: To what extent did his siblings, possibly even his parents, know that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Questionable Associations: They must have known, if his staff and the police were performing their duties, that he had some deeply disreputable friends given he openly hosted them to royal residences.
• Monetary Excess: If the family did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with public money.

Travel were listed in royal annual reports: chopper travel from the palace to a golf course and back again in time for dining, exclusive air travel instead of regular transport, all for the comfort of "Airmiles Andy".

World of Deference

Then there was the presumption which demanded deference when he walked into a area or the extreme consciousness about his designations used on his letterheads in letters to his personal acquaintances.

He could get away with it while his parent, who unaccountably indulged him, was still surviving. The sovereign did at least strip him of official roles and military positions in the aftermath of his ill-fated and, we now know, deceptive media appearance six years ago.

Recent Developments

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

Further disclosures have again revealed Andrew's assumption that he could get away with lying about his interaction with a convicted criminal.

Society (and the media) were far in advance of the royals. There was no one of any significance to support him, a consequence of all those years of presumption.

Royal Worries

The more intelligent royals realized that. The key objective is to hand down the crown, if not as before at least whole and unstained.

For generations the last 190 years trying to undo the reputation of earlier rulers, showing they are useful, responsible and responsive to their people.

He was placing all that in jeopardy in an age when respect and privacy is no longer adequate.

Aftermath

Finally, the well-known uncertain monarch was pushed additional. There was no other option. The palace had relinquished authority of the narrative.

Currently the removal of honorifics and the persistent and life-long public humiliation that will pain Andrew most deeply.

• Reduction: Demoted to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor
• Historical Precedent: The primary monarch to lose his designations in modern times
• Military Service: Especially hurtful given his role in the conflict

He continues to be a royal advisor, in principle able to substitute for the monarch, and he is still in the succession to the throne, but neither of these will truly occur.

Future Prospects

Do individuals he meets still acknowledge him? Might they still slip up and call him Prince? Might they say Andrew,

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

There, he will be supplied by the monarch with one of the grace and favour houses and given some type of private allowance.

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

Outstanding Concerns

This is not over. There are still records in the hands of American legislators to be revealed.

• Governmental Scrutiny: Will lawmakers seek further action
• Financial Investigation: Or investigate the improper use of public money
• Legal Possibility: There may even be a police investigation into his conduct

Perhaps for the moment the reputational impact to the institution is restricted. The message from the royal household was clearly that the stripping of titles was what the king, and notably other senior family members, wanted.

Changed Stance

No more pretence that Andrew was acting willingly. And, remarkably, the short statement showed clearly that the monarchy were aligning with the accuser's narrative of incidents.

Additionally, for the initial instance they finally showed regard for the survivors: "The measures are judged required, notwithstanding the truth that he persists in refuting the accusations against him."

Finally it is presumption, self-seeking and inactivity that will undermine the institution. In his folly, self-gratification and corruption, Andrew seems never to have understood that truth.