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The saga started with a isolated photograph, arguably the most impactful ever snapped of a member of the monarchy.

Present was the Baron Killyleagh, with his arm around a teenage girl, while a companion beamed conspiratorially in the background.

Absent that photograph, shot at a party in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the assertions of a adolescent who stated she was moved across the Atlantic and obliged to have perfunctory relations with a prince of the royal bloodline?

A curious, telling action by someone who had overtly stated to have no known about her, said he could no have had sex with her, and yet paid a large amount of his mother's resources to avert a long-delayed lawsuit.

A Long Period of Disgrace

Against this backdrop, talk of the royals acting decisively to distance themselves from Andrew are misguided. This controversy has continued for the better part of 15 years since that photograph, and a further image of Andrew strolling pleasantly with a disgraced financier came to light.

• Arrogance: How long did his siblings, perhaps even his mother and father, know that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Problematic Connections: They must have known, if his staff and the police were fulfilling their roles, that he had some highly questionable associates given he publicly invited them to estates.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the household did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his extravagance with state resources.

Travel were documented in public records: private aircraft flights from the estate to a country club and back again in time for lunch, chartered planes instead of commercial flights, all for the comfort of "Airmiles Andy".

A Life of Privilege

Furthermore the entitlement which demanded subservience when he appeared in a space or the supreme obsession about his royal titles used on his correspondence in messages to his associates.

He could get away with it while his mother, who inexplicably indulged him, was still alive. The monarch did at least strip him of public duties and honorary colonelcies in the aftermath of his disastrous and, we now know, mendacious media appearance six years ago.

Current Situation

Merely in the last fortnight that events progressed rapidly, following the issuance of biographical works giving more troubling information of his conduct and that of his companions.

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

The public (and the journalists) were far in advance of the royals. There was not a single person of any consequence to speak up for him, a consequence of all those years of hubris.

Royal Worries

The more astute royals recognized that. The key objective is to hand down the crown, if not as before at least intact and unblemished.

For generations the last 190 years trying to reverse the reputation of earlier rulers, demonstrating they are valuable, responsible and reactive to their subjects.

His actions endangered all that in danger in an time when respect and secrecy is no longer adequate.

The Fallout

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

Currently the loss of honorifics and the persistent and life-long public humiliation that will pain Andrew most severely.

• Reduction: Reduced to just a private citizen
• Historical Precedent: The initial member to surrender his designations in contemporary era
• Naval Career: Especially hurtful given his service in the Falklands war

He continues to be a royal advisor, in principle able to act for the king, and he is still in the succession to the crown, but neither of these will actually come to pass.

Future Prospects

Do individuals he encounters still defer to him? Will they still forget themselves and call him Your Highness? Would they say Sir,

Certainly, he is not retiring to suburbia, but to the sovereign's vast estate at a royal residence.

There, he will be provided by the monarch with one of the grace and favour houses and given some type of private allowance.

This differs from his prior accommodation, where he paid a token lease for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit far, but even so it may not be adequate distance.

Pending Matters

Matters remain unresolved. There are still documents in the custody of US Congress to be revealed.

• Governmental Scrutiny: Might legislators demand more
• Fiscal Review: Or investigate the improper use of public money
• Judicial Potential: There may even be a police investigation into his conduct

Possibly for the time being the harm to the monarchy to the monarchy is restricted. The message from the royal household was plainly that the stripping of designations was what the monarch, and particularly other senior royals, desired.

A Shift in Position

No more illusion that Andrew was acting willingly. And, remarkably, the brief announcement showed plainly that the monarchy were aligning with the accuser's version of incidents.

Furthermore, for the first time they finally showed concern for the survivors: "The measures are judged required, regardless of the truth that he maintains his innocence of the accusations against him."

Ultimately it is arrogance, self-interest and laziness that will kill the crown. In his foolishness, self-gratification and venality, Andrew seems never to have learned that lesson.