It all began with a solitary photograph, possibly the most impactful ever taken of a member of the monarchy.
Present was the Duke of York, standing closely beside a female youth, while an associate grinned conspiratorially in the rear.
Absent that photograph, shot at a gathering in 2001, who would have believed the allegations of a young woman who stated she was transported across the ocean and obliged to have brief relations with a individual of the royal bloodline?
An odd, revealing action by someone who had openly asserted to have not known about her, said he could never have had sex with her, and yet paid a large amount of monarchical funds to avert a drawn-out court action.
Considering this, conversations of the monarchy acting firmly to sever ties with Andrew are misguided. This scandal has endured for the majority of 15 years since that image, and an additional snapshot of Andrew ambling congenially with a convicted sex offender came to light.
Trips were documented in public records: helicopter travel from the estate to a sporting venue and back again in time for dining, exclusive air travel instead of commercial flights, all for the comfort of "the frequent flyer".
Additionally the presumption which expected subservience when he entered a space or the profound consciousness about his designations used on his letterheads in messages to his personal acquaintances.
He could get away with it while his matriarch, who inexplicably pampered him, was still surviving. The monarch did at least remove him of royal responsibilities and honorary colonelcies in the consequence of his ill-fated and, as revealed, untruthful media appearance six years ago.
Merely in the last fortnight that events sped up, following the release of accounts giving more disturbing particulars of his behavior and that of his associates.
Additional revelations have again highlighted Andrew's belief that he could escape lying about his interaction with a convicted criminal.
People (and the press) were far ahead of the monarchy. There was no one of any importance to support him, a result of all those years of arrogance.
The more astute monarchical figures understood that. The one imperative is to pass on the monarchy, if not as before at least intact and unstained.
They have spent the last 190 years trying to overcome the reputation of earlier rulers, showing they are beneficial, dutiful and attentive to their citizens.
His actions endangered all that in jeopardy in an time when deference and discretion is no longer enough.
Ultimately, the famously hesitant monarch was pressured additional. There was no alternative. The institution had surrendered command of the narrative.
Currently the removal of designations and the persistent and life-long public humiliation that will afflict Andrew the most.
He remains a constitutional officer, in principle able to stand in for the sovereign, and he is still in the succession to the crown, but neither of these will truly come to pass.
Will people he meets still show respect to him? Could they still make mistakes and call him Your Highness? Would they say Sir,
Of course, he is not moving to suburbia, but to the sovereign's vast grounds at Sandringham.
At that location, he will be furnished by the sovereign with one of the grace and favour houses and given some type of private allowance.
It is not his former home, where he paid a token rent for more than 20 years, and the county is a bit distant, but even so it may not be adequate distance.
This is not over. There are still files in the custody of US Congress to be disclosed.
Perhaps for the time being the reputational impact to the institution is restricted. The narrative from the royal household was evidently that the removal of honorifics was what the king, and especially other senior royals, sought.
The cessation of pretence that Andrew was acting willingly. And, remarkably, the short statement showed plainly that the royals were aligning with the accuser's narrative of events.
Additionally, for the premiere occasion they ultimately showed regard for the affected individuals: "The censures are considered essential, despite the reality that he persists in refuting the claims against him."
In the end it is entitlement, selfishness and inactivity that will undermine the crown. In his foolishness, self-gratification and venality, Andrew appears never to have grasped that lesson.
Lena Hoffmann is a seasoned journalist with a passion for uncovering stories that matter, specializing in German current affairs and digital media trends.
