🔗 Share this article

It all began with a solitary photograph, arguably the most significant ever captured of a individual from the royal household.

Present was the Baron Killyleagh, arm-in-arm a female youth, while another individual grinned conspiratorially in the backdrop.

Absent that snapshot, shot at a gathering in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the claims of a teenager who declared she was transported across the ocean and obliged to have perfunctory intimate contact with a individual of the monarchy?

An odd, revealing move by someone who had publicly asserted to have never been aware of her, claimed he could not have had sex with her, and yet paid a substantial sum of family resources to settle a protracted legal case.

Over a Decade of Disgrace

Against this backdrop, discussions of the royals acting swiftly to distance themselves from Andrew are inaccurate. This affair has continued for the majority of 15 years since that photograph, and another snapshot of Andrew ambling congenially with a notorious individual came to light.

• Self-importance: To what extent did his brothers and sisters, maybe even his relatives, know that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have understood, if his aides and the law enforcement were fulfilling their roles, that he had some highly questionable friends given he openly invited them to royal residences.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the family did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his extravagance with taxpayer funds.

Trips were printed in public records: chopper flights from the royal residence to a country club and back again in time for dining, chartered planes instead of commercial flights, all for the comfort of "the travel enthusiast".

World of Deference

Furthermore the arrogance which required deference when he appeared in a room or the profound obsession about his royal titles used on his correspondence in messages to his personal acquaintances.

He managed to escape consequences while his parent, who inexplicably pampered him, was still surviving. The monarch did at least strip him of royal responsibilities and military positions in the consequence of his disastrous and, it is now clear, untruthful public statement six years ago.

Recent Developments

It was only in the last fortnight that events progressed rapidly, following the issuance of books giving more troubling details of his conduct and that of his companions.

More information have again exposed Andrew's belief that he could get away with deceiving about his contact with a notorious figure.

The public (and the journalists) were far in advance of the royal family. There was no one of any consequence to support him, a outcome of all those years of presumption.

Monarchical Concerns

The more intelligent monarchical figures recognized that. The key objective is to pass on the crown, if not as heretofore at least complete and untarnished.

They have spent the last 190 years trying to overcome the reputation of previous monarchs, demonstrating they are valuable, accountable and reactive to their citizens.

He was placing all that in jeopardy in an time when respect and secrecy is no longer adequate.

Aftermath

Eventually, the notoriously indecisive king was pushed further. There was no other option. The palace had surrendered command of the story.

Presently the removal of designations and the persistent and permanent personal shame that will pain Andrew most deeply.

• Reduction: Demoted to just a commoner
• Historical Precedent: The initial monarch to forfeit his designations in modern times
• Armed Forces: Particularly stinging given his service in the Falklands war

He is still a constitutional officer, in principle able to stand in for the king, and he is still in the succession to the crown, but none of these will ever happen.

Future Prospects

Will people he meets still show respect to him? Will they still make mistakes and call him Your Highness? Might they say Sir,

Of course, he is not retiring to an ordinary town, but to the sovereign's large property at Sandringham.

There, he will be furnished by the monarch with one of the estate properties and given some type of financial support.

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

Unresolved Issues

This is not over. There are still documents in the hands of American legislators to be revealed.

• Political Pressure: Will lawmakers seek further action
• Monetary Probe: Or investigate the misuse of taxpayer funds
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a criminal probe into his conduct

Maybe for the time being the reputational impact to the monarchy is restricted. The statement from the institution was evidently that the revocation of honorifics was what the monarch, and especially other senior family members, sought.

Altered Approach

An end to pretence that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, remarkably, the brief statement showed plainly that the monarchy were siding with the complainant's version of occurrences.

Furthermore, for the premiere occasion they finally showed consideration for the affected individuals: "The measures are considered essential, regardless of the reality that he persists in refuting the claims against him."

Finally it is entitlement, self-seeking and inactivity that will undermine the monarchy. In his stupidity, self-indulgence and greed, Andrew seems never to have learned that truth.