🔗 Share this article Folly and Monarchical Hubris Sunk Andrew, and It Might Persist Yet It all began with a solitary photograph, arguably the most impactful ever taken of a individual from the royal household. There stood the Baron Killyleagh, arm-in-arm a teenage girl, while a companion smiled knowingly in the rear. Lacking that photograph, captured at a party in 2001, few would have credited the allegations of a teenager who declared she was moved across the Atlantic and obliged to have brief sexual encounters with a member of the royal bloodline? A strange, telling gesture by someone who had openly claimed to have never been aware of her, claimed he could no have had sex with her, and yet paid millions of monarchical resources to resolve a drawn-out legal case. Over a Decade of Scandal Considering this, discussions of the royal family acting firmly to cut Andrew off are wide of the mark. This controversy has continued for the majority of 15 years since that photograph, and another snapshot of Andrew strolling pleasantly with a convicted sex offender emerged. Self-importance: How long did his siblings, possibly even his mother and father, understand that Andrew was so self-entitled? Questionable Associations: They must have understood, if his staff and the police were doing their jobs, that he had some highly questionable friends given he publicly hosted them to palaces. Financial Extravagance: If the family did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with taxpayer funds. Journeys were printed in official documents: helicopter flights from the palace to a golf course and back again in time for dining, chartered planes instead of scheduled services, all for the convenience of "the travel enthusiast". World of Deference Then there was the arrogance which required subservience when he walked into a space or the supreme awareness about his royal titles used on his official documents in letters to his personal acquaintances. He managed to escape consequences while his matriarch, who unaccountably spoiled him, was still surviving. The Queen did at least strip him of royal responsibilities and honorary colonelcies in the aftermath of his ill-fated and, it is now clear, mendacious media appearance six years ago. Latest Events It was only in the last 14 days that events progressed rapidly, following the release of books giving more disturbing information of his conduct and that of his connections. More information have again highlighted Andrew's assumption that he could avoid being untruthful about his contact with a convicted criminal. The public (and the journalists) were far more perceptive of the royal family. There was not a single person of any consequence to defend him, a result of all those years of hubris. Royal Worries The more intelligent monarchical figures recognized that. The primary concern is to transfer the monarchy, if not as previously at least whole and untarnished. They have spent the last 190 years trying to undo the image of earlier rulers, showing they are useful, dutiful and attentive to their citizens. He was placing all that in danger in an era when deference and discretion is no longer sufficient. Aftermath Ultimately, the notoriously indecisive king was pushed further. There was no alternative. The royal household had lost control of the account. Now it is the stripping of designations and the persistent and lifetime public humiliation that will pain Andrew the most. Demotion: Demoted to just a private citizen Historical Precedent: The initial royal to lose his honorifics in contemporary era Naval Career: Notably painful given his duty in the conflict He is still a constitutional officer, on paper able to act for the monarch, and he is still in the succession to the crown, but none of these will truly come to pass. What Lies Ahead Can persons he encounters still defer to him? Might they still make mistakes and call him Prince? Will they even say Sir, Naturally, he is not withdrawing to suburbia, but to the royal family's extensive property at a royal residence. In that place, he will be provided by the monarch with one of the royal residences and given some sort of private allowance. It is not his previous residence, where he paid a token lease for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit far, but even so it may not be adequate distance. Outstanding Concerns This is not over. There are still records in the custody of US Congress to be disclosed. Governmental Scrutiny: Might parliament seek further action Fiscal Review: Or scrutinize the waste of public money Judicial Potential: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his behavior Perhaps for the time being the reputational impact to the crown is restricted. The narrative from the palace was plainly that the stripping of titles was what the king, and particularly other senior royals, desired. A Shift in Position The cessation of deception that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, significantly, the concise announcement showed plainly that the monarchy were siding with the accuser's version of occurrences. Even more, for the initial instance they eventually showed concern for the survivors: "These actions are considered essential, notwithstanding the truth that he continues to deny the accusations against him." Finally it is presumption, selfishness and laziness that will undermine the crown. In his stupidity, self-gratification and venality, Andrew seems never to have grasped that truth.