What Happened During Queen Elizabeth’s Annus Horribilis
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It is a term that most will have been familiar with long before The Crown’s much-debated portrayal of royal life reached the 1990s. Queen Elizabeth’s “annus horribilis” of 1992 has been legendary since she described it as such during a speech at the Guildhall to mark the 40th anniversary of her accession in November of that year. And the infamous phrase was dusted off by others more than once recently, as many questioned whether 2019, 2020, and 2021 were all contenders for the title.
The monarch chose not to elaborate in 1992 on exactly why she conceded that it was “not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure.” However, the many ways in which the royal family had made the headlines over the previous months left few in any doubt as to what events she was referring to. We take a look at exactly what really happened during that eventful year.
February: A Lone Princess Diana at The Taj Mahal Sets Sombre Tone
When Prince Charles and Princess Diana embarked on a royal tour to India in February 1992, Palace officials presumably hoped it would be resonate diplomatically on the world stage. But the trip is most remembered for a very different reason—one of the most iconic images of Diana ever taken showing her sat alone outside the Taj Mahal. With Charles working elsewhere, Diana visited the stunning 17th Century marble mausoleum by herself and posed for an image that would foreshadow their split and become symbolic of her feelings of isolation.
March: Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson Announce Separation
In years to come, Prince Andrew would heap far greater scandal on the royal family. But on March 19 1992, it was the breakdown of his marriage that was creating undesirable headlines. The BBC reported that the Queen found speculation around Andrew and Sarah’s relationship “especially undesirable” as a statement was released saying that lawyers had initiated discussions about a formal separation between the Duke and Duchess of York.
They went on to divorce in 1996 although continue to be close friends and even live together, with Sarah frequently describing them in interviews as “the happiest divorced couple in the world.”
April: Princess Anne and Mark Phillips Divorce
Princess Anne announced her separation from husband Mark Phillips in August 1989 after nearly 16 years of marriage. But it wasn’t until three years later, in April 1992, that the divorce was granted and a statement was made to that effect. By then, it was already widely known that a romance had blossomed between Anne and her mother’s equerry Timothy Laurence. They went public with their relationship later in 1992 and married on December 12 of that year.
In 1991, it emerged that Mark Phillips had fathered a daughter in 1985 with a New Zealand art teacher.
June: Andrew Morton’s Princess Diana biography is Published
It is now well-known that Princess Diana was a source for Andrew Morton’s sensational biography Diana: Her True Story, which lifted the lid on her unhappiness within the royal fold. But when the book was first published in June 1992, the BBC reported that Buckingham Palace said she “did not co-operate with the biography in any way whatsoever.” The book revealed that she attempted suicide and detailed her struggles with an eating disorder. The revelations rocked the monarchy as they reverberated around the world.
August: Tabloid Scandals
Despite the fact that Andrew and Sarah had already separated, when she was pictured on the front page of the Daily Mirror on August 20, 1992 appearing intimate with Texan financial advisor John Bryan, it was still very much a royal scandal. Sarah was at Balmoral with the royals when the news broke and she later wrote that there were “eyes wide and mouths ajar” at the news. The scandal is often viewed as a turning point in Sarah’s relations with the royals.
Just three days later, on August 23, The Sun published a front-page story about a recorded conversation between Diana and James Gilbey, which would become known as the “Squidgygate” scandal. The conversation, which dated back to 1989, featured her speaking about her life in the royal family.
November: Windsor Castle Fire And Financial Controversy
Just as a disastrous year was coming to a close, things quite literally went up in smoke. The Windsor Castle fire took hold in the morning of November 20 when a spotlight ignited a curtain in Queen Victoria’s private chapel. “Within three hours 225 firemen from seven counties were battling the flames,” the Royal Collection notes. Staff managed to move priceless art from the fire’s path but it ravaged 115 castle rooms including nine state rooms.
Initial estimates for the cost of the repair reached as high as $90 million and there was widespread backlash after the Secretary of State for National Heritage said public money would be used. This eventually led to Buckingham Palace being opened to the public over the summer of 1993 for the first time as a way of raising funds for the repairs. The summer openings continue to this day.
Prince Philip chaired the Restoration Committee and the work was completed exactly five years later at a final cost of £36.5 million.
In November 1992, it was also announced that the Queen would pay income tax for the first time the following year, although Buckingham Palace denied that this was related to questions over royal finances following the fire, the BBC reported.
November: The Queen Makes Her Annus Horribilis Speech
The Queen made her annus horribilis speech on November 24, just four days after the Windsor Castle fire. “This generosity and whole-hearted kindness of the Corporation of the City to Prince Philip and me would be welcome at any time, but at this particular moment, in the aftermath of Friday's tragic fire at Windsor, it is especially so,” she said. She offered a touch of—perhaps naive—optimism over how “future generations will judge the events of this tumultuous year,” saying, “Distance is well-known to lend enchantment, even to the less attractive views. After all, it has the inestimable advantage of hindsight.”
December: Prince Charles and Diana Announce Separation
The royal dramas continued to play out publicly right until the end of 1992, with Charles and Diana’s separation announced on December 9. Prime Minister John Major read out a statement in the House of Commons which said that “with regret” they had decided to separate. The statement said the decision was reached “amicably” and that there were “no plans to divorce and their constitutional positions are unaffected.”
The New York Times described it as “the unhappy ending today to a storybook marriage gone badly wrong.”
December: The Queen’s Christmas Message
As she she did every year throughout her reign (apart from in 1969), the Queen delivered a Christmas Message summing up the events of 1992. While not as memorable as her speech in November, it did address the “difficult days” the family had faced and also thanked the public for “support and encouragement.” “As some of you may have heard me observe, it has, indeed, been a sombre year,” the Queen said. “But Christmas is surely the right moment to try to put it behind us and to find a moment to pray for those, wherever they are, who are doing their best in all sorts of ways to make things better in 1993.”
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