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This episode commenced with a single photograph, possibly the most consequential ever snapped of a royal family member.

There stood the Duke of York, arm-in-arm a teenage girl, while an associate beamed suggestively in the backdrop.

Without that image, captured at a social event in 2001, who would have believed the assertions of a young woman who stated she was trafficked across the sea and forced to have perfunctory sexual encounters with a member of the royal family?

An odd, indicative action by someone who had publicly claimed to have no been aware of her, claimed he could never have had sex with her, and yet provided a substantial sum of his mother's money to settle a drawn-out lawsuit.

Years of Controversy

Against this backdrop, discussions of the royals acting firmly to cut Andrew off are misguided. This controversy has endured for the majority of 15 years since that photograph, and an additional photo of Andrew walking amiably with a convicted sex offender surfaced.

• Hubris: To what extent did his brothers and sisters, perhaps even his relatives, understand that Andrew was so arrogant?
• Problematic Connections: They must have realized, if his employees and the police were fulfilling their roles, that he had some extremely unsavory friends given he publicly welcomed them to estates.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the household did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his extravagance with state resources.

Journeys were documented in royal annual reports: chopper flights from the estate to a sporting venue and back again in time for midday meal, private flights instead of regular transport, all for the benefit of "the travel enthusiast".

Existence of Entitlement

Additionally the entitlement which demanded subservience when he appeared in a room or the extreme awareness about his honorifics used on his official documents in communication to his associates.

He managed to escape consequences while his parent, who unaccountably spoiled him, was still alive. The monarch did at least remove him of official roles and military positions in the wake of his catastrophic and, as revealed, deceptive media appearance six years ago.

Latest Events

Just in the last fortnight that events accelerated, following the publication of accounts giving more grim information of his actions and that of his companions.

More information have again revealed Andrew's belief that he could escape lying about his contact with a disgraced individual.

The public (and the press) were far in advance of the monarchy. There was nobody of any significance to defend him, a consequence of all those years of hubris.

Monarchical Concerns

The wiser royals recognized that. The one imperative is to pass on the institution, if not as heretofore at least whole and untarnished.

For generations the last 190 years trying to undo the image of previous monarchs, showing they are valuable, accountable and reactive to their subjects.

He was placing all that in jeopardy in an era when deference and privacy is no longer adequate.

The Fallout

Eventually, the famously uncertain monarch was pushed further. There was little choice. The royal household had lost control of the narrative.

Presently the loss of titles and the continued and life-long public humiliation that will pain Andrew the most.

• Reduction: Demoted to just a private citizen
• Past Example: The first royal to surrender his titles in modern times
• Military Service: Notably stinging given his duty in the engagement

He is still a constitutional officer, in principle able to stand in for the monarch, and he is still eighth in line to the monarchy, but not any of these will actually happen.

What Lies Ahead

Will people he comes across still show respect to him? Could they still slip up and call him Sir? Would they say Andrew,

Naturally, he is not moving to a common area, but to the sovereign's extensive grounds at a monarchical property.

At that location, he will be supplied by the sovereign with one of the royal residences and given some sort of personal stipend.

This is not his prior accommodation, where he paid a nominal payment for more than 20 years, and Norfolk is a bit distant, but even so it may not be far enough.

Unresolved Issues

Matters remain unresolved. There are still files in the custody of American legislators to be disclosed.

• Parliamentary Interest: Could lawmakers demand more
• Monetary Probe: Or examine the misuse of state resources
• Legal Possibility: There may even be a criminal probe into his behavior

Perhaps for the time being the reputational impact to the monarchy is limited. The statement from the royal household was plainly that the removal of titles was what the monarch, and especially other senior family members, desired.

A Shift in Position

The cessation of illusion that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, significantly, the short statement showed plainly that the monarchy were aligning with the accuser's version of occurrences.

Additionally, for the initial instance they eventually showed concern for the affected individuals: "These actions are deemed necessary, regardless of the truth that he maintains his innocence of the allegations against him."

In the end it is presumption, self-seeking and indolence that will undermine the institution. In his foolishness, self-indulgence and venality, Andrew seems never to have learned that reality.