🔗 Share this article

It all began with a solitary photograph, arguably the most impactful ever captured of a individual from the royal household.

In the frame appeared the Earl of Inverness, standing closely beside a female youth, while another individual grinned suggestively in the rear.

Absent that snapshot, shot at a party in 2001, who would have believed the assertions of a young woman who said she was moved across the sea and obliged to have perfunctory relations with a individual of the royal bloodline?

A curious, revealing gesture by someone who had publicly claimed to have not heard of her, said he could never have had sex with her, and yet paid a large amount of monarchical funds to settle a drawn-out legal case.

Years of Scandal

In this context, conversations of the royals acting decisively to sever ties with Andrew are wide of the mark. This controversy has persisted for the better part of 15 years since that photograph, and a further photo of Andrew ambling pleasantly with a disgraced financier surfaced.

• Self-importance: For what duration did his family members, maybe even his relatives, know that Andrew was so self-entitled?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have realized, if his employees and the authorities were doing their jobs, that he had some extremely unsavory companions given he publicly hosted them to estates.
• Financial Extravagance: If the household did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his overspending with state resources.

Journeys were documented in official documents: private aircraft travel from the palace to a sporting venue and back again in time for dining, private flights instead of commercial flights, all for the comfort of "the frequent flyer".

World of Deference

Then there was the arrogance which demanded deference when he walked into a area or the extreme awareness about his honorifics used on his letterheads in letters to his personal acquaintances.

He avoided accountability while his parent, who strangely indulged him, was still living. The Queen did at least strip him of official roles and ceremonial ranks in the wake of his ill-fated and, as revealed, untruthful television interview six years ago.

Recent Developments

It was only in the last two weeks that events sped up, following the release of books giving more troubling details of his conduct and that of his associates.

Further disclosures have again highlighted Andrew's thinking that he could get away with deceiving about his interaction with a disgraced individual.

Society (and the journalists) were far ahead of the monarchy. There was nobody of any consequence to defend him, a outcome of all those years of presumption.

Institutional Fears

The more intelligent royals recognized that. The one imperative is to hand down the monarchy, if not as before at least whole and untarnished.

They have spent the last 190 years trying to undo the reputation of earlier rulers, showing they are beneficial, accountable and attentive to their subjects.

He was placing all that in jeopardy in an age when respect and secrecy is no longer enough.

Aftermath

Ultimately, the famously uncertain king was pressured further. There was no other option. The royal household had surrendered command of the account.

Now it is the removal of designations and the continued and life-long personal shame that will hurt Andrew most deeply.

• Demotion: Lowered to just a private citizen
• Prior Instance: The primary monarch to surrender his titles in recent history
• Military Service: Especially hurtful given his duty in the Falklands war

He is still a constitutional officer, theoretically able to stand in for the monarch, and he is still in the succession to the monarchy, but neither of these will ever come to pass.

What Lies Ahead

Do individuals he meets still show respect to him? Will they still forget themselves and call him Sir? Will they even say Sir,

Naturally, he is not withdrawing to an ordinary town, but to the monarchy's extensive estate at a royal residence.

There, he will be furnished by the sovereign with one of the royal residences and given some sort of private allowance.

This is not his previous residence, where he paid a nominal rent for more than 20 years, and the area is a bit far, but even so it may not be far enough.

Pending Matters

The situation continues. There are still records in the custody of US Congress to be made public.

• Governmental Scrutiny: Might lawmakers seek further action
• Financial Investigation: Or examine the waste of public money
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his actions

Maybe for the present the reputational impact to the monarchy is restricted. The message from the royal household was plainly that the removal of designations was what the monarch, and especially other senior royals, sought.

Altered Approach

The cessation of illusion that Andrew was acting willingly. And, remarkably, the brief statement showed clearly that the institution were supporting the accuser's narrative of incidents.

Furthermore, for the premiere occasion they ultimately showed consideration for the victims: "The censures are deemed necessary, regardless of the fact that he persists in refuting the accusations against him."

In the end it is arrogance, selfishness and indolence that will undermine the monarchy. In his stupidity, personal excess and venality, Andrew appears never to have understood that reality.