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This episode commenced with a isolated photograph, possibly the most consequential ever captured of a member of the monarchy.

There stood the Earl of Inverness, with his arm around a female youth, while an associate grinned conspiratorially in the rear.

Lacking that snapshot, shot at a party in 2001, few would have credited the allegations of a adolescent who declared she was trafficked across the sea and forced to have brief intimate contact with a individual of the monarchy?

A curious, indicative move by someone who had publicly claimed to have not known about her, asserted he could not have had sex with her, and yet paid millions of family funds to resolve a long-delayed court action.

Over a Decade of Controversy

Considering this, conversations of the royal family acting swiftly to distance themselves from Andrew are wide of the mark. This controversy has persisted for the largest portion of 15 years since that picture, and another image of Andrew ambling amiably with a notorious individual came to light.

• Self-importance: How long did his brothers and sisters, maybe even his mother and father, know that Andrew was so arrogant?
• Problematic Connections: They must have known, if his aides and the police were fulfilling their roles, that he had some deeply disreputable associates given he publicly hosted them to estates.
• Monetary Excess: If the monarchy did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his overspending with taxpayer funds.

Journeys were printed in public records: private aircraft 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 comfort of "the frequent flyer".

A Life of Privilege

Then there was the entitlement which required respect when he entered a area or the supreme obsession about his designations used on his correspondence in communication to his friends.

He could get away with it while his matriarch, who inexplicably indulged him, was still living. The Queen did at least revoke him of royal responsibilities and military positions in the wake of his catastrophic and, it is now clear, mendacious public statement six years ago.

Current Situation

It was only in the last two weeks that events accelerated, following the publication of accounts giving more grim particulars of his conduct and that of his companions.

Additional revelations have again revealed Andrew's assumption that he could avoid being untruthful about his interaction with a notorious figure.

Society (and the press) were far ahead of the royals. 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 recognized that. The key objective is to pass on the institution, if not as heretofore at least complete and unblemished.

For generations the last 190 years trying to reverse the reputation of past sovereigns, demonstrating they are valuable, accountable and reactive to their people.

Andrew was putting all that in danger in an time when deference and secrecy is no longer adequate.

Aftermath

Eventually, the famously uncertain monarch was prodded more. There was no alternative. The institution had relinquished authority of the story.

Now it is the removal of titles and the persistent and life-long personal shame that will pain Andrew the most.

• Downgrading: Lowered to just a commoner
• Historical Precedent: The first monarch to lose his honorifics in recent history
• Military Service: Notably hurtful given his role in the engagement

He is still a counsellor of state, in principle able to stand in for the king, and he is still in the succession to the monarchy, but not any of these will truly come to pass.

What Lies Ahead

Will people he meets still defer to him? Might they still slip up and call him Prince? Might they say Mr,

Naturally, he is not moving to an ordinary town, but to the sovereign's extensive grounds at a monarchical property.

There, he will be supplied by the king with one of the royal residences and given some form of financial support.

This is not his prior accommodation, where he paid a nominal rent for more than 20 years, and the area is a bit far, but even so it may not be adequate distance.

Pending Matters

Matters remain unresolved. There are still documents in the custody of overseas authorities to be disclosed.

• Political Pressure: Might parliament request additional information
• Monetary Probe: Or investigate the improper use of public money
• Judicial Potential: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his behavior

Perhaps for the time being the institutional damage to the institution is restricted. The message from the institution was plainly that the revocation of designations was what the monarch, and especially other senior royals, wanted.

Altered Approach

An end to pretence that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, remarkably, the short announcement showed clearly that the monarchy were aligning with the victim's account of incidents.

Furthermore, for the initial instance they ultimately showed regard for the survivors: "The censures are considered essential, despite the reality that he continues to deny the claims against him."

Ultimately it is entitlement, selfishness and indolence that will destroy the monarchy. In his stupidity, personal excess and corruption, Andrew gives the impression never to have learned that reality.