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The saga started with a single photograph, arguably the most significant ever captured of a member of the monarchy.

In the frame appeared the Baron Killyleagh, arm-in-arm a young woman, while a companion smiled suggestively in the background.

Absent that snapshot, taken at a gathering in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the assertions of a teenager who declared she was transported across the ocean and forced to have cursory sexual encounters with a member of the royal family?

An odd, telling move by someone who had openly stated to have never been aware of her, said he could not have had intimate contact with her, and yet handed over a large amount of monarchical resources to settle a drawn-out legal case.

A Long Period of Controversy

Against this backdrop, conversations of the royals acting swiftly to distance themselves from Andrew are inaccurate. This controversy has continued for the better part of 15 years since that photograph, and another snapshot of Andrew ambling congenially with a disgraced financier surfaced.

• Hubris: How long did his siblings, possibly even his mother and father, know that Andrew was so self-entitled?
• Questionable Associations: They must have understood, if his employees and the police were fulfilling their roles, that he had some highly questionable companions given he openly hosted them to royal residences.
• Financial Extravagance: If the household did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his extravagance with state resources.

Journeys were listed in official documents: private aircraft travel from the royal residence to a country club and back again in time for lunch, private flights instead of regular transport, all for the comfort of "the travel enthusiast".

Existence of Entitlement

Then there was the presumption which required deference when he entered a room or the profound obsession about his designations used on his official documents in communication to his personal acquaintances.

He managed to escape consequences while his matriarch, who unaccountably spoiled him, was still alive. The monarch did at least strip him of public duties and military positions in the consequence of his catastrophic and, it is now clear, untruthful media appearance six years ago.

Current Situation

It was only in the last two weeks that events accelerated, following the issuance of books giving more troubling details of his conduct and that of his connections.

Additional revelations have again revealed Andrew's belief that he could escape being untruthful about his relationship with a notorious figure.

The public (and the press) were far ahead of the royal family. There was no one of any significance to support him, a consequence of all those years of arrogance.

Monarchical Concerns

The more astute monarchical figures understood that. The key objective is to transfer the institution, if not as previously at least whole and unblemished.

For generations the last 190 years trying to overcome the image of past sovereigns, showing they are valuable, accountable and reactive to their citizens.

He was placing all that in jeopardy in an age when submission and secrecy is no longer enough.

The Fallout

Eventually, the well-known indecisive king was pushed further. There was no other option. The palace had lost control of the story.

Currently the loss of honorifics and the persistent and lifetime public humiliation that will pain Andrew the most.

• Downgrading: Demoted to just a commoner
• Prior Instance: The primary monarch to forfeit his honorifics in contemporary era
• Military Service: Particularly painful given his duty in the Falklands war

He continues to be a royal advisor, in principle able to stand in for the monarch, and he is still in the lineage to the monarchy, but not any of these will actually occur.

What Lies Ahead

Do individuals he encounters still show respect to him? Might they still forget themselves and call him Prince? Might they say Mr,

Naturally, he is not retiring to an ordinary town, but to the monarchy's large grounds at Sandringham.

In that place, he will be furnished by the monarch with one of the estate properties and given some form of financial support.

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 possession of overseas authorities to be disclosed.

• Political Pressure: Could lawmakers seek further action
• Monetary Probe: Or investigate the improper use of taxpayer funds
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his behavior

Perhaps for the time being the harm to the monarchy to the crown is restricted. The statement from the palace was clearly that the stripping of designations was what the monarch, and particularly other senior royals, desired.

Altered Approach

No more deception that Andrew was acting willingly. And, significantly, the concise statement showed plainly that the monarchy were supporting the complainant's account of incidents.

Furthermore, for the initial instance they ultimately showed regard for the affected individuals: "These actions are deemed necessary, regardless of the reality that he continues to deny the claims against him."

In the end it is entitlement, self-interest and inactivity that will undermine the crown. In his folly, self-indulgence and venality, Andrew seems never to have learned that reality.