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The saga started with a single photograph, possibly the most consequential ever snapped of a member of the monarchy.

In the frame appeared the Earl of Inverness, arm-in-arm a young woman, while an associate grinned suggestively in the backdrop.

Without that photograph, shot at a gathering in 2001, few would have credited the assertions of a adolescent who said she was trafficked across the sea and forced to have perfunctory sexual encounters with a prince of the royal bloodline?

A curious, indicative action by someone who had openly asserted to have never heard of her, claimed he could not have had intimate contact with her, and yet handed over millions of family funds to resolve a drawn-out lawsuit.

Years of Disgrace

In this context, talk of the royal family acting swiftly to cut Andrew off are inaccurate. This scandal has continued for the majority of 15 years since that picture, and a further snapshot of Andrew strolling amiably with a convicted sex offender came to light.

• Hubris: How long did his family members, possibly even his relatives, realize that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have known, if his aides and the law enforcement were performing their duties, that he had some deeply disreputable associates given he openly invited them to royal residences.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the household did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with state resources.

Trips were printed in public records: helicopter flights from the estate to a golf course and back again in time for dining, chartered planes instead of regular transport, all for the benefit of "the travel enthusiast".

World of Deference

Additionally the presumption which required deference when he walked into a space or the profound obsession about his honorifics used on his official documents in letters to his associates.

He managed to escape consequences while his matriarch, who unaccountably spoiled him, was still living. The monarch did at least strip him of official roles and honorary colonelcies in the wake of his ill-fated and, as revealed, mendacious media appearance six years ago.

Recent Developments

It was only in the last two weeks that events progressed rapidly, following the publication of books giving more troubling information of his behavior and that of his connections.

Further disclosures have again highlighted Andrew's thinking that he could escape lying about his interaction with a convicted criminal.

Society (and the press) were far in advance of the royal family. There was no one of any importance to support him, a consequence of all those years of hubris.

Monarchical Concerns

The more intelligent family members realized that. The key objective is to pass on the institution, if not as heretofore at least intact and untarnished.

They have spent the last 190 years trying to overcome the reputation of previous monarchs, demonstrating they are useful, dutiful and reactive to their citizens.

Andrew was putting all that in jeopardy in an age when respect and secrecy is no longer sufficient.

The Fallout

Eventually, the well-known indecisive sovereign was pressured further. There was little choice. The royal household had surrendered command of the story.

Now it is the stripping of honorifics and the continued and permanent public humiliation that will afflict Andrew most deeply.

• Reduction: Reduced to just a private citizen
• Prior Instance: The initial monarch to lose his honorifics in modern times
• Naval Career: Particularly painful given his service in the engagement

He is still a constitutional officer, theoretically able to stand in for the sovereign, and he is still in the succession to the monarchy, but none of these will ever happen.

Coming Developments

Do individuals he encounters still show respect to him? Might they still slip up and call him Prince? Might they say Mr,

Naturally, he is not retiring to an ordinary town, but to the sovereign's large property at Sandringham.

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

This is not his previous residence, where he paid a minimal 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 American legislators to be revealed.

• Governmental Scrutiny: Might lawmakers request additional information
• Monetary Probe: Or scrutinize the misuse of state resources
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a police investigation into his actions

Possibly for the moment the harm to the monarchy to the crown is restricted. The statement from the royal household was evidently that the revocation of honorifics was what the sovereign, and especially other senior family members, sought.

Changed Stance

No more pretence that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, significantly, the concise announcement showed plainly that the royals were supporting the victim's account of incidents.

Even more, for the initial instance they ultimately showed consideration for the survivors: "The censures are considered essential, regardless of the reality that he continues to deny the accusations against him."

In the end it is presumption, self-interest and laziness that will destroy the institution. In his foolishness, self-indulgence and greed, Andrew gives the impression never to have learned that truth.