Andrew’s fall exposes a Royal Family struggling to stay relevant, writes Shelagh Fogarty

We already knew he had lost his dukedom and several other honours, but he will keep his Falklands medals, which are regarded as recognition of his service as a helicopter pilot rather than a royal privilege.

The contrast between the Andrew who came home from the Falklands and the man the public now sees could hardly be greater. I remember the images of the Queen and other members of the Royal Family waiting among other families to welcome their loved ones home from the South Atlantic, roses in hand, Andrew among them. The country was proud of him then. That feels like a lifetime ago.

This latest step was necessary, but it took far too long. The £12 million settlement paid while Queen Elizabeth was still alive was clearly an attempt to keep him out of an American courtroom, and it achieved that. But I think it is something the family will regret.

When Virginia Giuffre took her own life, that was the moment the Palace should have acted decisively. That was the line in the sand. By then, this day was inevitable and should have come sooner.

Yet I do not believe this is the end of the monarchy. The House of Windsor has always had an instinct for survival.

George V recognised that to endure, they had to be visible and understood as existing for the people, not above them. He made that calculation while monarchies elsewhere in Europe were collapsing and his cousin Nicholas II was being murdered in Russia.

That awareness of survival still runs through the family. But the atmosphere around them has changed. Since the Queen’s death, I have noticed something striking among younger people. Teenagers and people in their twenties, including friends, colleagues and relatives of mine, have little affection for the institution.

They are not just critical of Andrew but of the very idea of inherited privilege. They question why birth alone should bring wealth and status. Even the Queen’s decision to approve that £12 million payment sits uneasily with them.

The shifting of properties on the Crown Estate does not help either. The constant moves between grand houses, one mansion traded for another, feels out of touch with the public mood. It looks bad, and the family knows it looks bad. Yet they have weathered unpopularity before and found ways to adapt.

The King did not want to reach this point, and his mother certainly did not. But sometimes change is forced upon you, and this was one of those occasions. Dealing with Andrew does not resolve everything. Questions about privilege, access, and accountability remain.

The Royal Family has survived many crises. They may well survive this one too, but the foundations beneath them feel less certain every time.

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