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The saga started with a solitary photograph, possibly the most consequential ever taken of a individual from the royal household.

There stood the Earl of Inverness, arm-in-arm a young woman, while another individual smiled conspiratorially in the backdrop.

Without that photograph, taken at a party in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the assertions of a teenager who said she was transported across the sea and forced to have brief intimate contact with a individual of the royal bloodline?

An odd, telling move by someone who had overtly asserted to have not been aware of her, asserted he could no have had intimate contact with her, and yet handed over millions of monarchical money to settle a long-delayed lawsuit.

Years of Disgrace

Against this backdrop, talk of the monarchy acting firmly to cut Andrew off are wide of the mark. This scandal has persisted for the largest portion of 15 years since that picture, and another snapshot of Andrew ambling amiably with a disgraced financier came to light.

• Hubris: How long did his family members, possibly even his mother and father, realize that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have realized, if his aides and the law enforcement were doing their jobs, that he had some extremely unsavory associates given he unabashedly welcomed them to royal residences.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the household did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his overspending with state resources.

Trips were documented in public records: chopper transfers from the palace to a country club and back again in time for lunch, private flights instead of commercial flights, all for the convenience of "Airmiles Andy".

Existence of Entitlement

Then there was the entitlement which demanded deference when he appeared in a room or the extreme consciousness about his designations used on his correspondence in letters to his associates.

He avoided accountability while his mother, who inexplicably spoiled him, was still alive. The sovereign did at least remove him of official roles and military positions in the consequence of his catastrophic and, it is now clear, untruthful media appearance six years ago.

Recent Developments

Merely in the last 14 days that events accelerated, following the issuance of biographical works giving more troubling information of his conduct and that of his connections.

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

People (and the press) were far in advance of the royal family. There was nobody of any significance to speak up for him, a result of all those years of presumption.

Institutional Fears

The more astute family members realized that. The key objective is to pass on the crown, if not as before at least intact and unstained.

For generations the last 190 years trying to reverse the reputation of earlier rulers, showing they are beneficial, responsible and responsive to their citizens.

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

Consequences

Finally, the famously indecisive sovereign was pressured additional. There was no alternative. The royal household had surrendered command of the narrative.

Presently the removal of titles and the persistent and life-long personal shame that will afflict Andrew most deeply.

• Downgrading: Demoted to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor
• Prior Instance: The initial royal to surrender his designations in contemporary era
• Naval Career: Particularly stinging given his service in the Falklands war

He remains a royal advisor, on paper able to stand in for the sovereign, and he is still eighth in line to the throne, but not any of these will actually occur.

What Lies Ahead

Do individuals he encounters still acknowledge him? Might they still slip up and call him Sir? Might they say Sir,

Certainly, he is not withdrawing to a common area, but to the sovereign's extensive property at a monarchical property.

At that location, he will be provided by the monarch with one of the grace and favour houses and given some sort of private allowance.

This is not his former home, where he paid a token lease for more than 20 years, and Norfolk is a bit far, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed.

Outstanding Concerns

Matters remain unresolved. There are still documents in the possession of US Congress to be disclosed.

• Parliamentary Interest: Will legislators demand more
• Fiscal Review: Or scrutinize the misuse of state resources
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a police investigation into his actions

Maybe for the time being the harm to the monarchy to the institution is restricted. The message from the royal household was plainly that the removal of titles was what the sovereign, and particularly other senior family members, desired.

Changed Stance

No more illusion that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, significantly, the brief announcement showed evidently that the royals were aligning with the victim's narrative of events.

Furthermore, for the premiere occasion they finally showed concern for the survivors: "The censures are deemed necessary, regardless of the fact that he continues to deny the accusations against him."

Finally it is presumption, self-interest and laziness that will kill the crown. In his stupidity, personal excess and greed, Andrew gives the impression never to have learned that lesson.