🔗 Share this article Folly and Royal Self-Entitlement Damaged Andrew, and It May Not Be Over Yet The saga started with a single photograph, arguably the most significant ever taken of a member of the monarchy. Present was the Baron Killyleagh, standing closely beside a female youth, while a companion beamed suggestively in the rear. Without that snapshot, captured at a social event in 2001, who would have believed the allegations of a teenager who said she was moved across the Atlantic and forced to have brief intimate contact with a prince of the royal family? A strange, revealing action by someone who had openly asserted to have no heard of her, claimed he could no have had relations with her, and yet provided a substantial sum of monarchical resources to avert a drawn-out court action. Over a Decade of Disgrace Considering this, conversations of the royal family acting firmly to sever ties with Andrew are wide of the mark. This controversy has endured for the majority of 15 years since that image, and a further image of Andrew strolling pleasantly with a disgraced financier emerged. Arrogance: How long did his brothers and sisters, maybe even his relatives, realize that Andrew was so presumptuous? Dubious Friendships: They must have realized, if his staff and the authorities were performing their duties, that he had some extremely unsavory companions given he openly invited them to royal residences. Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the family did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his extravagance with state resources. Journeys were listed in public records: helicopter travel from the palace to a sporting venue 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 presumption which expected respect when he entered a room or the profound consciousness about his designations used on his letterheads in letters to his personal acquaintances. He managed to escape consequences while his mother, who inexplicably spoiled him, was still alive. The sovereign did at least revoke him of public duties and honorary colonelcies in the wake of his ill-fated and, we now know, mendacious media appearance six years ago. Latest Events Merely in the last 14 days that events accelerated, following the issuance of biographical works giving more disturbing particulars of his conduct and that of his connections. Additional revelations have again exposed Andrew's assumption that he could avoid deceiving about his relationship with a disgraced individual. The public (and the journalists) were far more perceptive of the royal family. There was no one of any importance to speak up for him, a result of all those years of arrogance. Institutional Fears The more astute family members recognized that. The primary concern is to transfer the crown, if not as previously at least complete and untarnished. They have spent the last 190 years trying to reverse the image of previous monarchs, demonstrating they are useful, accountable and attentive to their subjects. He was placing all that in danger in an time when deference and privacy is no longer sufficient. The Fallout Ultimately, the famously uncertain king was pressured further. There was no alternative. The palace had surrendered command of the account. Now it is the stripping of designations and the persistent and life-long public humiliation that will pain Andrew most deeply. Demotion: Demoted to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor Prior Instance: The primary member to surrender his titles in recent history Naval Career: Particularly painful given his duty in the engagement He continues to be a royal advisor, theoretically able to stand in for the sovereign, and he is still eighth in line to the monarchy, but not any of these will truly happen. Coming Developments Will people he comes across still show respect to him? Will they still slip up and call him Sir? Will they even say Mr, Certainly, he is not moving to suburbia, but to the sovereign's extensive grounds at Sandringham. There, he will be supplied by the sovereign with one of the estate properties and given some type of private allowance. This differs from his prior accommodation, where he paid a nominal payment for more than 20 years, and the area is a bit remote, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed. Pending Matters Matters remain unresolved. There are still files in the hands of overseas authorities to be revealed. Governmental Scrutiny: Could parliament seek further action Monetary Probe: Or scrutinize the improper use of public money Criminal Investigation: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his behavior Possibly for the present the institutional damage to the institution is contained. The narrative from the institution was clearly that the revocation of titles was what the sovereign, and especially other senior family members, desired. Altered Approach No more pretence that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, significantly, the brief announcement showed evidently that the monarchy were siding with the victim's account of occurrences. Additionally, for the first time they ultimately showed consideration for the victims: "The measures are considered essential, despite the fact that he persists in refuting the claims against him." Finally it is entitlement, self-interest and laziness that will destroy the monarchy. In his stupidity, personal excess and greed, Andrew appears never to have grasped that lesson.