🔗 Share this article Foolishness and Regal Arrogance Ruined Andrew, and It Might Persist Yet The saga started with a single photograph, possibly the most impactful ever snapped of a member of the monarchy. Present was the Baron Killyleagh, arm-in-arm a teenage girl, while an associate beamed suggestively in the backdrop. Without that snapshot, captured at a party in 2001, who would have believed the claims of a teenager who declared she was transported across the ocean and forced to have brief sexual encounters with a individual of the royal family? A curious, telling action by someone who had openly claimed to have never been aware of her, claimed he could no have had intimate contact with her, and yet paid a substantial sum of his mother's money to settle a long-delayed lawsuit. Over a Decade of Controversy Against this backdrop, conversations of the monarchy acting firmly to sever ties with Andrew are misguided. This controversy has persisted for the better part of 15 years since that picture, and an additional snapshot of Andrew strolling congenially with a disgraced financier surfaced. Self-importance: How long did his siblings, perhaps even his relatives, know that Andrew was so presumptuous? Dubious Friendships: They must have known, if his employees and the authorities were fulfilling their roles, that he had some deeply disreputable friends given he publicly invited them to estates. Financial Extravagance: If the family did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his extravagance with taxpayer funds. Trips were listed in official documents: helicopter transfers from the palace to a golf course and back again in time for lunch, private flights instead of regular transport, all for the benefit of "the frequent flyer". World of Deference Then there was the entitlement which required deference when he entered a space or the supreme consciousness about his designations used on his letterheads in communication to his friends. He avoided accountability while his matriarch, who strangely pampered him, was still living. The Queen did at least remove him of royal responsibilities and military positions in the consequence of his ill-fated and, as revealed, deceptive television interview six years ago. Latest Events Merely in the last 14 days that events progressed rapidly, following the issuance of accounts giving more troubling information of his behavior and that of his associates. More information have again highlighted Andrew's assumption that he could get away with lying about his relationship with a disgraced individual. People (and the press) were far ahead of the royals. There was nobody of any significance to speak up for him, a consequence of all those years of hubris. Institutional Fears The more intelligent monarchical figures realized that. The key objective is to hand down the monarchy, if not as heretofore at least complete and untarnished. Over time the last 190 years trying to reverse the image of earlier rulers, showing they are useful, accountable and attentive to their citizens. He was placing all that in danger in an age when deference and secrecy is no longer sufficient. Aftermath Eventually, the well-known uncertain monarch was pushed more. There was no other option. The royal household had surrendered command of the account. Currently the loss of titles and the ongoing and permanent personal shame that will afflict Andrew most severely. Demotion: Demoted to just a private citizen Historical Precedent: The primary monarch to surrender his titles in modern times Armed Forces: Particularly stinging given his duty in the conflict He remains a constitutional officer, in principle able to stand in for the monarch, and he is still eighth in line to the crown, but not any of these will truly happen. What Lies Ahead Can persons he comes across still acknowledge him? Will they still make mistakes and call him Your Highness? Would they say Sir, Of course, he is not moving to a common area, but to the royal family's large estate at a monarchical property. In that place, he will be furnished by the sovereign with one of the grace and favour houses and given some form of financial support. It is not his prior accommodation, where he paid a minimal lease for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit remote, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed. Outstanding Concerns Matters remain unresolved. There are still files in the hands of US Congress to be disclosed. Governmental Scrutiny: Could legislators demand more Financial Investigation: Or scrutinize the misuse of public money Legal Possibility: There may even be a criminal probe into his actions Perhaps for the present the institutional damage to the monarchy is contained. The statement from the palace was clearly that the removal of honorifics was what the monarch, and especially other senior royals, desired. A Shift in Position The cessation of illusion that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, remarkably, the short communication showed evidently that the royals were supporting the complainant's version of incidents. Even more, for the initial instance they ultimately showed regard for the affected individuals: "The censures are considered essential, regardless of the reality that he continues to deny the allegations against him." Ultimately it is presumption, self-interest and indolence that will kill the monarchy. In his foolishness, self-indulgence and corruption, Andrew gives the impression never to have learned that truth.