Folly and Monarchical Hubris Sunk Andrew, and It May Not Be Over Yet

The saga started with a solitary photograph, arguably the most consequential ever taken of a royal family member.

In the frame appeared the Baron Killyleagh, with his arm around a female youth, while a companion smiled suggestively in the background.

Absent that image, taken at a gathering in 2001, who would have believed the assertions of a teenager who said she was transported across the ocean and compelled to have perfunctory intimate contact with a prince of the royal bloodline?

An odd, telling move by someone who had openly claimed to have no been aware of her, claimed he could not have had relations with her, and yet paid millions of family money to resolve a long-delayed court action.

A Long Period of Disgrace

Considering this, talk of the monarchy acting swiftly to distance themselves from Andrew are misguided. This controversy has continued for the largest portion of 15 years since that photograph, and another image of Andrew walking pleasantly with a notorious individual came to light.

• Hubris: To what extent did his brothers and sisters, perhaps even his parents, know that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Problematic Connections: They must have understood, if his staff and the police were performing their duties, that he had some extremely unsavory associates given he openly hosted them to estates.
• Monetary Excess: If the family did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his overspending with taxpayer funds.

Trips were listed in public records: chopper travel from the palace to a golf course and back again in time for dining, exclusive air travel instead of scheduled services, all for the benefit of "the travel enthusiast".

A Life of Privilege

Then there was the presumption which demanded respect when he appeared in a space or the profound consciousness about his designations used on his letterheads in messages to his associates.

He managed to escape consequences while his parent, who unaccountably spoiled him, was still surviving. The Queen did at least strip him of public duties and ceremonial ranks in the wake of his catastrophic and, as revealed, mendacious public statement six years ago.

Recent Developments

It was only in the last 14 days that events accelerated, following the issuance of accounts giving more troubling details of his conduct and that of his connections.

Additional revelations have again exposed Andrew's belief that he could avoid being untruthful about his contact with a convicted criminal.

The public (and the media) were far more perceptive of the royal family. There was nobody of any consequence to defend him, a consequence of all those years of hubris.

Royal Worries

The more intelligent monarchical figures understood that. The one imperative is to hand down the crown, if not as previously at least whole and untarnished.

Over time the last 190 years trying to overcome the legacy of earlier rulers, proving they are beneficial, responsible and responsive to their people.

His actions endangered all that in peril in an age when deference and discretion is no longer adequate.

The Fallout

Finally, the famously hesitant monarch was prodded further. There was no other option. The institution had surrendered command of the narrative.

Presently the removal of honorifics and the continued and permanent public humiliation that will afflict Andrew most deeply.

• Downgrading: Demoted to just a commoner
• Historical Precedent: The primary royal to surrender his designations in modern times
• Armed Forces: Particularly hurtful given his duty in the conflict

He continues to be a counsellor of state, theoretically able to stand in for the monarch, and he is still eighth in line to the monarchy, but none of these will ever come to pass.

Coming Developments

Can persons he comes across still acknowledge him? Could they still slip up and call him Your Highness? Will they even say Sir,

Certainly, he is not retiring to an ordinary town, but to the royal family's large grounds at a royal residence.

There, he will be provided by the king with one of the royal residences and given some form of private allowance.

This is not his prior accommodation, where he paid a token lease for more than 20 years, and Norfolk is a bit distant, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed.

Unresolved Issues

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

• Political Pressure: Could parliament seek further action
• Financial Investigation: Or scrutinize the waste of taxpayer funds
• Legal Possibility: There may even be a police investigation into his actions

Maybe for the present the harm to the monarchy to the crown is restricted. The narrative from the institution was evidently that the removal of honorifics was what the king, and especially other senior royals, desired.

Altered Approach

The cessation of illusion that Andrew was acting willingly. And, notably, the brief announcement showed clearly that the royals were siding with the victim's narrative of occurrences.

Even more, for the initial instance they finally showed concern for the victims: "The measures are deemed necessary, despite the truth that he continues to deny the allegations against him."

Finally it is entitlement, self-interest and inactivity that will undermine the monarchy. In his foolishness, self-gratification and corruption, Andrew seems never to have learned that truth.