🔗 Share this article Stupidity and Regal Arrogance Damaged Andrew, and It Might Persist Yet This episode commenced with a solitary photograph, perhaps the most impactful ever taken of a member of the monarchy. Present was the Duke of York, standing closely beside a female youth, while an associate grinned knowingly in the rear. Lacking that snapshot, shot at a social event in 2001, few would have credited the assertions of a teenager who said she was moved across the Atlantic and obliged to have perfunctory intimate contact with a member of the royal family? A strange, indicative action by someone who had openly claimed to have not known about her, asserted he could never have had sex with her, and yet handed over a substantial sum of his mother's funds to resolve a drawn-out lawsuit. Years of Disgrace In this context, discussions of the royals acting swiftly to sever ties with Andrew are inaccurate. This affair has endured for the majority of 15 years since that picture, and another snapshot of Andrew strolling congenially with a disgraced financier came to light. Hubris: To what extent did his siblings, maybe even his parents, know that Andrew was so presumptuous? Problematic Connections: They must have realized, if his staff and the authorities were performing their duties, that he had some highly questionable associates given he unabashedly welcomed them to estates. Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the family did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his extravagance with public money. Journeys were printed in royal annual reports: private aircraft transfers from the royal residence to a golf course and back again in time for midday meal, private flights instead of regular transport, all for the benefit of "the frequent flyer". World of Deference Then there was the presumption which expected subservience when he entered a area or the supreme consciousness about his designations used on his letterheads in communication to his friends. He could get away with it while his parent, who inexplicably indulged him, was still surviving. The Queen did at least strip him of public duties and ceremonial ranks in the aftermath of his ill-fated and, as revealed, deceptive public statement six years ago. Latest Events It was only in the last fortnight that events accelerated, following the publication of accounts giving more disturbing information of his actions and that of his companions. Additional revelations have again revealed Andrew's assumption that he could avoid being untruthful about his interaction with a convicted criminal. Society (and the press) were far more perceptive of the monarchy. There was not a single person of any significance to support him, a outcome of all those years of hubris. Institutional Fears The wiser monarchical figures understood that. The primary concern is to hand down the institution, if not as previously at least whole and untarnished. Over time the last 190 years trying to overcome the legacy of previous monarchs, showing they are valuable, dutiful and reactive to their subjects. He was placing all that in jeopardy in an era when deference and privacy is no longer sufficient. Consequences Eventually, the famously uncertain sovereign was pushed further. There was no alternative. The palace had lost control of the narrative. Presently the removal of titles and the ongoing and life-long public humiliation that will afflict Andrew most deeply. Reduction: Reduced to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor Prior Instance: The initial member to surrender his designations in modern times Armed Forces: Notably painful given his service in the Falklands war He is still a counsellor of state, theoretically able to stand in for the sovereign, and he is still in the succession to the throne, but none of these will truly occur. What Lies Ahead Do individuals he encounters still defer to him? Might they still slip up and call him Your Highness? Might they say Mr, Certainly, he is not retiring to suburbia, but to the sovereign's vast property at Sandringham. At that location, he will be provided by the sovereign with one of the royal residences and given some form of personal stipend. This is not his previous residence, where he paid a token payment for more than 20 years, and Norfolk is a bit remote, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed. Outstanding Concerns This is not over. There are still documents in the hands of overseas authorities to be disclosed. Political Pressure: Might parliament demand more Financial Investigation: Or investigate the misuse of state resources Criminal Investigation: There may even be a police investigation into his actions Perhaps for the moment the reputational impact to the crown is contained. The narrative from the royal household was evidently that the revocation of honorifics was what the monarch, and notably other senior monarchical figures, desired. Changed Stance No more illusion that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, remarkably, the concise announcement showed plainly that the monarchy were aligning with the complainant's version of occurrences. Even more, for the premiere occasion they ultimately showed consideration for the victims: "These actions are considered essential, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him." Finally it is entitlement, self-seeking and laziness that will destroy the institution. In his foolishness, personal excess and venality, Andrew appears never to have learned that truth.