Stupidity and Regal Arrogance Damaged Andrew, and It Could Continue Yet

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

There stood the Earl of Inverness, arm-in-arm a female youth, while a companion smiled conspiratorially in the backdrop.

Without that image, captured at a party in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the claims of a young woman who said she was transported across the ocean and compelled to have perfunctory relations with a prince of the royal family?

A curious, indicative gesture by someone who had openly stated to have never heard of her, said he could no have had sex with her, and yet paid a substantial sum of family money to settle a protracted lawsuit.

A Long Period of Controversy

Considering this, discussions of the royal family acting firmly to distance themselves from Andrew are inaccurate. This affair has continued for the largest portion of 15 years since that picture, and an additional photo of Andrew ambling pleasantly with a notorious individual emerged.

• Hubris: How long did his brothers and sisters, perhaps even his relatives, understand that Andrew was so arrogant?
• Questionable Associations: They must have realized, if his aides and the police were fulfilling their roles, that he had some highly questionable associates given he openly welcomed them to royal residences.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the household did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with state resources.

Journeys were documented in official documents: helicopter flights from the estate to a country club and back again in time for dining, private flights instead of commercial flights, all for the comfort of "the travel enthusiast".

A Life of Privilege

Then there was the arrogance which demanded subservience when he walked into a room or the supreme consciousness about his honorifics used on his letterheads in letters to his friends.

He avoided accountability while his mother, who inexplicably spoiled him, was still living. The monarch did at least revoke him of royal responsibilities and military positions in the wake of his ill-fated and, as revealed, mendacious public statement six years ago.

Recent Developments

It was only in the last fortnight that events accelerated, following the release of biographical works giving more disturbing information of his conduct and that of his connections.

Further disclosures have again revealed Andrew's assumption that he could avoid deceiving about his relationship with a notorious figure.

The public (and the press) were far more perceptive of the royals. There was not a single person of any consequence to speak up for him, a consequence of all those years of presumption.

Monarchical Concerns

The more intelligent monarchical figures understood that. The one imperative is to pass on the monarchy, if not as previously at least complete and unblemished.

They have spent the last 190 years trying to overcome the reputation of past sovereigns, showing they are beneficial, dutiful and attentive to their people.

Andrew was putting all that in peril in an era when submission and privacy is no longer adequate.

Consequences

Ultimately, the well-known uncertain monarch was pushed additional. There was no other option. The palace had lost control of the narrative.

Now it is the loss of designations and the continued and lifetime social disgrace that will pain Andrew most severely.

• Reduction: Reduced to just a private citizen
• Past Example: The first member to lose his honorifics in modern times
• Naval Career: Particularly hurtful given his service in the engagement

He continues to be a royal advisor, in principle able to act for the king, and he is still eighth in line to the throne, but neither of these will ever occur.

What Lies Ahead

Do individuals he meets still show respect to him? Will they still slip up and call him Sir? Would they say Andrew,

Certainly, he is not withdrawing to an ordinary town, but to the monarchy's extensive grounds at a monarchical property.

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

It is not his previous residence, where he paid a nominal rent for more than 20 years, and Norfolk is a bit far, but even so it may not be adequate distance.

Unresolved Issues

This is not over. There are still records in the hands of overseas authorities to be revealed.

• Governmental Scrutiny: Might parliament seek further action
• Monetary Probe: Or investigate the improper use of state resources
• Judicial Potential: There may even be a police investigation into his conduct

Maybe for the moment the harm to the monarchy to the institution is restricted. The statement from the institution was plainly that the revocation of titles was what the king, and especially other senior royals, sought.

Altered Approach

The cessation of deception that Andrew was acting willingly. And, remarkably, the short communication showed plainly that the monarchy were aligning with the victim's narrative of occurrences.

Even more, for the initial instance they ultimately showed regard for the survivors: "The measures are judged required, notwithstanding the fact that he persists in refuting the claims against him."

Ultimately it is entitlement, self-interest and indolence that will kill the institution. In his stupidity, self-indulgence and venality, Andrew seems never to have understood that truth.