In the twilight of her reign, Queen Elizabeth II used the term “annus horribilis” in a speech in 1992, marking her four-decade tenure as Britain’s monarch. This is renowned as a rare moment when the usually stoic queen acknowledged the toll that multiple family crises had taken on her. It’s quite possible that the last year could be considered one of the most distressing for the royal lineage in recent memory.
In 1992, scandalous information regarding the troubled personal lives of Diana and Charles, the Prince and Princess of Wales, came to light. Additionally, that year saw the queen’s son, Prince Andrew, separate from his wife and her daughter, Princess Anne, get divorced and the flames engulfing Windsor Castle. This streak of upsetting events continued when Diana tragically died in a car accident five years later, deeply impacting her sons, Prince William, and Prince Harry.
The royal family found themselves in the headlines again recently when an altered photo of Princess Kate and her children sparked a social media storm of bizarre conspiracy theories following lingering rumours about the beloved princess’s health. The same day Princess Kate’s hospital admission was announced, King Charles was diagnosed with a form of cancer. The ambiguity surrounding their health situations and the royal family’s silence in the immediate aftermath heightened public suspicion that they were not being completely honest.
Last Friday, the royal family addressed these concerns with a statement. It clarified that though Princess Kate’s condition wasn’t initially thought to be cancerous, her and Prince William decided to withhold the news until they were ready to inform their children. This revelation, along with the king’s diagnosis, came less than a year after the grand ceremony at Westminster Abbey where the king was anointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury at 74. The family had likely anticipated that this would herald a time of relative calm.
Merely months before, Charles, then the Prince of Wales, had headed the mourners at his mother’s burial. A significant number of individuals from the public had lined up throughout the night to pay their respects at her casket, expressing a profound sense of sorrow.
Tensions and disturbances within the family were already visible at the funeral. Prince Andrew, stripped of his royal responsibilities following allegations of sexual misconduct in a United States court case, did not don a military uniform as he trailed behind his mother’s casket. He has consistently refuted these claims.
Additionally, on the 22nd of March, Kate Middleton disclosed that she has been diagnosed with cancer.
Harry, the Prince, returned for his grandmother’s funeral, his presence highlighted his semi-isolation. Prior to this, in January, he released a shockingly candid memoir, “Spare,” which contained claims of a physical dispute between him and his brother and unsettling details about his first sexual experience.
Moreover, Prince Harry has remained in the public eye due to a string of high-profile court cases against the British media, highlighting his strained situation. He has also been in court battles against the government – with no success – over whether taxpayers should foot the bill for his security during his visits to the UK.
King Charles’s brother, Prince Andrew, continues to be a constant source of embarrassment, especially due to an upcoming Netflix drama that re-examines the devastating Emily Maitlis interview, where Andrew’s relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was scrutinised.
Taking over the as the reigning monarch was King Charles’s lifelong ambition. However, his reign has been brief due to a diagnosis forcing him to cut down on his public engagements.
However, for William and Kate, these challenges, which have eroded the monarchy’s majestic aura, may seem insignificant compared to the overwhelming family drama they are currently experiencing, under the public’s watchful eye.