🔗 Share this article Foolishness and Monarchical Hubris Sunk Andrew, and It Might Persist Yet The saga started with a solitary photograph, perhaps the most impactful ever captured of a individual from the royal household. Present was the Earl of Inverness, with his arm around a female youth, while a companion beamed suggestively in the backdrop. Absent that snapshot, shot at a social event in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the assertions of a teenager who declared she was moved across the Atlantic and obliged to have cursory sexual encounters with a individual of the royal bloodline? An odd, telling action by someone who had openly claimed to have not been aware of her, claimed he could never have had intimate contact with her, and yet handed over a large amount of family money to avert a long-delayed legal case. Years of Disgrace Against this backdrop, talk of the royal family acting decisively to distance themselves from Andrew are inaccurate. This scandal has continued for the largest portion of 15 years since that photograph, and a further photo of Andrew walking congenially with a disgraced financier emerged. Self-importance: How long did his brothers and sisters, maybe even his parents, realize that Andrew was so presumptuous? Dubious Friendships: They must have realized, if his aides and the authorities were performing their duties, that he had some highly questionable associates given he unabashedly hosted them to palaces. Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the household did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his extravagance with state resources. Trips were documented in public records: chopper travel from the palace to a sporting venue and back again in time for dining, private flights instead of regular transport, all for the benefit of "the travel enthusiast". Existence of Entitlement Furthermore the entitlement which required deference when he appeared in a area or the extreme consciousness about his designations used on his letterheads in communication to his friends. He could get away with it while his mother, who inexplicably indulged him, was still alive. The Queen did at least remove him of public duties and military positions in the aftermath of his ill-fated and, it is now clear, deceptive public statement six years ago. Recent Developments Just in the last 14 days that events sped up, following the release of accounts giving more disturbing information of his conduct and that of his connections. Further disclosures have again exposed Andrew's belief that he could avoid lying about his interaction with a disgraced individual. Society (and the press) were far in advance of the royal family. There was nobody of any consequence to defend him, a result of all those years of arrogance. Institutional Fears The more astute monarchical figures recognized that. The key objective is to transfer the monarchy, if not as heretofore at least intact and unstained. They have spent the last 190 years trying to overcome the legacy of previous monarchs, showing they are valuable, responsible and reactive to their subjects. His actions endangered all that in jeopardy in an age when deference and privacy is no longer sufficient. Consequences Ultimately, the notoriously indecisive king was pressured additional. There was no alternative. The institution had relinquished authority of the narrative. Presently the loss of designations and the ongoing and lifetime public humiliation that will pain Andrew most deeply. Reduction: Lowered to just a commoner Prior Instance: The initial royal to lose his designations in modern times Armed Forces: Particularly stinging given his service in the engagement He continues to be a counsellor of state, in principle able to substitute for the monarch, and he is still eighth in line to the monarchy, but not any of these will ever happen. Coming Developments Can persons he encounters still show respect to him? Might they still make mistakes and call him Prince? Would they say Mr, Certainly, he is not moving to suburbia, but to the monarchy's large property at a monarchical property. At that location, he will be supplied by the king with one of the royal residences and given some form of private allowance. This is not his prior accommodation, where he paid a nominal payment for more than 20 years, and the area is a bit remote, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed. Unresolved Issues Matters remain unresolved. There are still files in the custody of American legislators to be revealed. Political Pressure: Might legislators seek further action Monetary Probe: Or scrutinize the waste of public money Judicial Potential: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his conduct Possibly for the time being the institutional damage to the crown is restricted. The statement from the palace was plainly that the stripping of titles was what the monarch, and especially other senior family members, sought. Changed Stance The cessation of illusion that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, significantly, the short communication showed clearly that the royals were supporting the accuser's version of incidents. Even more, for the premiere occasion they finally showed regard for the survivors: "The censures are judged required, regardless of the reality that he continues to deny the accusations against him." Finally it is entitlement, self-seeking and laziness that will undermine the monarchy. In his foolishness, self-indulgence and greed, Andrew gives the impression never to have learned that reality.