Folly and Royal Self-Entitlement Sunk Andrew, and It Could Continue Yet

It all began with a solitary photograph, arguably the most impactful ever taken of a royal family member.

Present was the Earl of Inverness, standing closely beside a young woman, while another individual grinned conspiratorially in the background.

Without that snapshot, captured at a social event in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the assertions of a young woman who declared she was trafficked across the ocean and compelled to have perfunctory sexual encounters with a individual of the royal family?

A curious, indicative action by someone who had openly stated to have no been aware of her, claimed he could not have had sex with her, and yet provided a large amount of family money to avert a long-delayed court action.

A Long Period of Scandal

Considering this, discussions of the monarchy acting decisively to sever ties with Andrew are inaccurate. This scandal has continued for the better part of 15 years since that picture, and a further snapshot of Andrew strolling pleasantly with a convicted sex offender surfaced.

• Self-importance: How long did his siblings, perhaps even his relatives, realize that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Problematic Connections: They must have known, if his aides and the law enforcement were doing their jobs, that he had some deeply disreputable friends given he publicly hosted them to royal residences.
• Financial Extravagance: If the household did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with public money.

Travel were documented in official documents: chopper transfers from the estate to a country club and back again in time for lunch, private flights instead of commercial flights, all for the benefit of "Airmiles Andy".

Existence of Entitlement

Then there was the presumption which demanded subservience when he entered a room or the profound awareness about his designations used on his letterheads in communication to his friends.

He managed to escape consequences while his matriarch, who inexplicably pampered him, was still alive. The monarch did at least remove him of official roles and ceremonial ranks in the aftermath of his catastrophic and, it is now clear, deceptive media appearance six years ago.

Latest Events

Merely in the last fortnight that events sped up, following the release of accounts giving more grim details of his behavior and that of his associates.

Additional revelations have again exposed Andrew's thinking that he could avoid deceiving about his relationship with a disgraced individual.

Society (and the journalists) were far ahead of the monarchy. There was no one of any significance to speak up for him, a outcome of all those years of presumption.

Institutional Fears

The more astute royals realized that. The primary concern is to hand down the crown, if not as previously at least whole and unstained.

They have spent the last 190 years trying to reverse the image of past sovereigns, proving they are beneficial, responsible and attentive to their citizens.

Andrew was putting all that in jeopardy in an time when submission and secrecy is no longer adequate.

Aftermath

Ultimately, the notoriously indecisive monarch was prodded additional. There was no alternative. The palace had surrendered command of the story.

Presently the loss of titles and the continued and life-long public humiliation that will pain Andrew the most.

• Demotion: Demoted to just a private citizen
• Historical Precedent: The primary member to surrender his titles in modern times
• Armed Forces: Notably painful given his service in the Falklands war

He continues to be a constitutional officer, theoretically able to act for the sovereign, and he is still eighth in line to the throne, but none of these will truly occur.

What Lies Ahead

Do individuals he encounters still acknowledge him? Could they still slip up and call him Sir? Might they say Sir,

Naturally, he is not moving to an ordinary town, but to the royal family's extensive grounds at a monarchical property.

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

It is not his prior accommodation, where he paid a nominal payment for more than 20 years, and Norfolk is a bit remote, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed.

Pending Matters

This is not over. There are still records in the custody of US Congress to be disclosed.

• Political Pressure: Will lawmakers request additional information
• Monetary Probe: Or examine the waste of taxpayer funds
• Judicial Potential: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his conduct

Maybe for the moment the reputational impact to the institution is restricted. The narrative from the institution was evidently that the stripping of titles was what the monarch, and especially other senior family members, sought.

Altered Approach

The cessation of illusion that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, notably, the concise announcement showed clearly that the monarchy were siding with the complainant's narrative of occurrences.

Additionally, for the premiere occasion they finally showed regard for the affected individuals: "The censures are deemed necessary, regardless of the truth that he persists in refuting the accusations against him."

Finally it is presumption, self-seeking and inactivity that will undermine the crown. In his foolishness, self-indulgence and greed, Andrew seems never to have grasped that lesson.