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It all began with a isolated photograph, possibly the most consequential ever captured of a member of the monarchy.

Present was the Duke of York, arm-in-arm a young woman, while another individual beamed knowingly in the background.

Absent that image, captured at a gathering in 2001, who would have believed the claims of a teenager who declared she was moved across the Atlantic and compelled to have perfunctory relations with a member of the monarchy?

A strange, indicative gesture by someone who had openly stated to have not known about her, asserted he could not have had intimate contact with her, and yet provided millions of his mother's funds to settle a long-delayed lawsuit.

A Long Period of Disgrace

In this context, discussions of the royal family acting firmly to cut Andrew off are inaccurate. This controversy has persisted for the majority of 15 years since that photograph, and an additional image of Andrew strolling amiably with a disgraced financier surfaced.

• Hubris: For what duration did his siblings, maybe even his relatives, understand that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Problematic Connections: They must have understood, if his employees and the police were performing their duties, that he had some extremely unsavory friends given he openly hosted them to estates.
• Monetary Excess: If the family did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his overspending with public money.

Travel were listed in public records: chopper flights from the estate to a country club and back again in time for dining, exclusive air travel instead of regular transport, all for the comfort of "the frequent flyer".

A Life of Privilege

Then there was the presumption which demanded deference when he appeared in a space or the extreme awareness about his designations used on his official documents in communication to his personal acquaintances.

He could get away with it while his parent, who unaccountably spoiled him, was still surviving. The Queen did at least strip him of public duties and ceremonial ranks in the aftermath of his disastrous and, we now know, untruthful television interview six years ago.

Current Situation

Merely in the last two weeks that events sped up, following the publication of books giving more troubling details of his conduct and that of his connections.

Further disclosures have again revealed Andrew's assumption that he could avoid deceiving about his interaction with a notorious figure.

The public (and the press) were far more perceptive of the royals. There was nobody of any importance to speak up for him, a outcome of all those years of presumption.

Institutional Fears

The more intelligent family members recognized that. The primary concern is to pass on the crown, if not as heretofore at least intact and untarnished.

For generations the last 190 years trying to undo the legacy of previous monarchs, demonstrating they are valuable, responsible and attentive to their subjects.

His actions endangered all that in peril in an time when submission and privacy is no longer adequate.

The Fallout

Finally, the notoriously hesitant monarch was prodded more. There was little choice. The institution had surrendered command of the account.

Now it is the loss of honorifics and the ongoing and permanent public humiliation that will hurt Andrew most severely.

• Demotion: Lowered to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor
• Prior Instance: The initial member to lose his honorifics in contemporary era
• Naval Career: Particularly stinging given his role in the Falklands war

He is still a royal advisor, theoretically able to stand in for the sovereign, and he is still in the lineage to the throne, but none of these will actually come to pass.

Future Prospects

Do individuals he encounters still defer to him? Might they still slip up and call him Prince? Would they say Mr,

Naturally, he is not retiring to an ordinary town, but to the monarchy's vast estate at a monarchical property.

In that place, he will be furnished by the sovereign with one of the royal residences and given some type of private allowance.

It is not his previous residence, where he paid a token payment for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit remote, but even so it may not be far enough.

Outstanding Concerns

Matters remain unresolved. There are still records in the custody of overseas authorities to be disclosed.

• Political Pressure: Will lawmakers demand more
• Fiscal Review: Or examine the waste of state resources
• Judicial Potential: There may even be a criminal probe into his actions

Possibly for the time being the institutional damage to the monarchy is contained. The narrative from the institution was clearly that the revocation of honorifics was what the sovereign, and particularly other senior royals, desired.

Changed Stance

An end to deception that Andrew was acting willingly. And, notably, the brief announcement showed clearly that the royals were siding with the complainant's version of incidents.

Furthermore, for the first time they ultimately showed concern for the survivors: "The censures are judged required, despite the truth that he continues to deny the accusations against him."

In the end it is entitlement, self-seeking and indolence that will undermine the crown. In his stupidity, self-indulgence and greed, Andrew gives the impression never to have grasped that truth.