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This episode commenced with a solitary photograph, perhaps the most consequential ever taken of a individual from the royal household.

Present was the Duke of York, arm-in-arm a female youth, while another individual grinned conspiratorially in the background.

Lacking that photograph, taken at a party in 2001, few would have credited the assertions of a teenager who said she was moved across the ocean and compelled to have brief intimate contact with a prince of the royal bloodline?

A curious, indicative move by someone who had publicly claimed to have not known about her, asserted he could no have had intimate contact with her, and yet paid millions of his mother's funds to settle a long-delayed lawsuit.

A Long Period of Scandal

In this context, discussions of the monarchy acting decisively to sever ties with Andrew are inaccurate. This scandal has endured for the largest portion of 15 years since that picture, and a further image of Andrew strolling congenially with a notorious individual surfaced.

• Hubris: To what extent did his family members, maybe even his parents, realize that Andrew was so self-entitled?
• Questionable Associations: They must have known, if his employees and the authorities were fulfilling their roles, that he had some extremely unsavory friends given he openly hosted them to palaces.
• Monetary Excess: If the monarchy did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his extravagance with taxpayer funds.

Travel were listed in public records: helicopter flights from the palace to a sporting venue and back again in time for lunch, chartered planes instead of scheduled services, all for the comfort of "the travel enthusiast".

World of Deference

Then there was the presumption which demanded respect when he walked into a room or the extreme consciousness about his designations used on his letterheads in messages to his friends.

He avoided accountability while his mother, who unaccountably spoiled him, was still living. The Queen did at least remove him of royal responsibilities and honorary colonelcies in the consequence of his disastrous and, we now know, untruthful public statement six years ago.

Current Situation

It was only in the last fortnight that events progressed rapidly, following the issuance of books giving more troubling information of his behavior and that of his associates.

Further disclosures have again revealed Andrew's belief that he could get away with deceiving about his relationship with a convicted criminal.

Society (and the press) were far ahead of the royals. There was not a single person of any significance to defend him, a consequence of all those years of presumption.

Monarchical Concerns

The wiser family members recognized that. The primary concern is to pass on the monarchy, if not as heretofore at least complete and unstained.

Over time the last 190 years trying to overcome the image of earlier rulers, proving they are beneficial, accountable and responsive to their people.

Andrew was putting all that in jeopardy in an age when submission and privacy is no longer adequate.

Aftermath

Eventually, the notoriously indecisive king was pressured more. There was no alternative. The royal household had relinquished authority of the account.

Presently the stripping of titles and the continued and life-long personal shame that will pain Andrew the most.

• Downgrading: Lowered to just a private citizen
• Past Example: The first monarch to lose his titles in contemporary era
• Armed Forces: Notably stinging given his service in the Falklands war

He continues to be a royal advisor, in principle able to act for the monarch, and he is still eighth in line to the monarchy, but none of these will truly occur.

Future Prospects

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

Of course, he is not withdrawing to suburbia, but to the sovereign's large property at Sandringham.

There, he will be furnished by the sovereign with one of the estate properties and given some sort of financial support.

This differs from his prior accommodation, where he paid a minimal payment for more than 20 years, and Norfolk is a bit distant, but even so it may not be far enough.

Outstanding Concerns

The situation continues. There are still records in the hands of overseas authorities to be disclosed.

• Political Pressure: Could lawmakers seek further action
• Financial Investigation: Or scrutinize the waste of state resources
• Legal Possibility: There may even be a police investigation into his behavior

Possibly for the time being the harm to the monarchy to the crown is restricted. The statement from the institution was plainly that the removal of titles was what the monarch, and notably other senior monarchical figures, sought.

A Shift in Position

The cessation of illusion that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, remarkably, the short announcement showed clearly that the royals were supporting the victim's account of events.

Even more, for the premiere occasion they eventually showed consideration for the survivors: "These actions are considered essential, regardless of the truth that he maintains his innocence of the accusations against him."

Finally it is arrogance, selfishness and inactivity that will kill the crown. In his stupidity, personal excess and greed, Andrew seems never to have understood that reality.