🔗 Share this article Folly and Royal Self-Entitlement Damaged Andrew, and It May Not Be Over Yet The saga started with a isolated photograph, possibly the most impactful ever captured of a royal family member. There stood the Earl of Inverness, arm-in-arm a teenage girl, while a companion smiled knowingly in the rear. Without that image, captured at a gathering in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the allegations of a young woman who said she was transported across the ocean and forced to have perfunctory sexual encounters with a individual of the royal family? A curious, revealing action by someone who had publicly claimed to have not been aware of her, said he could not have had intimate contact with her, and yet paid a substantial sum of monarchical resources to avert a drawn-out lawsuit. Years of Scandal In this context, conversations of the monarchy acting swiftly to distance themselves from Andrew are wide of the mark. This affair has persisted for the majority of 15 years since that picture, and another photo of Andrew ambling congenially with a disgraced financier emerged. Hubris: How long did his siblings, possibly even his parents, understand that Andrew was so presumptuous? Dubious Friendships: They must have understood, if his employees and the law enforcement were performing their duties, that he had some deeply disreputable associates given he publicly hosted them to palaces. Monetary Excess: If the household did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his extravagance with state resources. Journeys were listed in official documents: helicopter transfers from the estate to a country club and back again in time for midday meal, exclusive air travel instead of commercial flights, all for the benefit of "the travel enthusiast". World of Deference Then there was the presumption which required subservience when he walked into a area or the profound consciousness about his honorifics used on his official documents in letters to his personal acquaintances. He managed to escape consequences while his matriarch, who unaccountably pampered him, was still surviving. The monarch did at least revoke him of royal responsibilities and ceremonial ranks in the wake of his ill-fated and, it is now clear, untruthful public statement six years ago. Current Situation It was only in the last 14 days that events accelerated, following the release of biographical works giving more troubling details of his behavior and that of his companions. Additional revelations have again exposed Andrew's thinking that he could escape lying about his interaction with a disgraced individual. People (and the press) were far ahead of the royal family. There was nobody of any consequence to speak up for him, a outcome of all those years of hubris. Monarchical Concerns The wiser monarchical figures understood that. The key objective is to hand down the crown, if not as previously at least intact and unblemished. They have spent the last 190 years trying to undo the legacy of earlier rulers, proving they are beneficial, responsible and attentive to their people. Andrew was putting all that in jeopardy in an era when deference and discretion is no longer enough. The Fallout Ultimately, the notoriously hesitant monarch was prodded further. There was no alternative. The palace had surrendered command of the narrative. Presently the removal of titles and the continued and life-long social disgrace that will pain Andrew the most. Reduction: Lowered to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor Historical Precedent: The initial royal to surrender his designations in modern times Naval Career: Notably painful given his duty in the Falklands war He continues to be a royal advisor, theoretically able to act for the king, and he is still in the succession to the crown, but neither of these will ever happen. Future Prospects Can persons he meets still acknowledge him? Could they still forget themselves and call him Your Highness? Would they say Andrew, Of course, he is not retiring to suburbia, but to the royal family's extensive estate at a monarchical property. At that location, he will be supplied by the sovereign with one of the estate properties and given some type of personal stipend. It is not his former home, where he paid a token payment for more than 20 years, and the area is a bit distant, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed. Unresolved Issues This is not over. There are still files in the hands of US Congress to be made public. Political Pressure: Will lawmakers request additional information Fiscal Review: Or scrutinize the misuse of taxpayer funds Criminal Investigation: There may even be a police investigation into his behavior Possibly for the time being the reputational impact to the crown is limited. The narrative from the palace was clearly that the removal of designations was what the monarch, and particularly other senior monarchical figures, sought. Changed Stance An end to deception that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, remarkably, the brief communication showed evidently that the institution were aligning with the complainant's account of occurrences. Furthermore, for the first time they eventually showed regard for the survivors: "The censures are judged required, notwithstanding the fact that he persists in refuting the accusations against him." Ultimately it is entitlement, self-interest and laziness that will undermine the crown. In his stupidity, personal excess and greed, Andrew seems never to have learned that reality.