The Crown returned to Netflix last week for its fifth and penultimate season, as the hit drama depicts one of the most turbulent decades for the royal family in modern times. The 1990s was a tough time for Queen Elizabeth II, as her family was plagued by divorces, separations and scandals.
Many of the troublesome events took place in the same year, in 1992, a year the Queen herself described as “tumultuous.” On November 24, the monarch gave a now famous speech at Guildhall to mark her Ruby Jubilee in which she said: “1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure.
“In the words of one of my more sympathetic correspondents, it has turned out to be an annus horribilis.”
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Annus horribilis is a Latin phrase which translates as ‘horrible year’, and the Queen used it to refer to arguably the worst year of her reign. 1992 contained a series of events which brought the royal family into disrepute and changed the public’s perception of the monarchy.
From 1991 and early into 1992, there was speculation around the state of Prince Andrew’s marriage to Sarah, Duchess of York. Andrew was serving in the Navy at the time and was away for long periods.
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Then, in January 1992, photographs were published of the duchess with close friend and Texan oil millionaire Steve Wyatt, leading many to believe the prince’s wife had been having an affair. Two months later, on March 19, Andrew and Sarah announced their separation in what would be the first of a trio of royal splits that year.
The following month, on April 13, the Queen’s daughter Princess Anne confirmed she was to divorce from her husband Captain Mark Phillips, three years after announcing their separation via a statement in which they stated there were “no plans for divorce.” The divorce was finalised 10 days later.
Then, on July 7, a damning, tell-all book was published giving unprecedented insight into the life of Diana, Princess of Wales and her marriage to the Queen’s eldest son, Prince Charles. Written by English journalist and author Andrew Morton, Diana: Her True Story revealed Charles’ affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, and ultimately changed the way the public viewed the royal family forever.
The following month, on August 20, Sarah, Duchess of York found herself embroiled in another royal scandal, as photographs were published in the Daily Mirror showing her sunbathing topless with her friend John Bryan. In the images, Bryan was pictured sucking the toes of the former prince’s wife.
It was later reported that, in 1995, Sarah sent a bouquet of flowers to Prince Andrew’s aunt and the Queen’s sister, Princess Margaret, as a gesture of goodwill. But according to The Telegraph, Margaret responded harshly, writing in a letter to Sarah: “You have done more to bring shame on the family than could ever have been imagined”.
Just days after the images of Sarah were published, details of an intimate conversation between Diana and her close friend and gin heir James Gilbey were published in The Sun. In the conversation, Gilbey referred to Diana affectionately as “Squidgy” and “Squidge,” leading the incident to be referred to as “Squidgygate.”
Diana revealed how she was unhappy in her marriage to Charles and her position within the royal family in general, saying she felt “sad and empty.” She also likened her situation to that of a character in EastEnders, and revealed her fear of becoming pregnant.
If splits and scandals were not enough to mark a terrible year for the monarchy, the Queen later suffered the fiery destruction of one of her official residences. As depicted in episode four of The Crown’s latest season, on November 20, a fire broke out in Windsor Castle, causing millions of pounds worth of damage to the 1,000-year-old building.
The fire started after a faulty spotlight was left too close to a curtain, causing it to ignite. The inferno quickly spread and burnt for 15 hours, eventually destroying 115 rooms.
Restoring Windsor Castle cost £36.5m and took five years. It was just four days after the fire broke out when the Queen gave her speech, but sadly, her bad luck did not end there.
Less than three weeks later, on December 9, Charles and Diana publicly confirmed their separation, marking the end of the Queen’s – and indeed the family’s – “annus horribilis”.
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