Foolishness and Royal Self-Entitlement Damaged Andrew, and It Could Continue Yet

It all began with a single photograph, arguably the most consequential ever snapped of a individual from the royal household.

In the frame appeared the Baron Killyleagh, arm-in-arm a female youth, while a companion smiled knowingly in the rear.

Absent that image, taken at a gathering in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the claims of a adolescent who said she was trafficked across the ocean and compelled to have perfunctory sexual encounters with a member of the royal bloodline?

A strange, indicative action by someone who had openly stated to have not heard of her, asserted he could never have had relations with her, and yet paid a substantial sum of monarchical resources to resolve a protracted lawsuit.

A Long Period of Disgrace

Against this backdrop, talk of the royal family acting swiftly to cut Andrew off are wide of the mark. This scandal has continued for the largest portion of 15 years since that image, and another photo of Andrew strolling congenially with a disgraced financier came to light.

• Self-importance: To what extent did his family members, possibly even his relatives, realize that Andrew was so self-entitled?
• Questionable Associations: They must have understood, if his aides and the police were fulfilling their roles, that he had some extremely unsavory friends given he unabashedly hosted them to palaces.
• Monetary Excess: If the monarchy did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his overspending with taxpayer funds.

Trips were listed in royal annual reports: private aircraft flights from the palace to a country club and back again in time for midday meal, chartered planes instead of scheduled services, all for the convenience of "the frequent flyer".

World of Deference

Additionally the presumption which demanded subservience when he walked into a area or the extreme consciousness about his designations used on his correspondence in messages to his associates.

He avoided accountability while his parent, who strangely indulged him, was still living. The monarch did at least revoke him of royal responsibilities and honorary colonelcies in the aftermath of his catastrophic and, we now know, deceptive television interview six years ago.

Current Situation

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

Further disclosures have again revealed Andrew's belief that he could get away with deceiving about his contact with a disgraced individual.

Society (and the press) were far in advance of the monarchy. There was nobody of any importance to support him, a consequence of all those years of presumption.

Royal Worries

The more intelligent royals recognized that. The key objective is to hand down the monarchy, if not as heretofore at least complete and unblemished.

They have spent the last 190 years trying to overcome the reputation of earlier rulers, demonstrating they are useful, accountable and attentive to their citizens.

He was placing all that in peril in an time when deference and discretion is no longer sufficient.

The Fallout

Eventually, the notoriously indecisive monarch was pushed further. There was no other option. The royal household had relinquished authority of the story.

Presently the stripping of honorifics and the persistent and permanent public humiliation that will pain Andrew the most.

• Reduction: Lowered to just a private citizen
• Past Example: The first member to surrender his titles in contemporary era
• Military Service: Particularly stinging given his service in the engagement

He remains a counsellor of state, on paper able to stand in for the monarch, and he is still eighth in line to the crown, but neither of these will actually come to pass.

Coming Developments

Can persons he encounters still defer to him? Could they still make mistakes and call him Your Highness? Will they even say Andrew,

Certainly, he is not withdrawing to a common area, but to the monarchy's vast grounds at Sandringham.

There, he will be provided by the monarch with one of the grace and favour houses and given some sort of financial support.

This differs from his former home, where he paid a minimal rent for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit remote, but even so it may not be adequate distance.

Outstanding Concerns

The situation continues. There are still records in the possession of US Congress to be revealed.

• Political Pressure: Will parliament seek further action
• Monetary Probe: Or examine the waste of state resources
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a police investigation into his conduct

Perhaps for the present the harm to the monarchy to the crown is limited. The statement from the palace was clearly that the stripping of honorifics was what the sovereign, and notably other senior family members, desired.

Changed Stance

An end to pretence that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, notably, the brief statement showed clearly that the institution were aligning with the complainant's narrative of incidents.

Furthermore, for the premiere occasion they eventually showed consideration for the survivors: "The measures are considered essential, despite the reality that he persists in refuting the claims against him."

Ultimately it is presumption, self-interest and laziness that will destroy the monarchy. In his foolishness, personal excess and corruption, Andrew seems never to have learned that truth.