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The saga started with a solitary photograph, possibly the most significant ever snapped of a individual from the royal household.

There stood the Duke of York, arm-in-arm a young woman, while another individual smiled knowingly in the backdrop.

Without that image, shot at a social event in 2001, few would have credited the allegations of a young woman who declared she was moved across the ocean and compelled to have perfunctory relations with a member of the royal bloodline?

A strange, 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 handed over millions of his mother's funds to avert a drawn-out legal case.

Over a Decade of Scandal

Against this backdrop, talk of the royals acting swiftly to sever ties with Andrew are misguided. This controversy has endured for the better part of 15 years since that photograph, and another image of Andrew strolling congenially with a notorious individual emerged.

• Arrogance: How long did his siblings, maybe even his parents, know that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Problematic Connections: They must have understood, if his aides and the law enforcement were doing their jobs, that he had some highly questionable friends given he unabashedly hosted them to palaces.
• Monetary Excess: If the monarchy did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his extravagance with taxpayer funds.

Trips were documented in royal annual reports: chopper flights from the palace to a country club and back again in time for lunch, chartered planes instead of commercial flights, all for the benefit of "Airmiles Andy".

Existence of Entitlement

Furthermore the arrogance which required respect when he appeared in a area or the profound awareness about his designations used on his letterheads in communication to his personal acquaintances.

He avoided accountability while his mother, who inexplicably indulged him, was still alive. The sovereign did at least remove him of royal responsibilities and honorary colonelcies in the wake of his ill-fated and, as revealed, untruthful media appearance six years ago.

Recent Developments

It was only in the last 14 days that events progressed rapidly, following the release of books giving more disturbing details of his conduct and that of his associates.

Additional revelations have again exposed Andrew's assumption that he could escape deceiving about his interaction with a convicted criminal.

The public (and the journalists) were far ahead of the monarchy. There was no one of any consequence to support him, a result of all those years of arrogance.

Monarchical Concerns

The wiser monarchical figures realized that. The primary concern is to transfer the crown, if not as before at least complete and unblemished.

Over time the last 190 years trying to undo the image of past sovereigns, demonstrating they are beneficial, dutiful and responsive to their people.

Andrew was putting all that in jeopardy in an age when deference and privacy is no longer adequate.

The Fallout

Finally, the notoriously uncertain king was prodded additional. There was no other option. The palace had relinquished authority of the account.

Currently the loss of designations and the persistent and permanent personal shame that will hurt Andrew most severely.

• Downgrading: Lowered to just a commoner
• Prior Instance: The first monarch to forfeit his designations in recent history
• Naval Career: Notably hurtful given his duty in the engagement

He is still a royal advisor, theoretically able to substitute for the monarch, and he is still in the lineage to the crown, but not any of these will truly come to pass.

Coming Developments

Will people he encounters still defer to him? Will they still slip up and call him Your Highness? Will they even say Mr,

Certainly, he is not withdrawing to suburbia, but to the monarchy's large estate at a royal residence.

At that location, he will be supplied by the sovereign with one of the royal residences and given some type of personal stipend.

This differs from his prior accommodation, where he paid a token payment for more than 20 years, and Norfolk is a bit remote, but even so it may not be far enough.

Pending Matters

Matters remain unresolved. There are still records in the hands of American legislators to be revealed.

• Political Pressure: Might lawmakers seek further action
• Financial Investigation: Or scrutinize the waste of taxpayer funds
• Legal Possibility: There may even be a criminal probe into his conduct

Perhaps for the time being the harm to the monarchy to the crown is limited. The message from the institution was plainly that the removal of titles was what the monarch, and particularly other senior family members, sought.

A Shift in Position

No more deception that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, remarkably, the concise announcement showed evidently that the royals were aligning with the complainant's account of incidents.

Additionally, for the initial instance they finally showed concern for the victims: "The measures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he persists in refuting the claims against him."

Finally it is entitlement, selfishness and laziness that will kill the crown. In his folly, personal excess and greed, Andrew seems never to have understood that truth.