Foolishness and Royal Self-Entitlement Sunk Andrew, and It May Not Be Over Yet

This episode commenced with a isolated photograph, possibly the most consequential ever taken of a member of the monarchy.

There stood the Duke of York, with his arm around a female youth, while a companion grinned suggestively in the background.

Absent that image, taken at a party in 2001, few would have credited the allegations of a young woman who declared she was trafficked across the Atlantic and obliged to have cursory sexual encounters with a individual of the monarchy?

A curious, indicative action by someone who had publicly stated to have never known about her, asserted he could no have had relations with her, and yet handed over millions of his mother's money to settle a protracted court action.

Over a Decade of Scandal

Considering this, talk of the monarchy acting decisively to sever ties with Andrew are wide of the mark. This affair has endured for the majority of 15 years since that photograph, and another image of Andrew ambling pleasantly with a disgraced financier emerged.

• Hubris: How long did his siblings, maybe even his relatives, realize that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have known, if his aides and the law enforcement were fulfilling their roles, that he had some deeply disreputable companions given he publicly welcomed them to palaces.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the household did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with public money.

Trips were listed in royal annual reports: private aircraft flights from the royal residence to a sporting venue and back again in time for lunch, private flights instead of commercial flights, all for the comfort of "the travel enthusiast".

A Life of Privilege

Then there was the presumption which required respect when he entered a space or the profound obsession about his honorifics used on his letterheads in communication to his friends.

He managed to escape consequences while his mother, who inexplicably pampered him, was still surviving. The monarch did at least revoke him of official roles and ceremonial ranks in the aftermath of his catastrophic and, we now know, deceptive public statement six years ago.

Current Situation

It was only in the last fortnight that events accelerated, following the release of biographical works giving more disturbing information of his behavior and that of his companions.

More information have again highlighted Andrew's assumption that he could avoid lying about his relationship with a convicted criminal.

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

Monarchical Concerns

The more intelligent royals recognized that. The primary concern is to transfer the monarchy, if not as before at least complete and untarnished.

Over time the last 190 years trying to undo the legacy of past sovereigns, demonstrating they are beneficial, responsible and attentive to their subjects.

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

Consequences

Eventually, the famously hesitant king was pushed additional. There was little choice. The institution had surrendered command of the account.

Currently the stripping of titles and the persistent and permanent public humiliation that will afflict Andrew the most.

• Downgrading: Lowered to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor
• Prior Instance: The primary royal to forfeit his titles in recent history
• Military Service: Notably stinging given his service in the Falklands war

He is still a royal advisor, on paper able to substitute for the sovereign, and he is still in the lineage to the monarchy, but neither of these will ever occur.

Future Prospects

Can persons he comes across still acknowledge him? Will they still forget themselves and call him Prince? Will they even say Sir,

Certainly, he is not retiring to a common area, but to the monarchy's extensive estate at Sandringham.

There, he will be supplied by the king with one of the royal residences and given some type of financial support.

It is not his prior accommodation, where he paid a nominal rent for more than 20 years, and Norfolk is a bit far, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed.

Unresolved Issues

Matters remain unresolved. There are still records in the possession of US Congress to be made public.

• Governmental Scrutiny: Will lawmakers request additional information
• Monetary Probe: Or investigate the misuse of public money
• Legal Possibility: There may even be a police investigation into his conduct

Maybe for the time being the harm to the monarchy to the crown is limited. The message from the institution was plainly that the stripping of designations was what the monarch, and especially other senior family members, sought.

Changed Stance

No more deception that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, remarkably, the brief statement showed evidently that the royals were siding with the victim's version of incidents.

Additionally, for the premiere occasion they eventually showed regard for the survivors: "The measures are judged required, despite the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him."

Ultimately it is arrogance, self-seeking and inactivity that will destroy the institution. In his stupidity, personal excess and corruption, Andrew gives the impression never to have understood that reality.