🔗 Share this article Stupidity and Regal Arrogance Damaged Andrew, and It Could Continue Yet It all began with a single photograph, possibly the most significant ever captured of a royal family member. In the frame appeared the Baron Killyleagh, standing closely beside a female youth, while a companion beamed suggestively in the background. Lacking that snapshot, shot at a gathering in 2001, few would have credited the claims of a teenager who declared she was trafficked across the sea and forced to have perfunctory relations with a member of the royal family? A strange, revealing action by someone who had publicly stated to have not been aware of her, said he could never have had sex with her, and yet handed over millions of monarchical funds to avert a drawn-out legal case. Over a Decade of Controversy In this context, discussions of the royals acting decisively to sever ties with Andrew are misguided. This scandal has endured for the better part of 15 years since that image, and a further image of Andrew ambling amiably with a convicted sex offender emerged. Arrogance: For what duration did his family members, possibly even his parents, understand that Andrew was so self-entitled? Problematic Connections: They must have realized, if his staff and the law enforcement were performing their duties, that he had some extremely unsavory friends given he unabashedly invited them to estates. Financial Extravagance: If the household did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his overspending with state resources. Trips were listed in royal annual reports: chopper travel from the palace to a country club and back again in time for midday meal, exclusive air travel instead of regular transport, all for the benefit of "the frequent flyer". Existence of Entitlement Furthermore the entitlement which required subservience when he entered a room or the extreme awareness about his royal titles used on his letterheads in communication to his personal acquaintances. He avoided accountability while his parent, who inexplicably spoiled him, was still living. The sovereign did at least strip him of official roles and ceremonial ranks in the aftermath of his ill-fated and, it is now clear, mendacious public statement six years ago. Latest Events It was only in the last fortnight that events progressed rapidly, following the publication of accounts giving more grim particulars of his conduct and that of his associates. Further disclosures have again exposed Andrew's assumption that he could escape being untruthful about his contact with a notorious figure. People (and the media) were far ahead of the monarchy. There was not a single person of any significance to defend him, a outcome of all those years of hubris. Monarchical Concerns The more astute monarchical figures realized that. The key objective is to transfer the monarchy, if not as heretofore at least intact and unblemished. They have spent the last 190 years trying to undo the reputation of previous monarchs, demonstrating they are beneficial, dutiful and attentive to their people. He was placing all that in danger in an era when respect and secrecy is no longer enough. The Fallout Eventually, the famously uncertain monarch was pressured further. There was no other option. 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 deeply. Downgrading: Reduced to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor Past Example: The first royal to surrender his titles in modern times Naval Career: Notably painful given his duty in the conflict He is still a counsellor of state, on paper able to stand in for the sovereign, and he is still in the lineage to the monarchy, but neither of these will truly occur. Coming Developments Will people he encounters still show respect to him? Will they still forget themselves and call him Your Highness? Might they say Mr, Naturally, he is not moving to a common area, but to the sovereign's large grounds at Sandringham. There, he will be provided by the king with one of the royal residences and given some sort of financial support. This is not his previous residence, where he paid a nominal lease for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit far, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed. Outstanding Concerns Matters remain unresolved. There are still files in the hands of American legislators to be made public. Parliamentary Interest: Might lawmakers demand more Financial Investigation: Or investigate the waste of state resources Judicial Potential: There may even be a police investigation into his conduct Maybe for the present the reputational impact to the crown is contained. The narrative from the palace was clearly that the removal of designations was what the sovereign, and particularly other senior monarchical figures, sought. Changed Stance No more deception that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, remarkably, the short communication showed clearly that the royals were siding with the victim's version of occurrences. Furthermore, for the initial instance they finally showed consideration for the victims: "These actions are considered essential, despite the truth that he continues to deny the allegations against him." In the end it is arrogance, selfishness and indolence that will undermine the crown. In his stupidity, self-gratification and corruption, Andrew gives the impression never to have understood that reality.