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

This episode commenced with a single photograph, arguably the most consequential ever taken of a member of the monarchy.

In the frame appeared the Earl of Inverness, standing closely beside a young woman, while an associate smiled suggestively in the backdrop.

Without that photograph, captured at a social event in 2001, few would have credited the assertions of a adolescent who stated she was moved across the ocean and compelled to have perfunctory relations with a member of the royal bloodline?

A strange, revealing gesture by someone who had overtly claimed to have never been aware of her, claimed he could no have had relations with her, and yet provided a large amount of family money to avert a drawn-out court action.

Over a Decade of Controversy

Considering this, talk of the royal family acting firmly to sever ties with Andrew are wide of the mark. This affair has continued for the largest portion of 15 years since that photograph, and a further snapshot of Andrew strolling pleasantly with a notorious individual emerged.

• Arrogance: How long did his siblings, maybe even his relatives, realize that Andrew was so arrogant?
• Problematic Connections: They must have understood, if his aides and the authorities were performing their duties, that he had some extremely unsavory companions given he publicly hosted them to palaces.
• Monetary Excess: If the monarchy did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his overspending with state resources.

Journeys were printed in public records: chopper flights from the palace to a sporting venue and back again in time for midday meal, private flights instead of scheduled services, all for the comfort of "the frequent flyer".

World of Deference

Then there was the presumption which demanded respect when he walked into a area or the supreme obsession about his royal titles used on his letterheads in communication to his friends.

He avoided accountability while his matriarch, who inexplicably indulged him, was still alive. The sovereign did at least remove him of royal responsibilities and honorary colonelcies in the aftermath of his ill-fated and, as revealed, untruthful television interview six years ago.

Current Situation

Just in the last 14 days that events progressed rapidly, following the release of books giving more grim information of his actions and that of his connections.

More information have again highlighted Andrew's belief that he could avoid lying about his relationship with a notorious figure.

People (and the press) were far more perceptive of the royals. There was nobody of any significance to support him, a consequence of all those years of hubris.

Royal Worries

The wiser royals realized that. The one imperative is to hand down the institution, if not as heretofore at least complete and untarnished.

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

His actions endangered all that in danger in an era when submission and discretion is no longer enough.

Aftermath

Eventually, the famously hesitant monarch was pressured further. There was no other option. The royal household had surrendered command of the narrative.

Now it is the stripping of honorifics and the persistent and life-long personal shame that will pain Andrew most deeply.

• Reduction: Reduced to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor
• Historical Precedent: The first royal to surrender his titles in contemporary era
• Armed Forces: Notably stinging given his service in the engagement

He remains a counsellor of state, in principle able to substitute for the king, and he is still eighth in line to the throne, but not any of these will truly occur.

What Lies Ahead

Will people he meets still defer to him? Will they still slip up and call him Your Highness? Would they say Andrew,

Naturally, he is not withdrawing to a common area, but to the sovereign's vast grounds at Sandringham.

At that location, he will be provided by the sovereign with one of the royal residences and given some form of private allowance.

This is not his former home, where he paid a minimal payment for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit remote, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed.

Outstanding Concerns

This is not over. There are still records in the possession of US Congress to be made public.

• Political Pressure: Might legislators request additional information
• Monetary Probe: Or examine the improper use of public money
• Legal Possibility: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his conduct

Possibly for the time being the institutional damage to the monarchy is contained. The statement from the palace was evidently that the removal of honorifics was what the king, and especially other senior family members, sought.

Changed Stance

An end to illusion that Andrew was acting willingly. And, notably, the concise announcement showed clearly that the institution were siding with the accuser's version of events.

Furthermore, for the premiere occasion they eventually showed regard for the survivors: "These actions are considered essential, notwithstanding the fact that he persists in refuting the accusations against him."

In the end it is entitlement, self-interest and inactivity that will kill the monarchy. In his foolishness, personal excess and greed, Andrew appears never to have understood that reality.