đź”— Share this article Stupidity and Royal Self-Entitlement Sunk Andrew, and It Could Continue Yet The saga started with a single photograph, possibly the most impactful ever captured of a royal family member. In the frame appeared the Baron Killyleagh, standing closely beside a teenage girl, while an associate beamed knowingly in the background. Absent that snapshot, shot at a gathering in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the allegations of a teenager who declared she was transported across the sea and obliged to have perfunctory relations with a member of the royal family? A strange, telling move by someone who had publicly stated to have never been aware of her, asserted he could not have had relations with her, and yet handed over millions of monarchical money to settle a protracted lawsuit. Over a Decade of Scandal Considering this, discussions of the royal family acting swiftly to distance themselves from Andrew are wide of the mark. This controversy has continued for the majority of 15 years since that picture, and another snapshot of Andrew ambling amiably with a convicted sex offender surfaced. Hubris: How long did his siblings, possibly even his relatives, realize that Andrew was so self-entitled? Problematic Connections: They must have known, if his employees and the authorities were fulfilling their roles, that he had some deeply disreputable friends given he unabashedly hosted them to estates. Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the monarchy did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his extravagance with public money. Journeys were documented in royal annual reports: private aircraft travel from the estate to a country club and back again in time for midday meal, chartered planes instead of commercial flights, all for the comfort of "the travel enthusiast". Existence of Entitlement Then there was the entitlement which demanded respect when he appeared in a space or the supreme awareness about his honorifics used on his letterheads in communication to his friends. He managed to escape consequences while his matriarch, who inexplicably pampered him, was still living. The monarch did at least revoke him of official roles and military positions in the wake of his disastrous and, it is now clear, untruthful media appearance six years ago. Current Situation Just in the last two weeks that events sped up, following the publication of biographical works giving more grim details of his conduct and that of his companions. More information have again highlighted Andrew's thinking that he could escape deceiving about his relationship with a disgraced individual. Society (and the journalists) were far more perceptive of the royal family. There was not a single person of any consequence to support him, a consequence of all those years of arrogance. Royal Worries The more intelligent royals recognized that. The key objective is to hand down the monarchy, if not as before at least complete and unstained. For generations the last 190 years trying to undo the legacy of past sovereigns, demonstrating they are useful, accountable and responsive to their people. His actions endangered all that in peril in an age when deference and privacy is no longer adequate. Consequences Ultimately, the famously indecisive monarch was pushed additional. There was no alternative. The palace had relinquished authority of the story. Now it is the stripping of titles and the continued and lifetime social disgrace that will afflict Andrew most deeply. Demotion: Reduced to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor Past Example: The primary member to forfeit his designations in modern times Armed Forces: Particularly painful given his role in the Falklands war He continues to be a constitutional officer, on paper able to act for the monarch, and he is still in the succession to the monarchy, but not any of these will ever occur. Future Prospects Can persons he meets still acknowledge him? Will they still make mistakes and call him Sir? Will they even say Andrew, Certainly, he is not moving to an ordinary town, but to the royal family's large grounds at a royal residence. In that place, he will be supplied by the king with one of the royal residences and given some form of personal stipend. It is not his prior accommodation, where he paid a minimal rent for more than 20 years, and the area is a bit far, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed. Pending Matters Matters remain unresolved. There are still files in the custody of American legislators to be made public. Parliamentary Interest: Might parliament request additional information Monetary Probe: Or scrutinize the improper use of public money Judicial Potential: There may even be a criminal probe into his conduct Possibly for the time being the harm to the monarchy to the crown is restricted. The message from the royal household was evidently that the stripping of honorifics was what the monarch, and particularly other senior monarchical figures, sought. A Shift in Position No more deception that Andrew was acting willingly. And, remarkably, the brief announcement showed plainly that the monarchy were siding with the accuser's account of incidents. Furthermore, for the first time they finally showed concern for the survivors: "These actions are judged required, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the claims against him." Ultimately it is presumption, selfishness and inactivity that will undermine the institution. In his folly, personal excess and corruption, Andrew seems never to have understood that reality.