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This episode commenced with a single photograph, possibly the most significant ever taken of a individual from the royal household.

There stood the Earl of Inverness, standing closely beside a young woman, while an associate grinned suggestively in the background.

Lacking that snapshot, shot at a gathering in 2001, who would have believed the allegations of a young woman who stated she was trafficked across the Atlantic and forced to have cursory sexual encounters with a prince of the monarchy?

A curious, telling gesture by someone who had publicly claimed to have no been aware of her, said he could no have had relations with her, and yet provided millions of his mother's resources to settle a protracted legal case.

Over a Decade of Controversy

Against this backdrop, conversations of the monarchy acting swiftly to distance themselves from Andrew are misguided. This affair has continued for the largest portion of 15 years since that picture, and another photo of Andrew strolling pleasantly with a disgraced financier emerged.

• Hubris: For what duration did his family members, perhaps even his relatives, realize that Andrew was so presumptuous?
• Dubious Friendships: They must have known, if his employees and the authorities were doing their jobs, that he had some extremely unsavory companions given he publicly welcomed them to palaces.
• Monetary Excess: If the household did not know about his sexual proclivities, they certainly knew about his overspending with public money.

Trips were documented in royal annual reports: chopper travel from the palace to a sporting venue and back again in time for dining, chartered planes instead of regular transport, all for the benefit of "the frequent flyer".

Existence of Entitlement

Furthermore the entitlement which required subservience when he appeared in a room or the profound obsession about his designations used on his correspondence in letters to his personal acquaintances.

He managed to escape consequences while his matriarch, who inexplicably spoiled him, was still living. The sovereign did at least strip him of official roles and ceremonial ranks in the wake of his catastrophic and, it is now clear, untruthful television interview six years ago.

Recent Developments

Just in the last fortnight that events sped up, following the publication of biographical works giving more troubling details of his behavior and that of his associates.

More information have again exposed Andrew's assumption that he could escape lying about his contact with a notorious figure.

Society (and the media) were far in advance of the royal family. There was no one of any consequence to defend him, a consequence of all those years of presumption.

Monarchical Concerns

The wiser royals recognized that. The primary concern is to hand down the monarchy, if not as previously at least whole and unblemished.

Over time the last 190 years trying to undo the image of past sovereigns, demonstrating they are useful, accountable and attentive to their people.

He was placing all that in peril in an era when respect and privacy is no longer adequate.

Consequences

Finally, the well-known uncertain sovereign was prodded further. There was no other option. The institution had surrendered command of the narrative.

Now it is the removal of honorifics and the persistent and lifetime personal shame that will pain Andrew most deeply.

• Demotion: Demoted to just Mr Mountbatten-Windsor
• Historical Precedent: The first monarch to forfeit his designations in recent history
• Armed Forces: Especially hurtful given his service in the conflict

He remains a counsellor of state, in principle able to substitute for the king, and he is still eighth in line to the crown, but none of these will actually occur.

What Lies Ahead

Can persons he encounters still show respect to him? Might they still forget themselves and call him Your Highness? Might they say Andrew,

Certainly, he is not moving to a common area, but to the monarchy's large estate at Sandringham.

In that place, he will be supplied by the king with one of the grace and favour houses and given some form of personal stipend.

This differs from his previous residence, where he paid a token lease for more than 20 years, and Norfolk is a bit far, but even so it may not be adequate distance.

Unresolved Issues

Matters remain unresolved. There are still records in the hands of overseas authorities to be disclosed.

• Parliamentary Interest: Could parliament request additional information
• Monetary Probe: Or examine the misuse of state resources
• Legal Possibility: There may even be a police investigation into his actions

Perhaps for the moment the reputational impact to the institution is restricted. The message from the institution was clearly that the removal of honorifics was what the sovereign, and notably other senior royals, desired.

A Shift in Position

An end to pretence that Andrew was doing it voluntarily. And, notably, the short statement showed clearly that the monarchy were supporting the victim's narrative of events.

Furthermore, for the premiere occasion they ultimately showed consideration for the survivors: "The censures are deemed necessary, regardless of the reality that he persists in refuting the accusations against him."

In the end it is presumption, self-seeking and indolence that will undermine the monarchy. In his foolishness, self-gratification and corruption, Andrew appears never to have understood that lesson.