Stupidity and Royal Self-Entitlement Sunk Andrew, and It Could Continue Yet
The saga started with a isolated photograph, arguably the most significant ever snapped of a royal family member.
In the frame appeared the Earl of Inverness, arm-in-arm a young woman, while a companion grinned conspiratorially in the backdrop.
Lacking that image, captured at a party in 2001, it would have been difficult to accept the claims of a young woman who declared she was moved across the sea and obliged to have perfunctory intimate contact with a prince of the monarchy?
A strange, telling action by someone who had openly asserted to have not been aware of her, said he could no have had relations with her, and yet provided millions of his mother's money to settle a long-delayed court action.
A Long Period of Scandal
Considering this, talk of the monarchy acting swiftly to sever ties with Andrew are inaccurate. This scandal has continued for the largest portion of 15 years since that photograph, and a further snapshot of Andrew walking pleasantly with a notorious individual came to light.
- Hubris: How long did his brothers and sisters, possibly even his relatives, know that Andrew was so self-entitled?
- Problematic Connections: They must have known, if his employees and the authorities were fulfilling their roles, that he had some highly questionable friends given he openly invited them to royal residences.
- Financial Extravagance: If the monarchy did not know about his intimate behaviors, they certainly knew about his extravagance with public money.
Journeys were printed in public records: private aircraft travel from the royal residence to a country club and back again in time for lunch, private flights instead of commercial flights, all for the comfort of "the frequent flyer".
World of Deference
Then there was the presumption which demanded subservience when he appeared in a space or the extreme obsession about his royal titles used on his correspondence in communication to his friends.
He avoided accountability while his mother, who unaccountably indulged him, was still alive. The sovereign did at least remove him of public duties and honorary colonelcies in the aftermath of his disastrous and, as revealed, untruthful television interview six years ago.
Latest Events
It was only in the last two weeks that events progressed rapidly, following the release of biographical works giving more disturbing particulars of his actions and that of his connections.
More information have again revealed Andrew's belief that he could escape deceiving about his relationship with a convicted criminal.
Society (and the press) were far in advance of the royals. There was nobody of any importance to speak up for him, a outcome of all those years of hubris.
Monarchical Concerns
The wiser monarchical figures understood that. The key objective is to pass on the institution, if not as heretofore at least whole and untarnished.
They have spent the last 190 years trying to overcome the legacy of previous monarchs, showing they are valuable, responsible and attentive to their people.
His actions endangered all that in peril in an time when deference and discretion is no longer sufficient.
Aftermath
Finally, the well-known hesitant monarch was prodded additional. There was little choice. The palace had lost control of the narrative.
Currently the removal of designations and the ongoing and permanent social disgrace that will afflict Andrew most deeply.
- Downgrading: Demoted to just a commoner
- Past Example: The initial royal to forfeit his honorifics in recent history
- Military Service: Especially hurtful given his role in the conflict
He remains a royal advisor, on paper able to substitute for the sovereign, and he is still in the lineage to the monarchy, but neither of these will truly occur.
What Lies Ahead
Can persons he meets still defer to him? Could they still slip up and call him Prince? Will they even say Sir,
Of course, he is not withdrawing to an ordinary town, but to the sovereign's large estate at a monarchical property.
There, he will be supplied by the sovereign with one of the grace and favour houses and given some form of private allowance.
It is not his prior accommodation, where he paid a minimal rent for more than 20 years, and the area is a bit distant, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed.
Pending Matters
The situation continues. There are still documents in the possession of American legislators to be revealed.
- Governmental Scrutiny: Will lawmakers seek further action
- Monetary Probe: Or investigate the waste of state resources
- Legal Possibility: There may even be a police investigation into his conduct
Possibly for the time being the reputational impact to the institution is limited. The message from the palace was evidently that the removal of honorifics was what the sovereign, and especially other senior royals, sought.
A Shift in Position
An end to pretence that Andrew was acting willingly. And, remarkably, the short communication showed plainly that the royals were siding with the victim's account of incidents.
Even more, for the initial instance they eventually showed concern for the survivors: "The censures are considered essential, notwithstanding the reality that he continues to deny the accusations against him."
Ultimately it is entitlement, self-interest and inactivity that will destroy the crown. In his foolishness, personal excess and corruption, Andrew appears never to have grasped that truth.
