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The saga started with a solitary photograph, perhaps the most impactful ever captured of a individual from the royal household.

Present was the Duke of York, arm-in-arm a teenage girl, while a companion beamed conspiratorially in the background.

Without that image, taken at a party in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the claims of a teenager who declared she was moved across the sea and forced to have perfunctory relations with a individual of the royal family?

A strange, telling move by someone who had publicly stated to have never known about her, asserted he could not have had relations with her, and yet handed over millions of his mother's funds to resolve a drawn-out lawsuit.

Years of Disgrace

Against this backdrop, discussions of the royal family acting swiftly to cut Andrew off are wide of the mark. This affair has endured for the largest portion of 15 years since that image, and an additional photo of Andrew walking pleasantly with a disgraced financier surfaced.

• Self-importance: To what extent did his siblings, maybe even his relatives, understand that Andrew was so arrogant?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have realized, if his employees and the police were fulfilling their roles, that he had some highly questionable companions given he publicly invited them to palaces.
• Financial Extravagance: If the monarchy did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his extravagance with taxpayer funds.

Trips were listed in royal annual reports: helicopter transfers from the palace to a country club and back again in time for midday meal, chartered planes instead of commercial flights, all for the convenience of "the frequent flyer".

Existence of Entitlement

Additionally the arrogance which demanded subservience when he appeared in a area or the profound consciousness about his royal titles used on his correspondence in letters to his friends.

He could get away with it while his mother, who inexplicably indulged him, was still surviving. The monarch did at least remove him of official roles and ceremonial ranks in the wake of his catastrophic and, it is now clear, deceptive television interview six years ago.

Recent Developments

Just in the last 14 days that events progressed rapidly, following the issuance of accounts giving more grim details of his behavior and that of his connections.

Additional revelations have again exposed Andrew's belief that he could get away with being untruthful about his relationship with a convicted criminal.

The public (and the media) were far ahead of the royal family. There was not a single person of any consequence to defend him, a result of all those years of hubris.

Royal Worries

The more astute royals understood that. The one imperative is to pass on the institution, if not as heretofore at least complete and untarnished.

Over time the last 190 years trying to reverse the legacy of earlier rulers, proving they are beneficial, responsible and responsive to their subjects.

Andrew was putting all that in peril in an era when deference and discretion is no longer enough.

Aftermath

Eventually, the famously uncertain king was pressured further. There was little choice. The royal household had lost control of the narrative.

Presently the removal of designations and the ongoing and life-long public humiliation that will pain Andrew most severely.

• Reduction: Reduced to just a private citizen
• Historical Precedent: The initial royal to forfeit his designations in contemporary era
• Military Service: Especially hurtful given his service in the conflict

He is still a constitutional officer, on paper able to act for the king, and he is still eighth in line to the monarchy, but none of these will actually come to pass.

Future Prospects

Do individuals he meets still show respect to him? Will they still make mistakes and call him Prince? Would they say Mr,

Naturally, he is not moving to a common area, but to the royal family's extensive grounds at Sandringham.

At that location, he will be furnished by the monarch with one of the royal residences and given some form of private allowance.

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

Outstanding Concerns

Matters remain unresolved. There are still documents in the custody of overseas authorities to be revealed.

• Political Pressure: Could lawmakers seek further action
• Fiscal Review: Or scrutinize the waste of taxpayer funds
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his behavior

Possibly for the moment the institutional damage to the institution is limited. The message from the palace was plainly that the revocation of designations was what the monarch, and notably other senior royals, desired.

A Shift in Position

No more pretence that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, notably, the short communication showed plainly that the monarchy were aligning with the victim's version of events.

Additionally, for the initial instance they ultimately showed consideration for the affected individuals: "These actions are judged required, regardless of the truth that he maintains his innocence of the accusations against him."

In the end it is presumption, self-interest and laziness that will kill the crown. In his folly, self-gratification and greed, Andrew appears never to have understood that truth.