🔗 Share this article Folly and Monarchical Hubris Ruined Andrew, and It May Not Be Over Yet It all began with a single photograph, possibly the most significant ever captured of a member of the monarchy. Present was the Duke of York, standing closely beside a young woman, while a companion smiled suggestively in the background. Lacking that photograph, captured at a social event in 2001, who would have believed the assertions of a teenager who said she was trafficked across the ocean and obliged to have brief sexual encounters with a prince of the royal family? A curious, indicative action by someone who had publicly claimed to have no been aware of her, claimed he could not have had relations with her, and yet handed over a large amount of family resources to settle a long-delayed legal case. Over a Decade of Controversy In this context, talk of the monarchy acting firmly to distance themselves from Andrew are wide of the mark. This controversy has endured for the better part of 15 years since that photograph, and a further snapshot of Andrew ambling pleasantly with a disgraced financier surfaced. Hubris: To what extent did his siblings, possibly even his mother and father, realize that Andrew was so self-entitled? Problematic Connections: They must have understood, if his employees and the law enforcement were doing their jobs, that he had some highly questionable friends given he unabashedly invited them to palaces. Fiscal Irresponsibility: If the monarchy did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his extravagance with state resources. Trips were printed in public records: chopper flights from the royal residence to a country club and back again in time for midday meal, chartered planes instead of commercial flights, all for the comfort of "the frequent flyer". World of Deference Additionally the arrogance which demanded respect when he appeared in a room or the extreme awareness about his designations used on his official documents in letters to his associates. He managed to escape consequences while his parent, who strangely indulged him, was still alive. The monarch did at least remove him of royal responsibilities and military positions in the wake of his disastrous and, as revealed, untruthful public statement six years ago. Current Situation Just in the last 14 days that events accelerated, following the publication of accounts giving more disturbing details of his behavior and that of his connections. Further disclosures have again exposed Andrew's belief that he could get away with being untruthful about his relationship with a convicted criminal. The public (and the journalists) were far in advance of the monarchy. There was no one of any significance to speak up for him, a consequence of all those years of arrogance. Royal Worries The more astute monarchical figures realized that. The primary concern is to transfer the monarchy, if not as before at least complete and unblemished. They have spent the last 190 years trying to overcome the image of previous monarchs, demonstrating they are valuable, dutiful and reactive to their citizens. He was placing all that in danger in an era when deference and privacy is no longer adequate. The Fallout Eventually, the notoriously uncertain monarch was prodded further. There was little choice. The palace had relinquished authority of the account. Now it is the stripping of designations and the ongoing and life-long social disgrace that will pain Andrew the most. Reduction: Demoted to just a private citizen Past Example: The primary member to surrender his designations in contemporary era Military Service: Especially painful given his service in the conflict He is still a constitutional officer, theoretically able to act for the sovereign, and he is still in the succession to the throne, but neither of these will truly come to pass. Future Prospects Can persons he encounters still defer to him? Might they still forget themselves and call him Sir? Would they say Mr, Of course, he is not withdrawing to an ordinary town, but to the monarchy's extensive estate at Sandringham. In that place, he will be supplied by the monarch with one of the grace and favour houses and given some type of personal stipend. It is not his prior accommodation, where he paid a minimal rent for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit distant, but even so it may not be far enough. Unresolved Issues This is not over. There are still documents in the custody of American legislators to be made public. Parliamentary Interest: Might parliament request additional information Financial Investigation: Or investigate the misuse of taxpayer funds Judicial Potential: There may even be a law enforcement inquiry into his conduct Maybe for the present the reputational impact to the monarchy is restricted. The message from the institution was clearly that the stripping of honorifics was what the king, and notably other senior monarchical figures, sought. Altered Approach An end to deception that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, significantly, the concise communication showed evidently that the royals were aligning with the victim's version of events. Even more, for the first time they finally showed regard for the survivors: "These actions are deemed necessary, regardless of the reality that he persists in refuting the allegations against him." Finally it is arrogance, self-seeking and inactivity that will kill the monarchy. In his folly, personal excess and corruption, Andrew appears never to have understood that lesson.