 For reasons that were not publicly disclosed, his appointment as a royal photographer was cancelled in 1925. His appointment as Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and his British Empire Medal (BEM) were also "cancelled and annulled". A subsequent newspaper story suggested that his downfall was linked to another indiscreet photograph of the Prince of Wales, taken by Brooks and widely published, showing the Prince dressed in a woman's kimono and wig after appearing in a play.
