Daily Star
The year 1992 was meant to be a happy occasion for Queen Elizabeth II celebrating her 40th anniversary on the throne – her ruby jubilee.
The monarch would have had a catalogue of 40 years of accomplishments to look back on, but the Queen was sadly wrapped up in the tragedy of more recent events.
Delivering a speech at Guildhall on 24th November 1992, the Queen made the solemn announcement to her crowd that the year had been an “annus horribilis”.
“1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure,” she told the audience.
“In the words of one of my more sympathetic correspondents, it has turned out to be an ‘Annus Horribilis’. I suspect that I am not alone in thinking it so.”
Just four days before the speech, Windsor Castle had suffered severe damage after catching fire.
Annus horribilis is a Latin term which translates to “horrible year”.
It was somewhat out of character for the Monarch to admit the complete shoddiness of the year, but as you’ll find out as you read on, she was more than justified in making it.
As well as the fire, the Royal family had been smothered in tabloid scandals and public separations – which some say changed the public’s perception of the the Firm forever.
The year began with divorce – which in 1992 was still taboo in the Royal Family.
But the family rattled by two broken marriages in extremely fast succession in 1992, leaving the family’s tight-knit reputation in bits, news.com.au reports.
Prince Andrew, Duke of York, split with his wife Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson on March 19.
Fergie had always been a bit of a wildcard in the Royal Family and was sometimes seen in the company of other men, most notoriously with a Texan billionaire, John Bryan.
When the split was announced, the palace said she would no longer be carrying out any public engagements on behalf of the Queen and Her Majesty herself said she would take responsibility for her widely-reported debts.
Leaving Fergie embarrassingly exiled from the Firm.
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