2019: second ‘annus horribilis’ for the British Royal Family

Last week the Dukes of Sussex, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, announced their resignation as senior members of the royal family. This has brought many doubts to all the followers of the English monarchy and tensions within the royal family. The statements of Queen Elizabeth II have been very cold about it and it is rumored that the couple made the public announcement before they had even discussed their decision with the queen, Harry's grandmother. This announcement comes immediately after what the media have called the second 'annus horribilis' of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, that is, the worst year the royal family has had since 1992. Here is a recount of everything there is to know to understand the current tension in Buckingham Palace.

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The first 'annus horriblis'

There is a reason why 2019 is called the second 'annus horribilis' of the current royal family. Before, in 1992, Queen Elizabeth II had already coined the term to refer to the events that happened that year and that saddened her and weakened the image of the royal family. On the one hand, 1992 was the year in which Prince Charles announced his divorce from Princess Diana of Wales. While this was not the first divorce of the English monarchy (before Princess Margaret, sister of Queen Elizabeth, had already been divorced), it was the first of an heir to the throne, so it was scandalous.

This scandal of the divorce of the princes of Wales was also surrounded by gold in the royal family: Sarah, the wife of the Duke of York, came to the front pages of the newspapers in a topless photo that, contrary to expectations, rose popularity of the royal family but, for the queen, this would be costing them her immaculate family image. And as if that were not enough, Windsor Castle was on fire about to fall completely.

The rumors of an infidelity

This year that has just ended, then, has been the worst year for the royal family since 1992. To begin with, rumors of an infidelity were unleashed by the Duke of Cambridge, Prince William. Although Prince William's lawyers did everything in their power to curb these rumors, it was known that Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, his wife, asked the prince that Rose Hanbury, Marquise de Cholmondeley and with whom the prince was suspected had an affair, leave their social circle.

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Friendship with a pedophile

Another scandal that flooded Buckingham Palace during 2019 was Prince Andrew's friendship with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Last November Andrew announced that he would give up his real tasks due to this scandal. Andrew, the queen's third son, held the title of Duke of York, who, as we know, would also be the protagonist of one of the 1992 scandals.

Carlos wants to reduce the royal family

In 2019 there was also speculation about the future of royal family members. It was learned then that Prince Charles of Wales wanted to filter and reduce the number of members of the royal family. This would mean that he intended to reduce the amount of titles awarded and actual tasks for members outside the line of succession. This would result in that only his close family, that is, his mother and children William and Harry would have official titles and duties for the crown. It could be said that Harry's announcement heeded these pretensions of his father, although he had been one of the beneficiaries.