🔗 Share this article Folly and Royal Self-Entitlement Sunk Andrew, and It May Not Be Over Yet The saga started with a isolated photograph, possibly the most impactful ever taken of a royal family member. In the frame appeared the Baron Killyleagh, arm-in-arm a young woman, while another individual beamed suggestively in the rear. Lacking that image, shot at a gathering in 2001, few would have credited the claims of a young woman who said she was trafficked across the sea and compelled to have perfunctory relations with a individual of the monarchy? A strange, revealing move by someone who had publicly asserted to have never been aware of her, asserted he could never have had relations with her, and yet paid a large amount of family money to settle a drawn-out legal case. Years of Disgrace In this context, conversations of the royal family acting firmly to cut Andrew off are misguided. This controversy has endured for the better part of 15 years since that picture, and another snapshot of Andrew walking amiably with a disgraced financier came to light. Hubris: For what duration did his family members, perhaps even his parents, realize that Andrew was so presumptuous? Dubious Friendships: They must have realized, if his staff and the authorities were fulfilling their roles, that he had some deeply disreputable companions given he openly welcomed them to estates. Financial Extravagance: If the household did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his overspending with taxpayer funds. Travel were documented in official documents: private aircraft travel from the palace to a country club and back again in time for lunch, chartered planes instead of regular transport, all for the benefit of "Airmiles Andy". World of Deference Then there was the presumption which expected deference when he entered a space or the supreme consciousness about his designations used on his letterheads in messages to his personal acquaintances. He managed to escape consequences while his mother, who unaccountably spoiled him, was still surviving. The Queen did at least remove him of royal responsibilities and military positions in the consequence of his catastrophic and, we now know, untruthful television interview six years ago. Current Situation Merely in the last 14 days that events progressed rapidly, following the release of accounts giving more disturbing particulars of his conduct and that of his associates. Additional revelations have again exposed Andrew's belief that he could escape being untruthful about his contact with a disgraced individual. Society (and the journalists) were far in advance of the monarchy. There was not a single person of any importance to support him, a consequence of all those years of hubris. Royal Worries The more intelligent family members recognized that. The primary concern is to hand down the crown, if not as before at least complete and unblemished. For generations the last 190 years trying to reverse the image of past sovereigns, demonstrating they are beneficial, dutiful and reactive to their subjects. He was placing all that in peril in an era when deference and discretion is no longer sufficient. The Fallout Finally, the notoriously uncertain sovereign was pushed additional. There was no alternative. The royal household had lost control of the story. Now it is the removal of titles and the ongoing and life-long social disgrace that will pain Andrew the most. Downgrading: Lowered to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor Prior Instance: The primary royal to forfeit his titles in modern times Armed Forces: Especially stinging given his service in the conflict He is still a royal advisor, on paper able to act for the sovereign, and he is still in the lineage to the crown, but not any of these will actually come to pass. Future Prospects Can persons he meets still defer to him? Might they still make mistakes and call him Your Highness? Might they say Mr, Certainly, he is not withdrawing to suburbia, but to the sovereign's extensive grounds at a royal residence. There, he will be supplied by the sovereign with one of the estate properties 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 remote, but even so it may not be far enough. Outstanding Concerns Matters remain unresolved. There are still records in the possession of overseas authorities to be disclosed. Governmental Scrutiny: Might lawmakers seek further action Fiscal Review: Or examine the improper use of state resources Legal Possibility: There may even be a criminal probe into his actions Maybe for the moment the harm to the monarchy to the institution is contained. The narrative from the institution was evidently that the removal of titles was what the king, and especially other senior monarchical figures, desired. Changed Stance An end to pretence that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, remarkably, the short statement showed clearly that the monarchy were supporting the accuser's account of occurrences. Even more, for the premiere occasion they ultimately showed concern for the survivors: "These actions are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the truth that he maintains his innocence of the claims against him." In the end it is presumption, self-interest and laziness that will kill the institution. In his folly, personal excess and greed, Andrew gives the impression never to have grasped that reality.