🔗 Share this article Folly and Monarchical Hubris Sunk Andrew, and It Could Continue Yet It all began with a isolated photograph, perhaps the most impactful ever captured of a royal family member. Present was the Earl of Inverness, with his arm around a teenage girl, while an associate smiled knowingly in the backdrop. Without that photograph, captured at a party in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the claims of a young woman who stated she was trafficked across the sea and obliged to have cursory sexual encounters with a prince of the royal family? A curious, revealing gesture by someone who had overtly claimed to have never heard of her, said he could no have had relations with her, and yet paid millions of family resources to resolve a drawn-out court action. Years of Disgrace Against this backdrop, conversations of the royal family acting firmly to cut Andrew off are misguided. This scandal has persisted for the better part of 15 years since that image, and another snapshot of Andrew strolling amiably with a notorious individual came to light. Self-importance: To what extent did his siblings, maybe even his mother and father, realize that Andrew was so presumptuous? Dubious Friendships: They must have known, if his aides and the law enforcement were fulfilling their roles, that he had some deeply disreputable associates given he unabashedly invited them to royal residences. Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the monarchy did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with public money. Travel were documented in official documents: chopper transfers from the royal residence to a country club and back again in time for lunch, chartered planes instead of commercial flights, all for the convenience of "the frequent flyer". Existence of Entitlement Then there was the entitlement which required subservience when he entered a space or the profound consciousness about his royal titles used on his correspondence in letters to his friends. He avoided accountability while his parent, who strangely spoiled him, was still alive. The Queen did at least remove him of public duties and ceremonial ranks in the wake of his disastrous and, it is now clear, deceptive media appearance six years ago. Current Situation It was only in the last 14 days that events progressed rapidly, following the release of books giving more troubling details of his behavior and that of his associates. Additional revelations have again revealed Andrew's belief that he could get away with lying about his interaction with a disgraced individual. People (and the journalists) were far ahead of the royals. There was not a single person of any consequence to speak up for him, a outcome of all those years of presumption. Royal Worries The more intelligent monarchical figures understood that. The primary concern is to pass on the institution, if not as before at least whole and unstained. For generations the last 190 years trying to undo the image of past sovereigns, demonstrating they are valuable, responsible and attentive to their people. He was placing all that in jeopardy in an era when submission and privacy is no longer enough. The Fallout Finally, the well-known hesitant monarch was pressured more. There was little choice. The palace had surrendered command of the account. Presently the stripping of titles and the continued and life-long personal shame that will afflict Andrew most severely. Demotion: Demoted to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor Prior Instance: The primary member to lose his titles in recent history Armed Forces: Especially stinging given his service in the engagement He remains a royal advisor, theoretically able to substitute for the sovereign, and he is still in the succession to the crown, but neither of these will truly happen. What Lies Ahead Will people he meets still defer to him? Might they still make mistakes and call him Your Highness? Will they even say Sir, Of course, he is not moving to suburbia, but to the monarchy's vast property at a monarchical property. There, he will be furnished by the sovereign with one of the royal residences and given some sort of personal stipend. It is not his previous residence, where he paid a token lease for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit distant, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed. Outstanding Concerns The situation continues. There are still records in the possession of overseas authorities to be disclosed. Governmental Scrutiny: Will legislators demand more Fiscal Review: Or investigate the improper use of state resources Judicial Potential: There may even be a criminal probe into his actions Possibly for the time being the reputational impact to the crown is limited. The statement from the palace was plainly that the removal of honorifics was what the monarch, and particularly other senior royals, wanted. Changed Stance An end to deception that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, notably, the concise statement showed clearly that the royals were siding with the victim's version of events. Even more, for the first time they eventually showed regard for the victims: "The censures are judged required, notwithstanding the truth that he continues to deny the allegations against him." Ultimately it is presumption, selfishness and indolence that will destroy the monarchy. In his stupidity, self-gratification and greed, Andrew seems never to have learned that lesson.