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This episode commenced with a isolated photograph, perhaps the most significant ever captured of a member of the monarchy.

There stood the Duke of York, standing closely beside a female youth, while another individual smiled knowingly in the backdrop.

Absent that image, captured at a gathering in 2001, few would have credited the assertions of a adolescent who declared she was trafficked across the ocean and forced to have perfunctory relations with a prince of the royal family?

A strange, telling gesture by someone who had publicly claimed to have no been aware of her, claimed he could not have had sex with her, and yet handed over a large amount of his mother's money to resolve a protracted court action.

Years of Scandal

Against this backdrop, talk of the royals acting decisively to distance themselves from Andrew are misguided. This controversy has endured for the better part of 15 years since that image, and another snapshot of Andrew strolling congenially with a disgraced financier came to light.

• Arrogance: How long did his siblings, perhaps even his parents, realize that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have known, if his employees and the police were performing their duties, that he had some deeply disreputable companions given he unabashedly invited them to estates.
• Financial Extravagance: If the household did not know about his personal conduct, they certainly knew about his overspending with state resources.

Journeys were listed in royal annual reports: private aircraft flights from the royal residence to a golf course and back again in time for lunch, exclusive air travel instead of commercial flights, all for the convenience of "the frequent flyer".

A Life of Privilege

Then there was the presumption which demanded respect when he entered a space or the profound consciousness about his designations used on his official documents in letters to his associates.

He avoided accountability while his parent, who inexplicably spoiled him, was still alive. The Queen did at least strip him of official roles and ceremonial ranks in the aftermath of his ill-fated and, we now know, untruthful public statement six years ago.

Latest Events

It was only in the last fortnight that events progressed rapidly, following the release of accounts giving more troubling particulars of his conduct and that of his associates.

More information have again revealed Andrew's belief that he could escape being untruthful about his contact with a disgraced individual.

The public (and the media) were far ahead of the royals. There was nobody of any significance to defend him, a outcome of all those years of presumption.

Monarchical Concerns

The more astute royals understood that. The key objective is to hand down the institution, if not as before at least complete and unblemished.

They have spent the last 190 years trying to overcome the legacy of past sovereigns, showing they are beneficial, dutiful and responsive to their subjects.

Andrew was putting all that in peril in an time when respect and secrecy is no longer sufficient.

The Fallout

Ultimately, the well-known uncertain monarch was pressured further. There was no other option. The royal household had relinquished authority of the account.

Now it is the removal of titles and the continued and permanent social disgrace that will pain Andrew most severely.

• Demotion: Reduced to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor
• Past Example: The first member to surrender his designations in recent history
• Military Service: Especially hurtful given his role in the conflict

He is still a constitutional officer, in principle able to stand in for the king, and he is still eighth in line to the throne, but not any of these will truly happen.

Future Prospects

Do individuals he meets still acknowledge him? Will they still forget themselves and call him Prince? Will they even say Mr,

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

At that location, he will be provided by the king with one of the grace and favour houses and given some sort of private allowance.

This is not his prior accommodation, where he paid a nominal rent for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit far, but even so it may not be sufficiently removed.

Pending Matters

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

• Political Pressure: Could parliament demand more
• Monetary Probe: Or examine the improper use of taxpayer funds
• Judicial Potential: There may even be a police investigation into his actions

Possibly for the present the institutional damage to the crown is limited. The statement from the institution was evidently that the stripping of designations was what the sovereign, and especially other senior family members, sought.

Changed Stance

An end to pretence that Andrew was making the choice himself. And, significantly, the short communication showed evidently that the royals were aligning with the victim's account of incidents.

Even more, for the initial instance they ultimately showed regard for the survivors: "These actions are considered essential, regardless of the fact that he maintains his innocence of the claims against him."

In the end it is presumption, self-interest and inactivity that will destroy the institution. In his folly, self-gratification and corruption, Andrew seems never to have understood that lesson.