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The saga started with a single photograph, arguably the most consequential ever snapped of a royal family member.

In the frame appeared the Baron Killyleagh, arm-in-arm a young woman, while a companion smiled conspiratorially in the backdrop.

Without that image, captured at a gathering in 2001, who would have believed the claims of a teenager who stated she was moved across the Atlantic and obliged to have brief relations with a prince of the royal family?

An odd, indicative action by someone who had openly stated to have not known about her, asserted he could no have had relations with her, and yet handed over a substantial sum of family funds to settle a drawn-out legal case.

Over a Decade of Scandal

Considering this, talk of the royal family acting swiftly to distance themselves from Andrew are inaccurate. This affair has persisted for the better part of 15 years since that picture, and an additional photo of Andrew walking pleasantly with a convicted sex offender surfaced.

• Arrogance: How long did his siblings, possibly even his mother and father, know that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Questionable Associations: They must have known, if his aides and the police were doing their jobs, that he had some deeply disreputable friends given he publicly invited them to estates.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the household did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his overspending with taxpayer funds.

Trips were printed in public records: chopper flights from the royal residence to a country club and back again in time for lunch, chartered planes instead of commercial flights, all for the benefit of "the travel enthusiast".

A Life of Privilege

Then there was the entitlement which required subservience when he entered a space or the profound awareness about his designations used on his letterheads in messages to his friends.

He could get away with it while his matriarch, who inexplicably spoiled him, was still surviving. The sovereign did at least strip him of royal responsibilities and ceremonial ranks in the wake of his disastrous and, we now know, deceptive media appearance six years ago.

Current Situation

It was only in the last fortnight that events accelerated, following the publication of biographical works giving more disturbing information of his conduct and that of his associates.

Additional revelations have again highlighted Andrew's belief that he could avoid lying about his contact with a disgraced individual.

The public (and the press) were far ahead of the royal family. There was nobody of any importance to support him, a result of all those years of hubris.

Institutional Fears

The more astute royals understood that. The primary concern is to transfer the monarchy, if not as before at least whole and unstained.

Over time the last 190 years trying to undo the legacy of past sovereigns, demonstrating they are valuable, accountable and responsive to their citizens.

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

The Fallout

Finally, the notoriously hesitant king was prodded further. There was little choice. The palace had surrendered command of the story.

Now it is the stripping of honorifics and the ongoing and life-long social disgrace that will afflict Andrew the most.

• Downgrading: Lowered to just a commoner
• Past Example: The initial monarch to forfeit his titles in modern times
• Armed Forces: Notably stinging given his duty in the conflict

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

Coming Developments

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

Certainly, he is not moving to suburbia, but to the royal family's large grounds at Sandringham.

At that location, he will be supplied by the sovereign with one of the estate properties and given some type of financial support.

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

Outstanding Concerns

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

• Governmental Scrutiny: Will parliament demand more
• Financial Investigation: Or scrutinize the improper use of state resources
• Legal Possibility: There may even be a criminal probe into his conduct

Possibly for the time being the harm to the monarchy to the crown is restricted. The narrative from the institution was clearly that the revocation of designations was what the monarch, and especially other senior royals, sought.

Changed Stance

An end to deception that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, significantly, the brief announcement showed plainly that the institution were aligning with the accuser's version of occurrences.

Additionally, for the initial instance they finally showed concern for the survivors: "The censures are considered essential, despite the fact that he maintains his innocence of the allegations against him."

In the end it is entitlement, selfishness and indolence that will destroy the monarchy. In his foolishness, personal excess and corruption, Andrew gives the impression never to have learned that truth.