Foolishness and Royal Self-Entitlement Damaged Andrew, and It Might Persist Yet

The saga started with a solitary photograph, arguably the most impactful ever snapped of a royal family member.

There stood the Duke of York, standing closely beside a young woman, while a companion beamed knowingly in the background.

Lacking that photograph, taken at a gathering in 2001, who would have believed the claims of a teenager who stated she was trafficked across the Atlantic and obliged to have perfunctory intimate contact with a member of the royal bloodline?

An odd, indicative gesture by someone who had overtly asserted to have never been aware of her, asserted he could never have had intimate contact with her, and yet provided a substantial sum of his mother's resources to settle a drawn-out lawsuit.

Over a Decade of Scandal

Against this backdrop, talk of the monarchy acting swiftly to distance themselves from Andrew are wide of the mark. This affair has persisted for the better part of 15 years since that image, and a further image of Andrew strolling congenially with a convicted sex offender emerged.

• Self-importance: How long did his family members, perhaps even his mother and father, understand that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Problematic Connections: They must have realized, if his staff and the police were performing their duties, that he had some highly questionable companions given he unabashedly invited them to estates.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the family did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his extravagance with public money.

Trips were documented in royal annual reports: helicopter travel from the palace to a sporting venue and back again in time for lunch, exclusive air travel instead of commercial flights, all for the benefit of "Airmiles Andy".

Existence of Entitlement

Additionally the presumption which demanded subservience when he walked into a area or the supreme consciousness about his royal titles used on his correspondence in messages to his friends.

He managed to escape consequences while his matriarch, who unaccountably indulged him, was still living. The monarch did at least revoke him of royal responsibilities and honorary colonelcies in the aftermath of his ill-fated and, it is now clear, untruthful media appearance six years ago.

Recent Developments

It was only in the last fortnight that events accelerated, following the release of books giving more disturbing information of his actions and that of his associates.

Additional revelations have again exposed Andrew's assumption that he could avoid being untruthful about his relationship with a convicted criminal.

People (and the journalists) were far more perceptive of the monarchy. There was nobody of any consequence to speak up for him, a outcome of all those years of arrogance.

Royal Worries

The wiser monarchical figures realized that. The key objective is to transfer the crown, if not as heretofore at least whole and unstained.

For generations the last 190 years trying to overcome the reputation of earlier rulers, demonstrating they are valuable, dutiful and reactive to their people.

He was placing all that in peril in an time when submission and discretion is no longer adequate.

The Fallout

Eventually, the notoriously hesitant sovereign was pushed further. There was little choice. The royal household had surrendered command of the account.

Presently the removal of designations and the persistent and lifetime public humiliation that will hurt Andrew the most.

• Downgrading: Demoted to just a commoner
• Past Example: The primary royal to surrender his honorifics in modern times
• Naval Career: Notably painful given his duty in the conflict

He remains a royal advisor, in principle able to substitute for the monarch, and he is still in the lineage to the throne, but none of these will truly come to pass.

Coming Developments

Can persons he encounters still acknowledge him? Might they still make mistakes and call him Sir? Will they even say Sir,

Of course, he is not moving to a common area, but to the monarchy's vast estate at a monarchical property.

In that place, he will be supplied by the monarch with one of the grace and favour houses and given some form of personal stipend.

It is not his previous residence, where he paid a minimal lease for more than 20 years, and the area is a bit far, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed.

Outstanding Concerns

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

• Political Pressure: Will legislators seek further action
• Monetary Probe: Or investigate the improper use of taxpayer funds
• Judicial Potential: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his behavior

Maybe for the moment the reputational impact to the institution is contained. The message from the royal household was clearly that the removal of designations was what the king, and notably other senior royals, wanted.

Changed Stance

An end to illusion that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, significantly, the concise statement showed clearly that the monarchy were supporting the accuser's version of incidents.

Additionally, for the initial instance they eventually showed concern for the survivors: "These actions are considered essential, regardless of the truth that he maintains his innocence of the accusations against him."

Ultimately it is presumption, selfishness and laziness that will undermine the monarchy. In his folly, personal excess and venality, Andrew seems never to have learned that lesson.