🔗 Share this article Stupidity and Regal Arrogance Damaged Andrew, and It Might Persist Yet The saga started with a single photograph, arguably the most consequential ever taken of a member of the monarchy. There stood the Baron Killyleagh, with his arm around a teenage girl, while a companion smiled conspiratorially in the rear. Absent that snapshot, shot at a social event in 2001, few would have credited the claims of a adolescent who stated she was transported across the sea and compelled to have brief intimate contact with a prince of the monarchy? A curious, revealing move by someone who had publicly asserted to have not been aware of her, claimed he could not have had intimate contact with her, and yet handed over a substantial sum of his mother's funds to avert a drawn-out court action. Over a Decade of Scandal In this context, talk of the royals acting firmly to sever ties with Andrew are inaccurate. This scandal has persisted for the majority of 15 years since that image, and a further image of Andrew walking pleasantly with a convicted sex offender surfaced. Arrogance: For what duration did his siblings, possibly even his relatives, understand that Andrew was so arrogant? Problematic Connections: They must have understood, if his aides and the authorities were fulfilling their roles, that he had some highly questionable friends given he publicly invited them to royal residences. Monetary Excess: If the monarchy did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with public money. Journeys were listed in official documents: private aircraft flights from the palace to a golf course and back again in time for midday meal, chartered planes instead of regular transport, all for the benefit of "Airmiles Andy". A Life of Privilege Furthermore the entitlement which demanded subservience when he appeared in a space or the extreme awareness about his designations used on his official documents in letters to his friends. He avoided accountability while his matriarch, who unaccountably spoiled him, was still living. The monarch did at least revoke him of official roles and honorary colonelcies in the consequence of his catastrophic and, as revealed, deceptive public statement six years ago. Recent Developments Just in the last 14 days that events accelerated, following the publication of biographical works giving more disturbing information of his conduct and that of his companions. Further disclosures have again revealed Andrew's belief that he could get away with being untruthful about his contact with a notorious figure. Society (and the journalists) were far ahead of the monarchy. There was not a single person of any consequence to support him, a outcome of all those years of presumption. Royal Worries The wiser monarchical figures realized that. The one imperative is to pass on the monarchy, if not as before at least intact and unstained. Over time the last 190 years trying to reverse the reputation of past sovereigns, demonstrating they are beneficial, dutiful and responsive to their citizens. Andrew was putting all that in danger in an age when submission and privacy is no longer adequate. The Fallout Eventually, the famously indecisive king was pressured additional. There was no alternative. The palace had lost control of the account. Presently the loss of designations and the ongoing and lifetime personal shame that will hurt Andrew most deeply. Demotion: Reduced to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor Past Example: The primary royal to forfeit his titles in contemporary era Naval Career: Particularly stinging given his service in the Falklands war He is still a royal advisor, on paper able to act for the monarch, and he is still eighth in line to the crown, but none of these will ever occur. What Lies Ahead Will people he comes across still show respect to him? Could they still make mistakes and call him Your Highness? Would they say Mr, Of course, he is not retiring to a common area, but to the sovereign's large property at a royal residence. In that place, he will be supplied by the sovereign with one of the grace and favour houses and given some form of private allowance. This differs from his prior accommodation, where he paid a nominal rent for more than 20 years, and the area is a bit distant, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed. Pending Matters The situation continues. There are still documents in the hands of American legislators to be made public. Parliamentary Interest: Might legislators request additional information Monetary Probe: Or scrutinize the waste of taxpayer funds Legal Possibility: There may even be a police investigation into his behavior Maybe for the time being the institutional damage to the institution is contained. The narrative from the royal household was clearly that the removal of designations was what the king, and notably other senior royals, wanted. Changed Stance No more pretence that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, notably, the concise statement showed plainly that the monarchy were siding with the complainant's version of events. Additionally, for the premiere occasion they eventually showed concern for the affected individuals: "These actions are considered essential, despite the reality that he persists in refuting the allegations against him." Ultimately it is presumption, self-interest and inactivity that will kill the crown. In his stupidity, self-indulgence and corruption, Andrew seems never to have understood that reality.