🔗 Share this article

The saga started with a solitary photograph, possibly the most impactful ever taken of a royal family member.

In the frame appeared the Duke of York, arm-in-arm a teenage girl, while an associate beamed conspiratorially in the backdrop.

Absent that photograph, shot at a gathering in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the allegations of a adolescent who stated she was moved across the Atlantic and obliged to have cursory relations with a prince of the monarchy?

An odd, revealing move by someone who had publicly asserted to have not been aware of her, claimed he could not have had relations with her, and yet handed over a substantial sum of his mother's resources to settle a protracted lawsuit.

Over a Decade of Scandal

Against this backdrop, conversations of the royals 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 photo of Andrew walking pleasantly with a convicted sex offender came to light.

• Arrogance: To what extent did his brothers and sisters, perhaps even his mother and father, realize that Andrew was so self-entitled?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have realized, if his employees and the law enforcement were doing their jobs, that he had some highly questionable associates given he unabashedly invited them to estates.
• Monetary Excess: If the monarchy did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his extravagance with state resources.

Journeys were listed in official documents: chopper transfers from the estate to a country club and back again in time for midday meal, exclusive air travel instead of scheduled services, all for the benefit of "the travel enthusiast".

A Life of Privilege

Furthermore the presumption which demanded deference when he walked into a area or the extreme awareness about his honorifics used on his letterheads in messages to his personal acquaintances.

He could get away with it while his parent, who inexplicably spoiled him, was still alive. The monarch did at least remove him of royal responsibilities and military positions in the consequence of his disastrous and, it is now clear, mendacious media appearance six years ago.

Current Situation

Merely in the last 14 days that events sped up, following the release of accounts giving more grim information of his conduct and that of his companions.

Further disclosures have again exposed Andrew's assumption that he could get away with lying about his relationship with a notorious figure.

People (and the media) were far in advance of the royal family. There was not a single person of any significance to speak up for him, a result of all those years of presumption.

Royal Worries

The more intelligent family members recognized that. The key objective is to pass on the monarchy, if not as before at least intact and untarnished.

For generations the last 190 years trying to overcome the legacy of earlier rulers, showing they are useful, accountable and attentive to their people.

He was placing all that in peril in an age when respect and discretion is no longer adequate.

Aftermath

Finally, the notoriously indecisive sovereign was prodded further. There was no alternative. The royal household had lost control of the story.

Presently the loss of designations and the persistent and lifetime personal shame that will hurt Andrew most deeply.

• Downgrading: Demoted to just a commoner
• Prior Instance: The first royal to lose his titles in modern times
• Military Service: Especially stinging given his service in the conflict

He continues to be a constitutional officer, on paper able to act for the sovereign, and he is still in the lineage to the monarchy, but none of these will ever happen.

Future Prospects

Can persons he encounters still defer to him? Could they still forget themselves and call him Sir? Might they say Andrew,

Of course, he is not moving to a common area, but to the monarchy's large grounds at a royal residence.

At that location, he will be provided by the sovereign with one of the royal residences and given some type of financial support.

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

Outstanding Concerns

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

• Political Pressure: Could legislators seek further action
• Financial Investigation: Or investigate the misuse of taxpayer funds
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a police investigation into his conduct

Perhaps for the time being the institutional damage to the crown is contained. The narrative from the royal household was evidently that the removal of designations was what the monarch, and notably other senior monarchical figures, sought.

Changed Stance

The cessation of illusion that Andrew was acting willingly. And, significantly, the brief communication showed clearly that the institution were supporting the accuser's account of events.

Even more, for the premiere occasion they finally showed concern for the affected individuals: "The measures are deemed necessary, despite the reality that he continues to deny the accusations against him."

In the end it is arrogance, selfishness and laziness that will kill the crown. In his foolishness, self-indulgence and venality, Andrew appears never to have learned that truth.