🔗 Share this article Foolishness and Monarchical Hubris Sunk Andrew, and It May Not Be Over Yet This episode commenced with a single photograph, possibly the most significant ever snapped of a individual from the royal household. Present was the Baron Killyleagh, arm-in-arm a female youth, while a companion beamed knowingly in the backdrop. Without that photograph, shot at a social event in 2001, who would have believed the assertions of a young woman who declared she was transported across the sea and forced to have cursory intimate contact with a individual of the monarchy? A strange, indicative gesture by someone who had publicly stated to have no heard of her, said he could not have had intimate contact with her, and yet handed over a large amount of family resources to resolve a protracted court action. A Long Period of Disgrace Considering this, conversations of the royals acting decisively to cut Andrew off are misguided. This scandal has persisted for the better part of 15 years since that image, and another snapshot of Andrew walking amiably with a disgraced financier emerged. Arrogance: How long did his family members, possibly even his parents, realize that Andrew was so self-entitled? Dubious Friendships: They must have realized, if his aides and the law enforcement were fulfilling their roles, that he had some deeply disreputable friends given he openly welcomed them to estates. Monetary Excess: If the household did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with public money. Trips were documented in public records: private aircraft transfers from the royal residence to a golf course and back again in time for lunch, exclusive air travel instead of scheduled services, all for the convenience of "Airmiles Andy". World of Deference Additionally the presumption which required subservience when he walked into a space or the supreme obsession about his honorifics used on his letterheads in letters to his associates. He managed to escape consequences while his parent, who strangely indulged him, was still alive. The monarch did at least revoke him of official roles and military positions in the wake of his catastrophic and, we now know, untruthful television interview six years ago. Latest Events Merely in the last 14 days that events progressed rapidly, following the publication of books giving more troubling particulars of his actions and that of his associates. More information have again revealed Andrew's thinking that he could escape deceiving about his contact with a convicted criminal. The public (and the journalists) were far ahead of the royals. There was nobody of any importance to support him, a outcome of all those years of arrogance. Royal Worries The more intelligent royals recognized that. The primary concern is to transfer the crown, if not as heretofore at least whole and unstained. For generations the last 190 years trying to reverse the legacy of previous monarchs, showing they are beneficial, dutiful and responsive to their subjects. Andrew was putting all that in peril in an time when deference and secrecy is no longer enough. The Fallout Finally, the well-known hesitant sovereign was pressured further. There was no alternative. The palace had surrendered command of the story. Presently the stripping of designations and the continued and lifetime social disgrace that will afflict Andrew most severely. Downgrading: Reduced to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor Historical Precedent: The initial monarch to lose his designations in contemporary era Armed Forces: Notably hurtful given his duty in the engagement He is still a royal advisor, in principle able to substitute for the king, and he is still eighth in line to the crown, but none of these will ever occur. Coming Developments Will people he encounters still show respect to him? Might they still make mistakes and call him Your Highness? Might they say Andrew, Certainly, he is not moving to a common area, but to the sovereign's large estate at a monarchical property. At that location, he will be supplied by the sovereign with one of the estate properties and given some form of personal stipend. This differs from his previous residence, 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 sufficiently removed. Unresolved Issues The situation continues. There are still files in the possession of overseas authorities to be revealed. Political Pressure: Could legislators request additional information Financial Investigation: Or investigate the misuse of taxpayer funds Judicial Potential: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his actions Perhaps for the moment the institutional damage to the monarchy is limited. The narrative from the institution was evidently that the revocation of honorifics was what the monarch, and particularly other senior royals, sought. Altered Approach The cessation of deception that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, significantly, the concise statement showed clearly that the royals were siding with the accuser's version of incidents. Even more, for the premiere occasion they finally showed regard for the affected individuals: "These actions are judged required, despite the reality that he persists in refuting the accusations against him." Finally it is entitlement, self-seeking and laziness that will destroy the crown. In his stupidity, self-indulgence and venality, Andrew appears never to have understood that truth.