Folly and Monarchical Hubris Ruined Andrew, and It Might Persist Yet

This episode commenced with a isolated photograph, possibly the most significant ever captured of a member of the monarchy.

Present was the Earl of Inverness, with his arm around a young woman, while a companion smiled suggestively in the rear.

Lacking that photograph, shot at a gathering in 2001, who would have believed the allegations of a teenager who said she was trafficked across the Atlantic and compelled to have perfunctory intimate contact with a prince of the royal bloodline?

A curious, telling gesture by someone who had openly asserted to have never heard of her, said he could not have had sex with her, and yet paid a substantial sum of his mother's funds to settle a protracted lawsuit.

A Long Period of Controversy

In this context, conversations of the monarchy acting decisively to cut Andrew off are wide of the mark. This affair has persisted for the better part of 15 years since that image, and a further photo of Andrew strolling amiably with a disgraced financier came to light.

• Arrogance: How long did his family members, possibly even his relatives, know that Andrew was so self-entitled?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have known, if his staff and the police were fulfilling their roles, that he had some highly questionable friends given he publicly welcomed them to royal residences.
• Monetary Excess: If the monarchy did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his overspending with taxpayer funds.

Trips were listed in official documents: private aircraft travel from the estate to a sporting venue and back again in time for dining, chartered planes instead of scheduled services, all for the benefit of "Airmiles Andy".

Existence of Entitlement

Then there was the arrogance which expected subservience when he entered a space or the extreme obsession about his royal titles used on his letterheads in communication to his personal acquaintances.

He avoided accountability while his parent, who strangely spoiled him, was still alive. The Queen did at least remove him of official roles and military positions in the wake of his ill-fated and, we now know, mendacious media appearance six years ago.

Current Situation

Merely in the last two weeks that events sped up, following the publication of accounts giving more disturbing details of his actions and that of his companions.

Additional revelations have again revealed Andrew's thinking that he could get away with lying about his interaction with a convicted criminal.

Society (and the media) were far in advance of the monarchy. There was nobody of any consequence to support him, a result of all those years of arrogance.

Royal Worries

The more astute family members realized that. The key objective is to transfer the monarchy, if not as before at least complete and unstained.

Over time the last 190 years trying to overcome the legacy of earlier rulers, proving they are valuable, accountable and reactive to their citizens.

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

Consequences

Finally, the well-known uncertain king was pushed further. There was little choice. The royal household had surrendered command of the story.

Now it is the removal of designations and the persistent and life-long public humiliation that will afflict Andrew the most.

• Downgrading: Demoted to just a private citizen
• Historical Precedent: The initial royal to forfeit his designations in contemporary era
• Military Service: Notably stinging given his service in the conflict

He continues to be a counsellor of state, theoretically able to act for the monarch, and he is still in the lineage to the monarchy, but neither of these will ever happen.

Coming Developments

Can persons he comes across still show respect to him? Might they still forget themselves and call him Sir? Would they say Andrew,

Certainly, he is not retiring to a common area, but to the monarchy's extensive grounds at a royal residence.

There, he will be furnished by the king with one of the grace and favour houses and given some form of private allowance.

This is not his previous residence, where he paid a nominal lease for more than 20 years, and Norfolk is a bit remote, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed.

Outstanding Concerns

Matters remain unresolved. There are still records in the custody of American legislators to be disclosed.

• Parliamentary Interest: Could lawmakers demand more
• Fiscal Review: Or examine the waste of state resources
• Judicial Potential: There may even be a police investigation into his behavior

Perhaps for the time being the harm to the monarchy to the monarchy is limited. The message from the palace was clearly that the revocation of honorifics was what the sovereign, and notably other senior monarchical figures, wanted.

Changed Stance

An end to illusion that Andrew was acting willingly. And, notably, the short statement showed clearly that the institution were siding with the accuser's account of incidents.

Furthermore, for the initial instance they ultimately showed concern for the survivors: "The censures are considered essential, notwithstanding the truth that he persists in refuting the accusations against him."

In the end it is arrogance, selfishness and inactivity that will destroy the crown. In his foolishness, self-gratification and corruption, Andrew gives the impression never to have understood that lesson.