🔗 Share this article Folly and Regal Arrogance Ruined Andrew, and It Might Persist Yet It all began with a single photograph, perhaps the most significant ever snapped of a member of the monarchy. There stood the Earl of Inverness, with his arm around a young woman, while an associate grinned knowingly in the rear. Lacking that image, captured at a gathering in 2001, few would have credited the assertions of a young woman who stated she was transported across the Atlantic and forced to have perfunctory intimate contact with a member of the royal bloodline? An odd, telling action by someone who had publicly claimed to have never known about her, said he could no have had sex with her, and yet paid a large amount of family funds to resolve a drawn-out lawsuit. Over a Decade of Scandal In this context, talk of the royal family acting decisively to distance themselves from Andrew are wide of the mark. This controversy has endured for the majority of 15 years since that photograph, and an additional image of Andrew strolling pleasantly with a convicted sex offender came to light. Arrogance: For what duration did his siblings, maybe even his mother and father, realize that Andrew was so arrogant? Dubious Friendships: They must have known, if his aides and the law enforcement were performing their duties, that he had some highly questionable associates given he publicly welcomed them to estates. Financial Extravagance: If the family did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his extravagance with public money. Travel were documented in public records: private aircraft travel from the estate to a country club and back again in time for midday meal, chartered planes instead of scheduled services, all for the comfort of "Airmiles Andy". A Life of Privilege Then there was the arrogance which demanded subservience when he appeared in a room or the supreme obsession about his honorifics used on his correspondence in messages to his personal acquaintances. He avoided accountability while his parent, who inexplicably indulged him, was still alive. The monarch did at least revoke him of public duties and honorary colonelcies in the consequence of his catastrophic and, as revealed, mendacious public statement six years ago. Current Situation Just in the last two weeks that events accelerated, following the release of books giving more grim information of his actions and that of his connections. More information have again revealed Andrew's thinking that he could escape deceiving about his interaction with a convicted criminal. People (and the press) were far ahead of the royal family. There was not a single person of any consequence to support him, a result of all those years of presumption. Institutional Fears The more intelligent monarchical figures understood that. The one imperative is to transfer the institution, if not as previously at least complete and untarnished. They have spent the last 190 years trying to undo the image of previous monarchs, demonstrating they are valuable, responsible and reactive to their people. He was placing all that in jeopardy in an age when deference and discretion is no longer adequate. The Fallout Eventually, the famously hesitant monarch was prodded additional. There was no other option. The royal household had relinquished authority of the account. Now it is the stripping of honorifics and the persistent and lifetime personal shame that will hurt Andrew most severely. Demotion: Lowered to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor Past Example: The primary monarch to surrender his titles in modern times Naval Career: Notably hurtful given his service in the conflict He remains a constitutional officer, theoretically able to stand in for the sovereign, and he is still eighth in line to the monarchy, but none of these will ever happen. Coming Developments Will people he meets still acknowledge him? Might they still slip up and call him Sir? Will they even say Sir, Certainly, he is not retiring to a common area, but to the sovereign's vast estate at a royal residence. At that location, he will be supplied by the king with one of the grace and favour houses and given some sort of financial support. This differs from his prior accommodation, where he paid a minimal rent for more than 20 years, and the area is a bit distant, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed. Pending Matters Matters remain unresolved. There are still files in the hands of overseas authorities to be made public. Political Pressure: Could lawmakers seek further action Fiscal Review: Or examine the waste of taxpayer funds Criminal Investigation: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his actions Perhaps for the time being the institutional damage to the institution is contained. The narrative from the royal household was clearly that the revocation of designations was what the sovereign, and notably other senior family members, sought. Changed Stance The cessation of illusion that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, notably, the concise communication showed clearly that the institution were supporting the accuser's narrative of occurrences. Furthermore, for the initial instance they finally showed concern for the survivors: "The measures are deemed necessary, regardless of the reality that he maintains his innocence of the accusations against him." Finally it is entitlement, selfishness and inactivity that will undermine the crown. In his folly, self-gratification and venality, Andrew appears never to have understood that lesson.