Stupidity and Monarchical Hubris Ruined Andrew, and It Might Persist Yet

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, standing closely beside a female youth, while a companion beamed knowingly in the background.

Lacking that snapshot, taken at a gathering in 2001, few would have credited the allegations of a young woman who stated she was trafficked across the Atlantic and obliged to have cursory intimate contact with a prince of the monarchy?

A curious, telling action by someone who had overtly claimed to have not known about her, said he could no have had sex with her, and yet paid a large amount of his mother's funds to settle a drawn-out lawsuit.

Over a Decade of Disgrace

Considering this, discussions of the royals acting firmly to distance themselves from Andrew are misguided. This controversy has continued for the majority of 15 years since that photograph, and an additional photo of Andrew walking pleasantly with a notorious individual came to light.

• Hubris: How long did his family members, perhaps even his parents, know that Andrew was so self-entitled?
• Problematic Connections: They must have realized, if his employees and the police were doing their jobs, that he had some deeply disreputable friends given he unabashedly hosted them to estates.
• Monetary Excess: If the family did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his extravagance with state resources.

Journeys were listed in official documents: private aircraft transfers from the palace to a sporting venue and back again in time for dining, private flights instead of commercial flights, all for the benefit of "Airmiles Andy".

World of Deference

Additionally the entitlement which required deference when he appeared in a area or the profound awareness about his royal titles used on his correspondence in letters to his friends.

He managed to escape consequences while his matriarch, who unaccountably spoiled him, was still living. The monarch did at least remove him of royal responsibilities and military positions in the aftermath of his catastrophic and, we now know, untruthful television interview six years ago.

Current Situation

It was only in the last 14 days that events sped up, following the release of biographical works giving more grim information of his behavior and that of his connections.

More information have again exposed Andrew's belief that he could escape deceiving about his contact with a convicted criminal.

Society (and the journalists) were far more perceptive of the royals. There was nobody of any importance to support him, a outcome of all those years of presumption.

Monarchical Concerns

The more intelligent family members realized that. The primary concern is to pass on the crown, if not as before at least whole and unblemished.

Over time the last 190 years trying to overcome the image of earlier rulers, demonstrating they are useful, responsible and responsive to their citizens.

Andrew was putting all that in jeopardy in an age when respect and secrecy is no longer adequate.

The Fallout

Ultimately, the notoriously uncertain monarch was prodded more. There was no alternative. The royal household had surrendered command of the account.

Currently the loss of honorifics and the continued and life-long public humiliation that will hurt Andrew most deeply.

• Downgrading: Demoted to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor
• Historical Precedent: The initial royal to lose his designations in modern times
• Military Service: Especially painful given his duty in the Falklands war

He is still a constitutional officer, theoretically able to act for the king, and he is still eighth in line to the monarchy, but neither of these will truly occur.

Future Prospects

Will people he comes across still acknowledge him? Could they still slip up and call him Prince? Would they say Sir,

Naturally, he is not withdrawing to a common area, but to the monarchy's extensive grounds at Sandringham.

In that place, he will be provided by the king with one of the grace and favour houses and given some type of private allowance.

It is not his former home, where he paid a nominal payment for more than 20 years, and the area is a bit far, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed.

Unresolved Issues

This is not over. There are still records in the custody of American legislators to be disclosed.

• Political Pressure: Will legislators request additional information
• Fiscal Review: Or scrutinize the improper use of state resources
• Judicial Potential: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his behavior

Possibly for the time being the reputational impact to the institution is restricted. The narrative from the institution was plainly that the revocation of titles was what the monarch, and notably other senior family members, sought.

A Shift in Position

An end to deception that Andrew was acting willingly. And, notably, the concise communication showed evidently that the institution were supporting the accuser's narrative of events.

Even more, for the initial instance they ultimately showed consideration for the survivors: "These actions are considered essential, despite the fact that he persists in refuting the accusations against him."

In the end it is presumption, self-seeking and laziness that will kill the crown. In his folly, self-indulgence and greed, Andrew appears never to have understood that lesson.