Stupidity and Regal Arrogance Ruined Andrew, and It Could Continue Yet

The saga started with a single photograph, possibly the most significant ever snapped of a individual from the royal household.

In the frame appeared the Baron Killyleagh, arm-in-arm a young woman, while another individual beamed suggestively in the background.

Absent that image, shot at a gathering in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the allegations of a young woman who said she was transported across the ocean and obliged to have perfunctory sexual encounters with a member of the monarchy?

An odd, revealing move by someone who had overtly claimed to have not heard of her, claimed he could never have had relations with her, and yet paid a substantial sum of family funds to avert a drawn-out lawsuit.

Over a Decade of Disgrace

Against this backdrop, discussions of the monarchy acting decisively to sever ties with Andrew are inaccurate. This controversy has persisted for the largest portion of 15 years since that picture, and another snapshot of Andrew ambling amiably with a disgraced financier came to light.

• Hubris: How long did his brothers and sisters, perhaps even his parents, know that Andrew was so self-entitled?
• Problematic Connections: They must have realized, if his aides and the law enforcement were fulfilling their roles, that he had some highly questionable associates given he unabashedly invited them to estates.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the monarchy did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his extravagance with state resources.

Trips were printed in royal annual reports: private aircraft transfers from the estate to a sporting venue and back again in time for dining, chartered planes instead of regular transport, all for the comfort of "the frequent flyer".

Existence of Entitlement

Additionally the entitlement which demanded deference when he walked into a space or the profound obsession about his designations used on his correspondence in communication to his personal acquaintances.

He managed to escape consequences while his matriarch, who inexplicably indulged him, was still alive. The Queen did at least strip him of public duties and military positions in the aftermath of his disastrous and, as revealed, mendacious media appearance six years ago.

Current Situation

Merely in the last 14 days that events sped up, following the issuance of accounts giving more grim details of his conduct and that of his companions.

More information have again revealed Andrew's assumption that he could avoid lying about his relationship with a convicted criminal.

People (and the media) were far ahead of the monarchy. There was no one of any significance to speak up for him, a outcome of all those years of arrogance.

Institutional Fears

The wiser monarchical figures understood that. The key objective is to hand down the institution, if not as previously at least intact and untarnished.

Over time the last 190 years trying to undo the reputation of past sovereigns, demonstrating they are valuable, dutiful and responsive to their subjects.

Andrew was putting all that in danger in an time when respect and privacy is no longer enough.

The Fallout

Finally, the well-known uncertain king was pushed further. There was no other option. The royal household had lost control of the narrative.

Currently the removal of designations and the continued and life-long public humiliation that will afflict Andrew most deeply.

• Downgrading: Reduced to just a commoner
• Historical Precedent: The primary member to surrender his honorifics in contemporary era
• Military Service: Particularly hurtful given his service in the conflict

He remains a counsellor of state, theoretically able to stand in for the sovereign, and he is still in the succession to the crown, but not any of these will truly occur.

What Lies Ahead

Do individuals he comes across still show respect to him? Might they still make mistakes and call him Sir? Would they say Sir,

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

There, he will be furnished by the monarch with one of the estate properties and given some form of private allowance.

It is not his prior accommodation, where he paid a token lease for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit remote, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed.

Outstanding Concerns

The situation continues. There are still files in the possession of overseas authorities to be disclosed.

• Parliamentary Interest: Will lawmakers demand more
• Monetary Probe: Or investigate the waste of taxpayer funds
• Legal Possibility: There may even be a criminal probe into his conduct

Perhaps for the time being the institutional damage to the crown is limited. The message from the palace was clearly that the stripping of designations was what the sovereign, and notably other senior royals, sought.

Altered Approach

An end to pretence that Andrew was acting willingly. And, notably, the short communication showed clearly that the royals were siding with the accuser's version of events.

Additionally, for the initial instance they finally showed regard for the victims: "The censures are considered essential, regardless of the truth that he persists in refuting the allegations against him."

Finally it is arrogance, selfishness and indolence that will undermine the institution. In his stupidity, self-indulgence and corruption, Andrew seems never to have grasped that lesson.