🔗 Share this article Foolishness and Regal Arrogance Damaged Andrew, and It Might Persist Yet This episode commenced with a solitary photograph, perhaps the most impactful ever captured of a individual from the royal household. Present was the Baron Killyleagh, arm-in-arm a young woman, while another individual beamed conspiratorially in the background. Lacking that snapshot, taken at a gathering in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the assertions of a teenager who said she was transported across the ocean and compelled to have cursory relations with a member of the monarchy? A curious, indicative action by someone who had openly asserted to have not known about her, asserted he could never have had relations with her, and yet handed over a substantial sum of family resources to settle a protracted lawsuit. Over a Decade of Controversy In this context, conversations of the monarchy acting firmly to sever ties with Andrew are misguided. This scandal has endured for the better part of 15 years since that picture, and another photo of Andrew strolling amiably with a notorious individual surfaced. Self-importance: How long did his siblings, perhaps even his mother and father, realize that Andrew was so self-entitled? Problematic Connections: They must have known, if his aides and the authorities were fulfilling their roles, that he had some highly questionable friends given he openly invited them to estates. Financial Extravagance: If the family did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with public money. Trips were listed in public records: private aircraft flights from the palace 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". Existence of Entitlement Furthermore the presumption which required deference when he appeared in a room or the supreme awareness about his royal titles used on his correspondence in letters to his friends. He avoided accountability while his mother, who unaccountably pampered him, was still alive. The sovereign did at least strip him of public duties and military positions in the aftermath of his ill-fated and, as revealed, deceptive public statement six years ago. Recent Developments Merely in the last 14 days that events progressed rapidly, following the publication of biographical works giving more disturbing details of his conduct and that of his associates. More information have again highlighted Andrew's assumption that he could get away with lying about his interaction with a convicted criminal. The public (and the press) were far more perceptive of the monarchy. There was not a single person of any importance to defend him, a consequence of all those years of presumption. Royal Worries The more astute family members realized that. The key objective is to hand down the monarchy, if not as heretofore at least intact and untarnished. For generations the last 190 years trying to reverse the reputation of past sovereigns, demonstrating they are valuable, responsible and reactive to their subjects. He was placing all that in danger in an era when deference and discretion is no longer adequate. The Fallout Finally, the notoriously hesitant monarch was prodded additional. There was no other option. The palace had surrendered command of the story. Currently the loss of titles and the continued and permanent social disgrace that will afflict Andrew most deeply. Reduction: Demoted to just a private citizen Historical Precedent: The initial member to forfeit his titles in contemporary era Naval Career: Particularly stinging given his role in the engagement He continues to be a royal advisor, on paper able to substitute for the sovereign, and he is still in the succession to the throne, but neither of these will actually happen. Future Prospects Will people he meets still defer to him? Will they still forget themselves and call him Sir? Might they say Mr, Certainly, he is not retiring to suburbia, but to the sovereign's extensive property at a monarchical property. In that place, he will be supplied by the sovereign with one of the royal residences and given some form of personal stipend. This is not his previous residence, where he paid a token payment for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit remote, but even so it may not be adequate distance. Pending Matters This is not over. There are still records in the custody of American legislators to be revealed. Governmental Scrutiny: Might parliament request additional information Fiscal Review: Or investigate the waste of taxpayer funds Legal Possibility: There may even be a criminal probe into his actions Maybe for the time being the harm to the monarchy to the monarchy is contained. The narrative from the royal household was evidently that the removal of designations was what the monarch, and particularly other senior monarchical figures, wanted. Altered Approach The cessation of deception that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, significantly, the concise statement showed clearly that the monarchy were siding with the victim's version of occurrences. Additionally, for the premiere occasion they finally showed consideration for the affected individuals: "The measures are considered essential, despite the reality that he continues to deny the claims against him." Finally it is presumption, self-interest and indolence that will undermine the crown. In his folly, self-indulgence and venality, Andrew seems never to have learned that lesson.