Prince Andrew’s ugly saga highlights the absurdity of the hereditary principle, a childish idea that the best way to select a head of state is to take one family, regardless of merit, and bestow on them deference and wealth beyond the wildest dreams of most.

All that’s asked in return is that they take on a few drab duties such as opening leisure centers, doing a bit of overseas glad-handing and having heads of state — some unpleasant — over for tea or dinner.

Corrosive privilege

Prince Andrew’s reluctant and graceless retreat from the limelight came after claims he’d dissembled about the duration of his friendship with the now deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and as a book by alleged victim Virginia Giuffre details the abuse she claimed to have suffered from both men.

It's not just

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