2022 marks the 30th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s “annus horribilis.” Thanks to the latest season of Netflix’s The Crown, many people are reliving the royal family’s horrible year.
The show’s fifth season follows the royal family through the early to mid-’90s. In fact, one episode deals directly with Her Majesty’s speech about the troublesome year of 1992.
The Queen made the famous speech on November 24, 1992 during which she donned the Year as her year. “annus horribilis.”
1992 saw the end of many royal marriages. Sensational photographs and recordings of members of the royal family spread like wildfire. There was also the actual fire at Windsor Castle.
It is not surprising that the queen has publicly decried the year after witnessing all of these events.
‘1992 Is Not A Year On Which I Shall Look Back With Undiluted Pleasure’
Her Majesty was not in a celebratory mood when Queen Elizabeth marked the 40th Anniversary of her accession on the throne. The royal family has been plagued by strained marriages, affairs and sensational photographs and recordings over the past year.
According to the queen’s speech: “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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Surprisingly, the queen’s seemingly extreme statement was really an apt one. The royal family had a year to remember. What’s more is that when the queen gave her speech in November, she had no idea that one more royal marriage would come to an end before the new year.
A Timeline of Why The Queen Called 1993 ‘Annus Horribilis’
Her Majesty’s horrible year started off with a bang.
Photographs were published in January 1992 about an affair between Sarah Duchess of York and Steve Wyatt, a Texan oil millionaire. Then, on March 19, the queen’s son, Prince Andrew, separated from Sarah.
The following month, on April 23, the queen’s daughter, Anne, divorced Captain Mark Phillips. A revealing book was published by Princess Diana less than two months later. Diana: Her True Story, that divulged the problems in her marriage to the queen’s son, then-future King Charles. Diana’s story was particularly incriminating of the royal family as the princess shared about the affair Charles was having with Camilla Parker Bowles.
The summer remained a time of damaging stories about the royal family. Images circulated on August 20, showing Sarah, Duchess and Queen of York, in topless sunbathing, with John Bryan. Four days later on August 24, intimate conversations were published using a tape recording of Diana and James Gilbey.
As if the affairs, separations, and sensational photographs weren’t enough, there was also a fire at one of Her Majesty’s residences.
Windsor Castle sustained major fire damage just four days before the Ruby Jubilee. One more noteworthy event occurred after the speech. Charles and Diana were separated on December 9, 1993.
Given the misery that befell the royal family in 1992 and the subsequent repercussions on their lives, can you blame the queen for wanting the year erased from her mind?