🔗 Share this article Foolishness and Royal Self-Entitlement Damaged Andrew, and It May Not Be Over Yet This episode commenced with a isolated photograph, perhaps the most consequential ever snapped of a member of the monarchy. There stood the Baron Killyleagh, arm-in-arm a young woman, while an associate grinned suggestively in the backdrop. Absent that photograph, taken at a gathering in 2001, who would have believed the assertions of a young woman who said she was moved across the Atlantic and compelled to have brief intimate contact with a individual of the monarchy? A curious, telling move by someone who had overtly stated to have not been aware of her, claimed he could not have had relations with her, and yet provided a large amount of his mother's resources to settle a protracted lawsuit. A Long Period of Controversy Against this backdrop, conversations of the monarchy acting firmly to distance themselves from Andrew are wide of the mark. This scandal has endured for the largest portion of 15 years since that image, and an additional image of Andrew walking congenially with a convicted sex offender came to light. Hubris: How long did his siblings, maybe even his relatives, understand that Andrew was so self-entitled? Problematic Connections: They must have known, if his employees and the law enforcement were fulfilling their roles, that he had some highly questionable companions given he unabashedly invited them to estates. Monetary Excess: If the household did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his extravagance with taxpayer funds. Travel were listed in royal annual reports: helicopter travel from the estate to a sporting venue and back again in time for lunch, chartered planes instead of scheduled services, all for the comfort of "the travel enthusiast". A Life of Privilege Furthermore the presumption which required subservience when he entered a room or the extreme awareness about his designations used on his correspondence in communication to his friends. He could get away with it while his matriarch, who unaccountably spoiled him, was still alive. The sovereign did at least revoke him of public duties and military positions in the consequence of his ill-fated and, we now know, mendacious media appearance six years ago. Latest Events Just in the last two weeks that events progressed rapidly, following the release of biographical works giving more disturbing information of his actions and that of his associates. Additional revelations have again highlighted Andrew's assumption that he could escape being untruthful about his interaction with a notorious figure. Society (and the press) were far in advance of the monarchy. There was nobody of any consequence to defend him, a result of all those years of presumption. Institutional Fears The wiser monarchical figures recognized that. The one imperative is to pass on the crown, if not as heretofore at least intact and unstained. For generations the last 190 years trying to reverse the image of previous monarchs, showing they are beneficial, responsible and attentive to their subjects. He was placing all that in danger in an era when submission and privacy is no longer enough. Consequences Eventually, the well-known uncertain monarch was pressured more. There was no alternative. The palace had surrendered command of the story. Currently the removal of designations and the continued and lifetime social disgrace that will pain Andrew most deeply. Reduction: Demoted to just a commoner Prior Instance: The primary member to forfeit his titles in modern times Naval Career: Especially hurtful given his service in the engagement He is still a royal advisor, theoretically able to substitute for the sovereign, and he is still in the lineage to the crown, but none of these will truly occur. Coming Developments Will people he comes across still acknowledge him? Might they still forget themselves and call him Your Highness? Would they say Sir, Certainly, he is not moving to suburbia, but to the monarchy's vast estate at a monarchical property. In that place, he will be provided by the monarch with one of the royal residences and given some type of private allowance. This is not his previous residence, where he paid a minimal payment for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit remote, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed. Outstanding Concerns The situation continues. There are still records in the custody of US Congress to be disclosed. Governmental Scrutiny: Could legislators seek further action Monetary Probe: Or examine the misuse of public money Judicial Potential: There may even be a police investigation into his conduct Maybe for the time being the institutional damage to the institution is contained. The narrative from the royal household was plainly that the revocation of honorifics was what the sovereign, and particularly other senior family members, sought. A Shift in Position The cessation of pretence that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, significantly, the brief communication showed evidently that the royals were supporting the accuser's version of occurrences. Furthermore, for the first time they eventually showed consideration for the victims: "The censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the reality that he persists in refuting the allegations against him." Finally it is entitlement, self-interest and laziness that will kill the crown. In his foolishness, self-indulgence and venality, Andrew appears never to have learned that lesson.