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It all began with a isolated photograph, possibly the most consequential ever taken of a royal family member.

There stood the Duke of York, arm-in-arm a young woman, while an associate smiled suggestively in the background.

Without that photograph, captured at a gathering in 2001, who would have believed the assertions of a young woman who said she was moved across the Atlantic and obliged to have cursory relations with a member of the monarchy?

An odd, indicative gesture by someone who had overtly stated to have not heard of her, claimed he could not have had sex with her, and yet provided a large amount of family money to settle a drawn-out lawsuit.

Over a Decade of Scandal

Considering this, discussions of the royals acting swiftly to sever ties with Andrew are inaccurate. This controversy has endured for the largest portion of 15 years since that photograph, and a further photo of Andrew strolling pleasantly with a disgraced financier surfaced.

• Arrogance: To what extent did his siblings, possibly even his relatives, know that Andrew was so arrogant?
• Problematic Connections: They must have understood, if his employees and the authorities were fulfilling their roles, that he had some deeply disreputable friends given he unabashedly hosted them to royal residences.
• Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the family did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his wastefulness with state resources.

Journeys were listed in official documents: chopper transfers from the palace to a country club and back again in time for dining, chartered planes instead of regular transport, all for the comfort of "the frequent flyer".

A Life of Privilege

Furthermore the arrogance which demanded subservience when he walked into a space or the extreme obsession about his royal titles used on his letterheads in letters to his friends.

He managed to escape consequences while his matriarch, who unaccountably spoiled him, was still alive. The Queen did at least remove him of royal responsibilities and honorary colonelcies in the wake of his disastrous and, as revealed, untruthful public statement six years ago.

Recent Developments

Merely in the last two weeks that events accelerated, following the release of books giving more troubling particulars of his behavior and that of his associates.

More information have again revealed Andrew's belief that he could avoid being untruthful about his contact with a convicted criminal.

People (and the media) were far more perceptive of the monarchy. There was no one of any importance to defend him, a result of all those years of arrogance.

Institutional Fears

The more astute monarchical figures realized that. The key objective is to transfer the crown, if not as heretofore at least intact and unstained.

They have spent the last 190 years trying to overcome the image of earlier rulers, demonstrating they are useful, responsible and attentive to their citizens.

His actions endangered all that in danger in an time when respect and privacy is no longer adequate.

Consequences

Eventually, the famously indecisive monarch was prodded more. There was little choice. The palace had lost control of the account.

Currently the loss of titles and the ongoing and life-long social disgrace that will pain Andrew most deeply.

• Downgrading: Reduced to just a private citizen
• Past Example: The primary monarch to forfeit his honorifics in modern times
• Military Service: Particularly painful given his service in the conflict

He remains a royal advisor, in principle able to substitute for the king, and he is still in the succession to the crown, but not any of these will ever come to pass.

What Lies Ahead

Can persons he meets still show respect to him? Will they still slip up and call him Prince? Would they say Andrew,

Certainly, he is not moving to an ordinary town, but to the monarchy's extensive estate at Sandringham.

In that place, he will be furnished by the monarch with one of the royal residences and given some type of personal stipend.

This is not his former home, where he paid a nominal lease for more than 20 years, and the area is a bit far, but even so it may not be far enough.

Unresolved Issues

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

• Parliamentary Interest: Will parliament seek further action
• Monetary Probe: Or examine the waste of taxpayer funds
• Judicial Potential: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his conduct

Perhaps for the present the reputational impact to the crown is limited. The narrative from the institution was plainly that the removal of titles was what the king, and particularly other senior family members, sought.

Changed Stance

No more deception that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, significantly, the concise statement showed evidently that the institution were siding with the accuser's account of events.

Even more, for the premiere occasion they eventually showed regard for the survivors: "These actions are judged required, despite the truth that he continues to deny the accusations against him."

In the end it is arrogance, selfishness and inactivity that will undermine the monarchy. In his folly, self-gratification and corruption, Andrew appears never to have grasped that lesson.