🔗 Share this article Foolishness and Regal Arrogance Ruined Andrew, and It Could Continue Yet The saga started with a single photograph, possibly the most consequential ever captured of a individual from the royal household. Present was the Earl of Inverness, arm-in-arm a female youth, while a companion grinned conspiratorially in the backdrop. Lacking that photograph, taken at a gathering in 2001, who would have believed the claims of a young woman who declared she was trafficked across the sea and compelled to have brief intimate contact with a prince of the royal bloodline? A strange, telling gesture by someone who had overtly asserted to have never known about her, claimed he could no have had relations with her, and yet provided a substantial sum of his mother's resources to avert a drawn-out legal case. Years of Disgrace Against this backdrop, conversations of the monarchy acting decisively to cut Andrew off are inaccurate. This controversy has continued for the better part of 15 years since that picture, and another snapshot of Andrew ambling amiably with a disgraced financier surfaced. Hubris: For what duration did his brothers and sisters, maybe even his parents, realize that Andrew was so arrogant? Questionable Associations: They must have understood, if his employees and the law enforcement were fulfilling their roles, that he had some deeply disreputable companions given he publicly invited them to estates. Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the family did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his extravagance with taxpayer funds. Journeys were printed in royal annual reports: helicopter travel from the estate to a sporting venue and back again in time for lunch, exclusive air travel instead of scheduled services, all for the benefit of "Airmiles Andy". World of Deference Then there was the arrogance which required respect when he entered a space or the supreme obsession about his honorifics used on his correspondence in letters to his personal acquaintances. He avoided accountability while his mother, who strangely pampered him, was still surviving. The Queen did at least revoke him of royal responsibilities and ceremonial ranks in the wake of his catastrophic and, it is now clear, mendacious media appearance six years ago. Recent Developments It was only in the last 14 days that events sped up, following the release of books giving more grim information of his actions and that of his companions. Additional revelations have again highlighted Andrew's belief that he could get away with lying about his contact with a notorious figure. The public (and the journalists) were far ahead of the royals. There was no one of any importance to support him, a result of all those years of arrogance. Royal Worries The wiser monarchical figures realized that. The primary concern is to pass on the institution, if not as previously at least whole and untarnished. For generations the last 190 years trying to undo the legacy of earlier rulers, proving they are beneficial, accountable and reactive to their subjects. Andrew was putting all that in danger in an time when submission and discretion is no longer enough. Consequences Ultimately, the famously hesitant king was prodded further. There was little choice. The palace had relinquished authority of the account. Now it is the removal of honorifics and the continued and life-long public humiliation that will afflict Andrew most deeply. Reduction: Lowered to just a private citizen Prior Instance: The first member to lose his designations in modern times Military Service: Particularly painful given his role in the conflict He is still a constitutional officer, in principle able to act for the king, and he is still in the lineage to the crown, but not any of these will truly occur. Future Prospects Do individuals he comes across still show respect to him? Could they still slip up and call him Sir? Would they say Sir, Of course, he is not moving to an ordinary town, but to the royal family's extensive property at Sandringham. In that place, he will be supplied by the king with one of the estate properties and given some type of personal stipend. This differs from his former home, where he paid a token payment for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit far, but even so it may not be adequate distance. Unresolved Issues Matters remain unresolved. There are still files in the hands of American legislators to be made public. Political Pressure: Could parliament request additional information Monetary Probe: Or investigate the improper use of taxpayer funds Legal Possibility: There may even be a criminal probe into his conduct Perhaps for the time being the harm to the monarchy to the institution is restricted. The message from the institution was clearly that the revocation of designations was what the king, and notably other senior family members, wanted. A Shift in Position No more illusion that Andrew was acting willingly. And, notably, the concise announcement showed evidently that the royals were supporting the complainant's account of events. Furthermore, for the first time they finally showed concern for the affected individuals: "The censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the truth that he persists in refuting the accusations against him." In the end it is arrogance, self-interest and inactivity that will undermine the institution. In his foolishness, self-gratification and corruption, Andrew seems never to have grasped that reality.