🔗 Share this article Foolishness and Monarchical Hubris Ruined Andrew, and It May Not Be Over Yet The saga started with a single photograph, arguably the most significant ever snapped of a member of the monarchy. In the frame appeared the Baron Killyleagh, arm-in-arm a teenage girl, while a companion beamed conspiratorially in the background. Absent that snapshot, shot at a gathering in 2001, who would have believed the claims of a young woman who stated she was trafficked across the sea and compelled to have perfunctory relations with a member of the royal family? A curious, indicative move by someone who had openly asserted to have no been aware of her, said he could not have had relations with her, and yet paid a large amount of monarchical funds to resolve a long-delayed court action. A Long Period of Scandal In this context, conversations of the royal family acting swiftly to distance themselves from Andrew are wide of the mark. This affair has persisted for the majority of 15 years since that photograph, and an additional photo of Andrew strolling pleasantly with a convicted sex offender came to light. Arrogance: How long did his brothers and sisters, maybe even his parents, understand that Andrew was so presumptuous? Dubious Friendships: They must have understood, if his staff and the authorities were performing their duties, that he had some highly questionable associates given he unabashedly welcomed them to royal residences. Financial Extravagance: If the monarchy did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with taxpayer funds. Journeys were printed in public records: helicopter travel from the palace to a country club and back again in time for lunch, exclusive air travel instead of commercial flights, all for the benefit of "the frequent flyer". World of Deference Additionally the entitlement which expected deference when he entered a area or the supreme obsession about his honorifics used on his official documents in communication to his friends. He avoided accountability while his parent, who unaccountably indulged him, was still surviving. The Queen did at least strip him of public duties and ceremonial ranks in the aftermath of his ill-fated and, it is now clear, untruthful public statement six years ago. Recent Developments It was only in the last 14 days that events accelerated, following the publication of books giving more troubling information of his behavior and that of his connections. Further disclosures have again exposed Andrew's thinking that he could get away with deceiving about his contact with a convicted criminal. The public (and the journalists) were far in advance of the royal family. There was not a single person of any significance to defend him, a outcome of all those years of presumption. Institutional Fears The more astute monarchical figures realized that. The one imperative is to hand down the crown, if not as previously at least whole and unstained. They have spent the last 190 years trying to overcome the legacy of previous monarchs, demonstrating they are useful, dutiful and responsive to their citizens. He was placing all that in peril in an age when deference and discretion is no longer adequate. Consequences Finally, the notoriously uncertain monarch was pressured further. There was little choice. The institution had relinquished authority of the account. Presently the loss of designations and the ongoing and lifetime personal shame that will hurt Andrew most deeply. Reduction: Demoted to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor Past Example: The initial monarch to lose his titles in recent history Naval Career: Especially painful given his role in the Falklands war He is still a constitutional officer, on paper able to act for the monarch, and he is still in the lineage to the monarchy, but none of these will ever come to pass. Future Prospects Do individuals he comes across still defer to him? Might they still make mistakes and call him Prince? Would they say Mr, Certainly, he is not retiring to suburbia, but to the sovereign's extensive property at a royal residence. At that location, he will be provided by the monarch with one of the estate properties and given some form of personal stipend. This differs from his prior accommodation, where he paid a token lease for more than 20 years, and the area is a bit distant, but even so it may not be far enough. Pending Matters The situation continues. There are still files in the hands of US Congress to be disclosed. Parliamentary Interest: Will lawmakers seek further action Monetary Probe: Or investigate the misuse of public money Criminal Investigation: There may even be a police investigation into his actions Perhaps for the present the harm to the monarchy to the institution is restricted. The statement from the royal household was plainly that the stripping of titles was what the sovereign, and particularly other senior monarchical figures, desired. A Shift in Position No more illusion that Andrew was acting willingly. And, notably, the short communication showed plainly that the institution were aligning with the victim's version of occurrences. Additionally, for the first time they finally showed regard for the victims: "The censures are judged required, regardless of the reality that he continues to deny the claims against him." In the end it is entitlement, self-interest and inactivity that will undermine the crown. In his foolishness, self-gratification and greed, Andrew appears never to have grasped that reality.