🔗 Share this article Stupidity and Royal Self-Entitlement Sunk Andrew, and It Could Continue Yet This episode commenced with a solitary photograph, perhaps the most impactful ever snapped of a royal family member. In the frame appeared the Duke of York, arm-in-arm a female youth, while another individual smiled suggestively in the rear. Lacking that photograph, shot at a social event in 2001, who would have believed the claims of a teenager who said she was moved across the sea and forced to have perfunctory relations with a prince of the royal bloodline? A strange, telling action by someone who had openly stated to have not been aware of her, claimed he could no have had intimate contact with her, and yet handed over millions of family funds to resolve a drawn-out lawsuit. Years of Disgrace Considering this, talk of the royals acting swiftly to cut Andrew off are misguided. This controversy has endured for the better part of 15 years since that photograph, and an additional image of Andrew ambling amiably with a convicted sex offender surfaced. Arrogance: To what extent did his siblings, maybe even his relatives, realize that Andrew was so presumptuous? Dubious Friendships: They must have understood, if his aides and the police were performing their duties, that he had some extremely unsavory companions given he publicly welcomed them to estates. Financial Extravagance: If the monarchy did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his overspending with public money. Trips were documented in royal annual reports: helicopter travel from the royal residence to a golf course and back again in time for dining, private flights instead of regular transport, all for the benefit of "Airmiles Andy". A Life of Privilege Furthermore the entitlement which demanded deference when he entered a area or the profound obsession about his designations used on his official documents in messages to his friends. He could get away with it while his parent, who unaccountably pampered him, was still alive. The Queen did at least strip him of public duties and military positions in the wake of his disastrous and, as revealed, untruthful media appearance six years ago. Latest Events Merely in the last fortnight that events accelerated, following the release of books giving more troubling details of his behavior and that of his companions. Further disclosures have again revealed Andrew's belief that he could get away with being untruthful about his relationship with a disgraced individual. Society (and the press) were far in advance of the monarchy. There was not a single person of any consequence to speak up for him, a outcome of all those years of arrogance. Royal Worries The more intelligent royals realized that. The primary concern is to transfer the monarchy, if not as before at least intact and untarnished. They have spent the last 190 years trying to undo the reputation of earlier rulers, demonstrating they are valuable, responsible and responsive to their people. He was placing all that in danger in an era when respect and discretion is no longer adequate. The Fallout Ultimately, the famously uncertain monarch was pressured additional. There was no alternative. The palace had lost control of the story. Now it is the removal of honorifics and the continued and life-long public humiliation that will afflict Andrew most severely. Reduction: Demoted to just a commoner Past Example: The initial royal to lose his honorifics in contemporary era Armed Forces: Particularly stinging given his role in the conflict He continues to be a royal advisor, theoretically able to act for the monarch, and he is still eighth in line to the crown, but neither of these will truly happen. Coming Developments Can persons he encounters still show respect to him? Will they still forget themselves and call him Your Highness? Might they say Sir, Certainly, he is not withdrawing to a common area, but to the monarchy's vast grounds at a monarchical property. In that place, he will be furnished by the monarch with one of the royal residences and given some sort of private allowance. This is not his former home, where he paid a minimal lease for more than 20 years, and the area is a bit far, but even so it may not be far enough. Outstanding Concerns This is not over. There are still files in the possession of overseas authorities to be disclosed. Parliamentary Interest: Might legislators demand more Fiscal Review: Or examine the improper use of public money Criminal Investigation: There may even be a criminal probe into his actions Maybe for the time being the harm to the monarchy to the monarchy is contained. The narrative from the palace was plainly that the stripping of honorifics was what the king, and especially other senior monarchical figures, wanted. A Shift in Position An end to deception that Andrew was acting willingly. And, remarkably, the brief announcement showed plainly that the monarchy were supporting the victim's account of occurrences. Furthermore, for the premiere occasion they finally showed regard for the affected individuals: "The censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the truth that he persists in refuting the accusations against him." Finally it is arrogance, selfishness and inactivity that will destroy the institution. In his folly, self-indulgence and venality, Andrew appears never to have understood that truth.