Fears for The Queen as 'horrible year' takes its toll after Prince Andrew scandal rocks Royal family

19 November 2019, 14:20

By Mared Parry

@maredparry

The Queen has found this year to be a particularly tough one, according to a royal expert.

The Queen has had one of the most horrible years in decades, according to Royal biographer, A. N. Wilson, writing for MailOnline.

And concerns have been growing within the Royal family for the 93-year-old Monarch, especially as the Prince Andrew crisis develops and Her Majesty is without the company of husband Prince Phillip, 98.

READ MORE: Harry and Meghan won't spend Christmas with The Queen, it has been confirmed

Phillip is currently staying at Sandringham after he had a "wobble" a few weeks ago and is scaling back his appearances and activities.

However, the main driving force behind the Queen's current struggles is Prince Andrew, 59, and his friendship with the late disgraced billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.

Charities and business sponsors such as the giant KPMG have started ditching the Duke of York and severing close ties with him following further allegations related to Epstein, which the Duke has vehemently denied.

This weekend he sat down for an exclusive interview with the BBC to address several claims made about him and his previous conduct, which has opened him to further criticism and ridicule.

Since then, pictures of the Prince partying with different women have re-emerged, despite his claims he avoids any form of public touching, had a medical condition that means he can't sweat, and that he always goes on a night out wearing a suit and tie.

This, combined with all of 2019's calamities could in fact measure up to the Queen's "horrible year" in 1992, according to A.N Wilson, whose full name is Andrew Norman Wilson.

He wrote: "On November 24, 1992, the Queen gave a speech to mark her four decades on the throne.

"It was memorable for a phrase she used that is now in common parlance — ‘annus horribilis’, the Latin for ‘horrible year’."

When giving the speech, Queen Elizabeth II spoke about the year, which saw Prince Andrew's separation from Sarah Ferguson, Prince Anne's divorce, the publication of Andrew Morton's biography of Diana exposing her marriage to Prince Charles and also the fire at Windsor Castle, which was controversially repaired using tens of millions of public money.

She referred to 1992 as "not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure".

And A. N. Wilson wrote that he "would argue that this year is proving even more ‘horrible’ than 1992."

Here are some of the main contributors to 2019's toll on Her Majesty.

January

Prince Philip was involved in a car collision which he escaped uninjured, after the car he was driving, a Land Rover had overturned after pulling out from a driveway on January 17th.

The 98-year-old Duke was helped out of the car by witnesses near the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, but it was not confirmed whether he was alone in the vehicle at the time the collision.

He hit a Kia, and the female driver and passenger were treated in hospital, with the nine-month old baby who was also in the car escaping injury-free.

March

The apparent rift between the Cambridges and the Sussexes was revealed to be between the brothers and not just between their wives, as initially claimed.

Royal filmmaker Nick Bullen confirmed to Fox News that Meghan and Kate were never feuding, it was always Prince William and Prince Harry.

“It’s actually that William and Harry have had a rift,” he said. “All brothers fall out. All families fall out. Their fall-out at the moment is becoming public.”

The Princes' rumoured feud has continued throughout the year, with different incidences such as Meghan and Harry splitting from the charity they shared with the Cambridges in June.

Harry also seemed to confirm the feud when he spoke during ITV's documentary called Harry & Meghan: An African Journey.

He said, when asked about the feud: “Part of this role and part of this job, and this family, being under the pressure that it’s under, inevitably, you know, stuff happens.

“But look, we’re brothers, we’ll always be brothers. And we’re certainly on different paths at the moment, but I’ll always be there for him, as I know he’ll always be there for me.”

August

Meghan and Harry took a number of private plane journeys to both Nice and Ibiza, which cause the couple to come under fire by the public and different media.

The pair are known for being passionate about saving the environment, and were criticised after their trip to the south of France alone created seven times more carbon emissions per person than a commercial flight.

November

Prince Andrew's BBC Newsnight appearance understandable caused a lot of strain on the Royal family, despite him not being prosecuted for any offences.

A.N. Wilson also claims that Charles has been trying to step up his power, questioning the Queen's control over the family.

However, the Prince of Wales hasn't received overwhelming support from his sons Williams and Harry or his brothers, Andrew and Edward.

Her Majesty has found all of this year's occurrences to be rather overwhelming, and she's sacrificed having husband Philip by her side, in order to run the country.

The pain will celebrate their 72nd anniversary tomorrow, but instead they will be speaking on the phone and not together, as an insider revealed to The Sun "A few weeks ago Philip had a bit of a wobble and hasn’t felt so energetic.

“He has been living quietly at Sandringham, where he spends most of his time reading and pottering about.

“Until recently he has been very active — carriage riding, fishing at Balmoral and driving around royal estates — although he no longer drives on public roads following his crash in January.

“His mind is as sharp as ever. However the sad reality is that the Queen is more isolated. They are both making an extraordinary personal sacrifice for the country.”