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

In the frame appeared the Earl of Inverness, with his arm around a female youth, while a companion smiled suggestively in the backdrop.

Without that photograph, taken at a party in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the allegations of a teenager who declared she was trafficked across the sea and obliged to have cursory sexual encounters with a member of the royal family?

A strange, indicative action by someone who had publicly asserted to have not heard of her, claimed he could not have had sex with her, and yet provided a substantial sum of his mother's resources to settle a drawn-out court action.

Years of Disgrace

Considering this, talk of the royal family acting swiftly to distance themselves from Andrew are wide of the mark. This affair has continued for the better part of 15 years since that picture, and an additional snapshot of Andrew strolling congenially with a notorious individual emerged.

• Hubris: How long did his brothers and sisters, possibly even his parents, understand that Andrew was so self-entitled?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have realized, if his aides and the police were fulfilling their roles, that he had some highly questionable friends given he unabashedly welcomed them to royal residences.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the household did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his extravagance with state resources.

Trips were printed in official documents: private aircraft travel from the palace to a golf course and back again in time for lunch, exclusive air travel instead of commercial flights, all for the benefit of "the travel enthusiast".

World of Deference

Then there was the arrogance which expected deference when he walked into a room or the extreme obsession about his designations used on his official documents in messages to his associates.

He managed to escape consequences while his matriarch, who strangely pampered him, was still surviving. The Queen did at least revoke him of official roles and honorary colonelcies in the aftermath of his ill-fated and, as revealed, mendacious television interview six years ago.

Latest Events

Merely in the last fortnight that events progressed rapidly, following the release of books giving more grim particulars of his actions and that of his associates.

Further disclosures have again exposed Andrew's assumption that he could escape being untruthful about his relationship with a notorious figure.

People (and the journalists) were far more perceptive of the monarchy. There was nobody of any significance to speak up for him, a outcome of all those years of arrogance.

Monarchical Concerns

The wiser family members understood that. The primary concern is to hand down the monarchy, if not as previously at least whole and untarnished.

For generations the last 190 years trying to overcome the legacy of earlier rulers, showing they are beneficial, responsible and responsive to their subjects.

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

Consequences

Finally, the notoriously hesitant king was pushed further. There was little choice. The royal household had relinquished authority of the account.

Now it is the loss of titles and the persistent and lifetime personal shame that will hurt Andrew most severely.

• Demotion: Reduced to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor
• Past Example: The initial royal to lose his titles in contemporary era
• Naval Career: Notably painful given his service in the engagement

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

What Lies Ahead

Can persons he meets still acknowledge him? Might they still forget themselves and call him Prince? Will they even say Andrew,

Naturally, he is not moving to an ordinary town, but to the monarchy's extensive property at Sandringham.

In that place, he will be supplied by the monarch with one of the royal residences and given some type of private allowance.

This differs from his previous residence, where he paid a nominal rent for more than 20 years, and Norfolk is a bit far, but even so it may not be adequate distance.

Outstanding Concerns

Matters remain unresolved. There are still documents in the custody of American legislators to be made public.

• Political Pressure: Could lawmakers seek further action
• Monetary Probe: Or investigate the improper use of public money
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his behavior

Perhaps for the present the reputational impact to the institution is limited. The statement from the institution was plainly that the removal of honorifics was what the king, and particularly other senior royals, wanted.

Changed Stance

The cessation of deception that Andrew was acting willingly. And, significantly, the short announcement showed evidently that the royals were aligning with the victim's account of events.

Additionally, for the initial instance they finally showed regard for the affected individuals: "These actions are considered essential, despite the truth that he persists in refuting the allegations against him."

Finally it is arrogance, self-interest and inactivity that will destroy the crown. In his foolishness, self-indulgence and corruption, Andrew gives the impression never to have grasped that lesson.