Foolishness and Monarchical Hubris Sunk Andrew, and It May Not Be Over Yet

It all began with a isolated photograph, perhaps the most impactful ever snapped of a member of the monarchy.

There stood the Baron Killyleagh, arm-in-arm a teenage girl, while another individual beamed knowingly in the backdrop.

Lacking that photograph, shot at a gathering in 2001, few would have credited the assertions of a adolescent who said she was moved across the sea and obliged to have brief intimate contact with a individual of the royal bloodline?

A curious, telling gesture by someone who had overtly asserted to have no heard of her, asserted he could no have had intimate contact with her, and yet provided a large amount of his mother's funds to settle a protracted lawsuit.

Years of Scandal

Considering this, discussions of the royal family acting firmly to distance themselves from Andrew are inaccurate. This scandal has persisted for the majority of 15 years since that image, and a further image of Andrew ambling congenially with a convicted sex offender surfaced.

• Arrogance: To what extent did his brothers and sisters, maybe even his relatives, understand that Andrew was so self-entitled?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have understood, if his staff and the police were doing their jobs, that he had some extremely unsavory friends given he openly invited them to estates.
• Financial Extravagance: If the household did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with state resources.

Trips were printed in royal annual reports: chopper transfers from the estate to a country club and back again in time for lunch, chartered planes instead of scheduled services, all for the benefit of "the travel enthusiast".

World of Deference

Additionally the arrogance which expected respect when he appeared in a area or the supreme consciousness about his honorifics used on his letterheads in messages to his friends.

He avoided accountability while his mother, who unaccountably pampered him, was still surviving. The Queen did at least strip him of official roles and honorary colonelcies in the consequence of his ill-fated and, we now know, mendacious public statement six years ago.

Current Situation

It was only in the last fortnight that events accelerated, following the publication of accounts giving more troubling information of his behavior and that of his associates.

Further disclosures have again revealed Andrew's assumption that he could avoid being untruthful about his interaction with a convicted criminal.

People (and the media) were far more perceptive of the monarchy. There was no one of any importance to defend him, a consequence of all those years of presumption.

Monarchical Concerns

The more astute family members understood that. The primary concern is to transfer the crown, if not as before at least complete and unblemished.

For generations the last 190 years trying to overcome the image of previous monarchs, demonstrating they are valuable, accountable and attentive to their people.

He was placing all that in danger in an age when submission and discretion is no longer sufficient.

Aftermath

Finally, the famously hesitant sovereign was pressured further. There was no alternative. The palace had relinquished authority of the narrative.

Presently the loss of designations and the ongoing and permanent personal shame that will afflict Andrew the most.

• Downgrading: Lowered to just a private citizen
• Past Example: The first royal to lose his honorifics in modern times
• Armed Forces: Particularly stinging given his service in the conflict

He remains a royal advisor, in principle able to stand in for the sovereign, and he is still in the succession to the throne, but none of these will actually come to pass.

What Lies Ahead

Do individuals he meets still acknowledge him? Could they still slip up and call him Prince? Would they say Mr,

Certainly, he is not withdrawing to suburbia, but to the monarchy's large property at a monarchical property.

In that place, he will be furnished by the sovereign with one of the estate properties and given some sort of financial support.

This is not his previous residence, where he paid a token rent for more than 20 years, and Norfolk is a bit remote, but even so it may not be adequate distance.

Unresolved Issues

The situation continues. There are still documents in the custody of overseas authorities to be revealed.

• Governmental Scrutiny: Could parliament demand more
• Fiscal Review: Or scrutinize the improper use of taxpayer funds
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his actions

Perhaps for the time being the harm to the monarchy to the monarchy is restricted. The message from the palace was clearly that the revocation of titles was what the sovereign, and particularly other senior royals, sought.

Altered Approach

An end to pretence that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, notably, the brief announcement showed clearly that the monarchy were aligning with the complainant's version of incidents.

Furthermore, for the initial instance they ultimately showed regard for the affected individuals: "The censures are considered essential, regardless of the reality that he continues to deny the claims against him."

Ultimately it is arrogance, selfishness and indolence that will undermine the crown. In his foolishness, personal excess and greed, Andrew gives the impression never to have grasped that reality.