🔗 Share this article Stupidity and Monarchical Hubris Ruined Andrew, and It May Not Be Over Yet This episode commenced with a single photograph, arguably the most impactful ever captured of a royal family member. In the frame appeared the Baron Killyleagh, with his arm around a teenage girl, while an associate smiled conspiratorially in the backdrop. Lacking that snapshot, captured at a gathering in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the allegations of a adolescent who stated she was transported across the sea and forced to have brief intimate contact with a member of the royal bloodline? An odd, revealing action by someone who had publicly asserted to have not been aware of her, asserted he could never have had relations with her, and yet provided a large amount of his mother's resources to resolve a drawn-out lawsuit. A Long Period of Controversy In this context, conversations of the royal family acting swiftly to distance themselves from Andrew are inaccurate. This controversy has persisted for the majority of 15 years since that image, and another image of Andrew strolling congenially with a notorious individual emerged. Hubris: To what extent did his siblings, perhaps even his relatives, know that Andrew was so presumptuous? Questionable Associations: They must have understood, if his staff and the authorities were performing their duties, that he had some extremely unsavory friends given he unabashedly welcomed them to estates. Monetary Excess: If the monarchy did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his overspending with taxpayer funds. Travel were listed in public records: private aircraft transfers from the palace to a sporting venue and back again in time for lunch, chartered planes instead of scheduled services, all for the benefit of "the frequent flyer". World of Deference Then there was the presumption which demanded deference when he entered a area or the profound obsession about his designations used on his letterheads in letters to his personal acquaintances. He could get away with it while his mother, who strangely indulged him, was still alive. The sovereign did at least remove him of public duties and honorary colonelcies in the consequence of his ill-fated and, as revealed, mendacious television interview six years ago. Current Situation Just in the last fortnight that events progressed rapidly, following the issuance of accounts giving more troubling information of his conduct and that of his associates. Further disclosures have again highlighted Andrew's belief that he could avoid being untruthful about his interaction with a disgraced individual. Society (and the journalists) were far ahead of the royal family. There was nobody of any significance to speak up for him, a consequence of all those years of presumption. Monarchical Concerns The wiser royals understood that. The one imperative is to hand down the monarchy, if not as previously at least whole and unblemished. For generations the last 190 years trying to reverse the reputation of earlier rulers, proving they are valuable, dutiful and attentive to their subjects. Andrew was putting all that in peril in an era when submission and discretion is no longer enough. Consequences Ultimately, the notoriously indecisive monarch was prodded additional. There was no other option. The royal household had relinquished authority of the narrative. Now it is the removal of titles and the ongoing and life-long social disgrace that will hurt Andrew most deeply. Demotion: Reduced to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor Prior Instance: The initial member to lose his designations in contemporary era Naval Career: Especially painful given his duty in the conflict He is still a royal advisor, in principle able to act for the monarch, and he is still in the lineage to the monarchy, but not any of these will actually happen. Future Prospects Do individuals he comes across still show respect to him? Could they still slip up and call him Sir? Will they even say Andrew, Certainly, he is not withdrawing to suburbia, but to the royal family's extensive estate at Sandringham. In that place, he will be provided by the monarch with one of the estate properties and given some type of financial support. This differs from his former home, where he paid a token payment for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit distant, but even so it may not be far enough. Pending Matters The situation continues. There are still records in the hands of US Congress to be revealed. Political Pressure: Might parliament demand more Monetary Probe: Or examine the waste of taxpayer funds Legal Possibility: There may even be a police investigation into his actions Maybe for the moment the reputational impact to the crown is contained. The narrative from the royal household was evidently that the revocation of designations was what the king, and notably other senior royals, wanted. A Shift in Position The cessation of illusion that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, significantly, the short statement showed clearly that the institution were aligning with the accuser's version of incidents. Even more, for the premiere occasion they finally showed consideration for the survivors: "These actions are judged required, despite the reality that he continues to deny the allegations against him." Finally it is arrogance, self-seeking and inactivity that will kill the institution. In his stupidity, personal excess and corruption, Andrew gives the impression never to have understood that lesson.