🔗 Share this article Stupidity and Regal Arrogance Ruined Andrew, and It Could Continue Yet It all began with a solitary photograph, perhaps the most significant ever captured of a individual from the royal household. In the frame appeared the Earl of Inverness, with his arm around a female youth, while another individual smiled conspiratorially in the backdrop. Absent that image, captured at a social event in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the assertions of a teenager who declared she was transported across the Atlantic and compelled to have brief relations with a prince of the royal bloodline? A curious, indicative gesture by someone who had openly claimed to have not known about her, claimed he could never have had intimate contact with her, and yet paid millions of his mother's resources to avert a drawn-out legal case. A Long Period of Scandal In this context, talk of the royals acting swiftly to distance themselves from Andrew are wide of the mark. This scandal has persisted for the majority of 15 years since that photograph, and an additional photo of Andrew ambling amiably with a notorious individual emerged. Arrogance: To what extent did his family members, maybe even his parents, understand that Andrew was so self-entitled? Questionable Associations: They must have realized, if his aides and the law enforcement were fulfilling their roles, that he had some extremely unsavory companions given he openly welcomed them to palaces. Monetary Excess: If the monarchy did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his overspending with taxpayer funds. Journeys were documented in public records: helicopter flights from the royal residence to a sporting venue and back again in time for midday meal, private flights instead of commercial flights, all for the convenience of "the frequent flyer". World of Deference Then there was the entitlement which required respect when he entered a area or the profound obsession about his honorifics used on his official documents in messages to his associates. He could get away with it while his mother, who strangely indulged him, was still surviving. The sovereign did at least revoke him of royal responsibilities and military positions in the wake of his ill-fated and, we now know, untruthful media appearance six years ago. Current Situation Just in the last two weeks that events sped up, following the release of accounts giving more grim particulars of his conduct and that of his associates. Further disclosures have again highlighted Andrew's assumption that he could avoid being untruthful about his contact with a disgraced individual. People (and the media) were far ahead of the royal family. There was no one of any consequence to speak up for him, a outcome of all those years of arrogance. Institutional Fears The more intelligent royals understood that. The key objective is to hand down the crown, if not as previously at least whole and untarnished. They have spent the last 190 years trying to reverse the legacy of past sovereigns, demonstrating they are beneficial, dutiful and attentive to their people. Andrew was putting all that in peril in an age when respect and discretion is no longer adequate. The Fallout Finally, the well-known indecisive monarch was pushed more. There was no alternative. The institution had relinquished authority of the account. Currently the removal of designations and the persistent and lifetime social disgrace that will pain Andrew most severely. Downgrading: Lowered to just a private citizen Historical Precedent: The initial monarch to forfeit his designations in contemporary era Naval Career: Notably painful given his duty in the engagement He continues to be a counsellor of state, in principle able to substitute for the sovereign, and he is still in the lineage to the crown, but neither of these will truly happen. Coming Developments Will people he encounters still show respect to him? Could they still slip up and call him Prince? Might they say Sir, Certainly, he is not moving to suburbia, but to the monarchy's vast grounds at a royal residence. At that location, he will be furnished by the sovereign with one of the grace and favour houses and given some sort of financial support. This is not his previous residence, where he paid a minimal rent for more than 20 years, and Norfolk is a bit remote, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed. Unresolved Issues Matters remain unresolved. There are still files in the hands of overseas authorities to be revealed. Governmental Scrutiny: Could legislators demand more Financial Investigation: Or examine the misuse of state resources Judicial Potential: There may even be a criminal probe into his actions Perhaps for the moment the institutional damage to the crown is contained. The narrative from the institution was evidently that the revocation of honorifics was what the sovereign, and particularly other senior royals, wanted. A Shift in Position An end to deception that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, remarkably, the short statement showed plainly that the institution were supporting the complainant's narrative of incidents. Even more, for the premiere occasion they ultimately showed concern for the victims: "The censures are deemed necessary, regardless of the fact that he persists in refuting the claims against him." Ultimately it is presumption, selfishness and indolence that will undermine the monarchy. In his foolishness, self-indulgence and greed, Andrew gives the impression never to have grasped that reality.