Stupidity and Regal Arrogance Damaged Andrew, and It May Not Be Over Yet

This episode commenced with a isolated photograph, arguably the most consequential ever taken of a member of the monarchy.

There stood the Baron Killyleagh, with his arm around a teenage girl, while another individual grinned knowingly in the rear.

Lacking that snapshot, captured at a gathering in 2001, who would have believed the assertions of a young woman who said she was trafficked across the ocean and forced to have cursory sexual encounters with a member of the royal bloodline?

A strange, telling move by someone who had overtly claimed to have no been aware of her, asserted he could not have had intimate contact with her, and yet handed over a substantial sum of monarchical money to settle a protracted court action.

Years of Controversy

Considering this, talk of the monarchy acting decisively to cut Andrew off are wide of the mark. This controversy has continued for the better part of 15 years since that picture, and another photo of Andrew walking pleasantly with a convicted sex offender came to light.

• Self-importance: For what duration did his siblings, maybe even his relatives, realize that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Problematic Connections: They must have realized, if his staff and the police were doing their jobs, that he had some extremely unsavory friends given he publicly invited them to royal residences.
• Financial Extravagance: If the monarchy did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his extravagance with taxpayer funds.

Travel were documented in public records: helicopter flights from the estate to a country club and back again in time for lunch, exclusive air travel instead of scheduled services, all for the benefit of "the travel enthusiast".

A Life of Privilege

Additionally the presumption which demanded respect when he walked into a room or the supreme consciousness about his royal titles used on his letterheads in communication to his personal acquaintances.

He avoided accountability while his mother, who inexplicably pampered him, was still alive. The monarch did at least revoke him of royal responsibilities and ceremonial ranks in the aftermath of his catastrophic and, we now know, deceptive media appearance six years ago.

Recent Developments

It was only in the last fortnight that events sped up, following the issuance of books giving more grim information of his actions and that of his connections.

Additional revelations have again exposed Andrew's thinking that he could escape being untruthful about his interaction with a notorious figure.

Society (and the press) were far in advance of the royal family. There was nobody of any consequence to speak up for him, a consequence of all those years of presumption.

Monarchical Concerns

The more astute monarchical figures realized that. The one imperative is to pass on the monarchy, if not as heretofore at least whole and untarnished.

They have spent the last 190 years trying to undo the legacy of past sovereigns, proving they are beneficial, responsible and reactive to their citizens.

Andrew was putting all that in danger in an age when deference and secrecy is no longer enough.

The Fallout

Finally, the notoriously indecisive sovereign was prodded more. There was little choice. The royal household had lost control of the narrative.

Currently the loss of honorifics and the persistent and permanent personal shame that will pain Andrew most severely.

• Demotion: Lowered to just a private citizen
• Historical Precedent: The primary member to lose his designations in modern times
• Military Service: Notably painful given his service in the engagement

He is still a counsellor of state, on paper able to stand in for the king, and he is still in the succession to the monarchy, but none of these will ever come to pass.

Future Prospects

Do individuals he meets still acknowledge him? Could they still forget themselves and call him Your Highness? Will they even say Mr,

Naturally, he is not retiring to an ordinary town, but to the royal family's extensive property at Sandringham.

There, he will be furnished by the sovereign with one of the royal residences and given some sort of financial support.

This differs from his prior accommodation, where he paid a minimal lease for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit distant, but even so it may not be far enough.

Unresolved Issues

Matters remain unresolved. There are still records in the hands of overseas authorities to be made public.

• Governmental Scrutiny: Might parliament demand more
• Monetary Probe: Or scrutinize the misuse of public money
• Legal Possibility: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his behavior

Possibly for the present the institutional damage to the crown is restricted. The statement from the royal household was clearly that the removal of titles was what the king, and particularly other senior royals, desired.

Altered Approach

An end to deception that Andrew was acting willingly. And, remarkably, the short announcement showed clearly that the monarchy were siding with the accuser's narrative of occurrences.

Additionally, for the first time they eventually showed concern for the affected individuals: "These actions are considered essential, regardless of the fact that he maintains his innocence of the claims against him."

Ultimately it is arrogance, self-seeking and indolence that will kill the crown. In his foolishness, personal excess and venality, Andrew seems never to have learned that reality.