🔗 Share this article Foolishness and Regal Arrogance Sunk Andrew, and It Could Continue Yet The saga started with a single photograph, possibly the most consequential ever captured of a individual from the royal household. In the frame appeared the Duke of York, arm-in-arm a teenage girl, while another individual beamed suggestively in the background. Absent that photograph, taken at a social event in 2001, few would have credited the claims of a adolescent who stated she was moved across the sea and obliged to have perfunctory relations with a member of the royal bloodline? A strange, revealing action by someone who had publicly claimed to have not heard of her, asserted he could not have had sex with her, and yet paid a substantial sum of his mother's money to avert a drawn-out lawsuit. A Long Period of Scandal Considering this, conversations of the royals acting swiftly to cut Andrew off are wide of the mark. This controversy has endured for the majority of 15 years since that photograph, and a further photo of Andrew ambling amiably with a convicted sex offender surfaced. Arrogance: To what extent did his family members, maybe even his mother and father, realize that Andrew was so self-entitled? Problematic Connections: They must have realized, if his staff and the police were fulfilling their roles, that he had some highly questionable friends given he openly welcomed them to palaces. Financial Extravagance: If the family did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with public money. Trips were documented in royal annual reports: chopper transfers from the estate to a sporting venue and back again in time for midday meal, chartered planes instead of regular transport, all for the comfort of "the travel enthusiast". Existence of Entitlement Additionally the presumption which expected deference when he walked into a space or the profound awareness about his honorifics used on his correspondence in letters to his personal acquaintances. He avoided accountability while his mother, who unaccountably indulged him, was still living. The sovereign did at least strip him of public duties and military positions in the aftermath of his ill-fated and, it is now clear, untruthful public statement six years ago. Recent Developments It was only in the last two weeks that events progressed rapidly, following the issuance of biographical works giving more disturbing information of his behavior and that of his connections. Further disclosures have again exposed Andrew's assumption that he could avoid being untruthful about his contact with a convicted criminal. The public (and the media) were far more perceptive of the royal family. There was no one of any importance to speak up for him, a consequence of all those years of hubris. Institutional Fears The more astute royals recognized that. The primary concern is to pass on the institution, if not as before at least whole and unstained. Over time the last 190 years trying to overcome the image of earlier rulers, proving they are useful, accountable and reactive to their subjects. He was placing all that in danger in an time when submission and privacy is no longer sufficient. Consequences Ultimately, the well-known uncertain sovereign was pressured additional. There was no other option. The palace had relinquished authority of the account. Now it is the removal of designations and the ongoing and life-long social disgrace that will pain Andrew the most. Downgrading: Demoted to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor Historical Precedent: The first member to forfeit his honorifics in contemporary era Armed Forces: Especially stinging given his service in the conflict He continues to be a counsellor of state, in principle able to substitute for the monarch, and he is still eighth in line to the throne, but none of these will truly occur. What Lies Ahead Will people he encounters still acknowledge him? Could they still make mistakes and call him Prince? Might they say Mr, Certainly, he is not retiring to an ordinary town, but to the monarchy's extensive estate at Sandringham. There, he will be provided by the king with one of the grace and favour houses and given some sort of personal stipend. This is not his former home, where he paid a token rent for more than 20 years, and the area is a bit remote, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed. Unresolved Issues This is not over. There are still documents in the custody of US Congress to be made public. Parliamentary Interest: Will parliament request additional information Fiscal Review: Or examine the waste of public money Criminal Investigation: There may even be a police investigation into his conduct Maybe for the present the institutional damage to the monarchy is limited. The narrative from the royal household was plainly that the stripping of honorifics was what the king, and particularly other senior royals, wanted. Altered Approach An end to pretence that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, significantly, the concise announcement showed plainly that the monarchy were siding with the complainant's version of incidents. Furthermore, for the premiere occasion they finally showed consideration for the survivors: "The measures are considered essential, notwithstanding the reality that he maintains his innocence of the allegations against him." Finally it is entitlement, self-interest and indolence that will destroy the institution. In his foolishness, self-indulgence and corruption, Andrew appears never to have grasped that lesson.