Folly and Regal Arrogance Sunk Andrew, and It Could Continue Yet

It all began with a single photograph, possibly the most impactful ever snapped of a member of the monarchy.

There stood the Duke of York, with his arm around a young woman, while an associate grinned knowingly in the backdrop.

Without that image, shot at a gathering in 2001, who would have believed the claims of a young woman who said she was moved across the sea and obliged to have brief relations with a prince of the royal family?

A curious, indicative action by someone who had openly stated to have no known about her, asserted he could no have had intimate contact with her, and yet paid a substantial sum of family money to resolve a protracted legal case.

Over a Decade of Disgrace

In this context, conversations of the royal family acting firmly to distance themselves from Andrew are inaccurate. This affair has persisted for the better part of 15 years since that photograph, and another snapshot of Andrew ambling congenially with a convicted sex offender came to light.

• Hubris: How long did his family members, perhaps even his mother and father, know that Andrew was so arrogant?
• Questionable Associations: They must have understood, if his staff and the authorities were performing their duties, that he had some extremely unsavory friends given he unabashedly hosted them to estates.
• Financial Extravagance: If the monarchy did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his extravagance with taxpayer funds.

Journeys were listed in public records: helicopter flights from the palace to a golf course and back again in time for dining, private flights instead of commercial flights, all for the benefit of "the travel enthusiast".

Existence of Entitlement

Furthermore the presumption which expected deference when he entered a room or the extreme consciousness about his designations used on his letterheads in communication to his associates.

He could get away with it while his mother, who unaccountably spoiled him, was still living. The sovereign did at least revoke him of royal responsibilities and ceremonial ranks in the wake of his ill-fated and, it is now clear, deceptive media appearance six years ago.

Recent Developments

Just in the last fortnight that events progressed rapidly, following the publication of biographical works giving more disturbing details of his behavior and that of his companions.

More information have again revealed Andrew's belief that he could get away with lying about his relationship with a disgraced individual.

The public (and the press) were far ahead of the royal family. There was not a single person of any significance to defend him, a result of all those years of arrogance.

Institutional Fears

The more astute monarchical figures understood that. The primary concern is to pass on the institution, if not as previously at least whole and unstained.

Over time the last 190 years trying to overcome the reputation of previous monarchs, demonstrating they are valuable, accountable and attentive to their subjects.

He was placing all that in peril in an age when submission and secrecy is no longer sufficient.

Aftermath

Eventually, the famously uncertain sovereign was pushed additional. There was little choice. The royal household had lost control of the account.

Presently the removal of titles and the ongoing and lifetime public humiliation that will pain Andrew most deeply.

• Downgrading: Lowered to just a commoner
• Prior Instance: The first monarch to forfeit his designations in modern times
• Naval Career: Notably stinging given his role in the Falklands war

He continues to be a constitutional officer, in principle able to stand in for the sovereign, and he is still in the succession to the monarchy, but not any of these will truly happen.

Coming Developments

Will people he encounters still acknowledge him? Might they still make mistakes and call him Sir? Might they say Sir,

Naturally, he is not withdrawing to a common area, but to the monarchy's large estate at Sandringham.

In that place, he will be supplied by the king with one of the estate properties and given some type of financial support.

It is not his former home, where he paid a nominal lease for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit far, but even so it may not be far enough.

Outstanding Concerns

Matters remain unresolved. There are still documents in the possession of American legislators to be disclosed.

• Political Pressure: Will legislators request additional information
• Monetary Probe: Or examine the waste of state resources
• Criminal Investigation: There may even be a criminal probe into his behavior

Possibly for the moment the harm to the monarchy to the crown is restricted. The narrative from the palace was plainly that the revocation of titles was what the monarch, and notably other senior monarchical figures, sought.

Changed Stance

The cessation of deception that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, significantly, the concise announcement showed evidently that the monarchy were supporting the accuser's version of incidents.

Additionally, for the initial instance they ultimately showed consideration for the survivors: "These actions are judged required, despite the truth that he continues to deny the claims against him."

Ultimately it is presumption, selfishness and indolence that will kill the institution. In his folly, self-gratification and corruption, Andrew seems never to have learned that lesson.