It had been one of the worst years of her life, she told the nation – her annus horribilis, she called it.
And it wasn’t hard to see why. The marriages of three of her four children had broken down – Prince Charles’ to Princess Diana, Prince Andrew’s to Sarah, Duchess of York (Fergie), and Princess
Anne’s to Captain Mark Phillips. A devastating fire had ripped through her beloved Windsor Castle. A tell-all book by Andrew Morton, Diana: Her True Story, revealed bombshell details of Charles’ affair with Camilla Parker Bowles – and then pictures emerged of Fergie sunbathing topless and having her toes sucked by millionaire John Bryan.
“[It] is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure,” the queen said with characteristic restraint.
But it’s safe to say 2019 is a strong contender to knock that horrible year into second place.
It started with a literal bang when her husband, Prince Philip, crashed into a car carrying two women and a baby in January – and it snowballed from there.
A widening rift between grandsons William and Harry; controversy after controversy dogging Harry and his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex; Britain pushed to the brink of a constitutional meltdown; scandals involving more members of her family – the list goes on and on.
Yet all these headaches pale into insignificance compared with the monumental migraine her favourite son has caused her.
And it must’ve been with a heavy heart that the queen summoned her precious Andrew (59) to Buckingham Palace to tell him he was sacked from royal duty.
This story is from the 5 December 2019 edition of YOU South Africa.
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This story is from the 5 December 2019 edition of YOU South Africa.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
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