Inside the Royal Family’s gruelling 2024 and how it’s overtaken their 1992 crisis – from shock cancer diagnoses, secret finance woes, the Chinese ‘spy’ scandal and TWO embarrassing TV shows about disgraced Prince Andrew

Back in 1992, Queen Elizabeth II endured the lowest point of her reign after a year of royal scandal and turmoil which she famously dubbed her ‘annus horribilis’.

Charles was at war with Diana, Andrew separated from Sarah, Anne divorced, Windsor Castle went up in flames and public opinion turned against the royals.

Now, 32 years later, a barrage of bad news in 2024 has caused the Royal Family to face what some have called its deepest crisis since the 1936 abdication of Edward VIII.

Prince William, who lost his mother aged 15 and walked behind her coffin six days later, said in November that this year was ‘the hardest year of my life’.

Katherine, Princess of Wales’s and the King’s cancer diagnoses, have been the biggest blows to the family, which has caused the ancient institution to now look threadbare.

It comes on top of two devastating losses for the family in the past three years – Prince Philip in April 2021, aged 99, and Elizabeth II, the longest reigning British monarch in history, in September 2022, aged 96. 

And matters are not helped with disillusioned Prince Harry having been based in the US since 2020 and Prince Andrew being disgraced in 2019 because of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. 

Here, MailOnline looks back at 1992 before fast-forwarding to 2024 to see if this year really was the Royal Family’s ‘annus horribilis’.

The original ‘annus horribilis’ of 1992 

The Royal Family’s original ‘annus horribilis’ (latin for horrible year), happened in 1992 after the late Queen’s children Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and Princess Anne all announced the ends of their respective marriages that year.

There were also leaked phone conversations from Princess Diana and Prince Charles to their lovers – known as the ‘Squidgygate Tapes’ and ‘Camillagate,’ respectively. 

And with the publishing of Andrew Morton’s biography Diana: Her True Story, which revealed Charles had been cheating on Diana with Camilla Parker Bowles, the facade of perfection in the Royal Family seemed to break. 

The royal separations became fodder for critics of the monarchy like then-Labour MP Dennis Skinner, who said: ‘It’s high time we stopped this charade of swearing allegiance to the queen and her heirs and successors when we do not know from time to time who they are.’ 

Then on November 20 that year, a fire caused major damage to Windsor Castle – destroying 115 rooms, including nine state rooms.

Her Majesty was forced to watch as firefighters battled against the inferno sweeping through her childhood home and the largest inhabited castle in the world. 

It is thought that the blaze started in Queen Victoria’s Private Chapel where a faulty spotlight ignited a curtain next to the altar. 

Author and historian Sarah Gristwood said: ‘It was like slap, slap, slap across the face of the Royal Family, it just didn’t stop.

‘The Queen herself is reported to have said to a friend, “Where did I go wrong?”.’

The marriage scandals and mishaps seemed to shatter the royal myth, and just four days after the fire, she gave what would come to be known as the annus horribilis speech. 

It was a frank and deeply personal message delivered to more than 500 VIP guests at a Corporation of London Guildhall luncheon on November 24, 1992, to mark her 40th year on the throne.

Her voice cracking through the effects of a cold, she used what should have been a happy celebration to face down her critics and thank her supporters for their loyalty.

It came at the end of a period of unrelenting scrutiny of the affairs of the royal family – from the marriage problems of Waleses to the break-up of the Yorks.

The Queen at no stage referred openly to her family’s problems, but there was little doubt over her meaning.

She said: ‘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’. I suspect that I am not alone in thinking it so.

‘Indeed I suspect that there are very few people or institutions unaffected by these last months of worldwide turmoil and uncertainty.’

The Queen’s use of the Latin phrase ‘annus horribilis’, which translates as ‘horrible year’, was a play on the more commonly used phrase ‘annus mirabilis’, meaning ‘year of wonders’.

King Charles’ shock cancer diagnosis

Fast forward to 2024 and the Royal Family’s year got off to a terrible start.

On January 17 there was an announcement that King Charles III had ‘sought treatment for an enlarged prostate’.

But the nation went into genuine shock on February 5, when the early evening news bulletins opened with a sombre statement from Buckingham Palace: the King was undergoing treatment for cancer. 

During his procedure for what had been that ‘benign’ prostate enlargement, a ‘separate issue of concern was noted’, which revealed a form of cancer.  

Inside Buckingham Palace a tiny group of ashen-faced courtiers gathered with an air of concerned purpose. Their role was to devise a plan to support the King, and reassure an anxious nation.

The project, the Daily Mail’s Royal Editor revealed in December, was codenamed ‘Operation Delphinium’ – the King’s favourite flower. 

His team agreed the world would learn that the King had cancer in contrast to centuries of royal tradition, but not the type or location, beyond confirmation that it was not prostate cancer. 

Since the reveal, Charles, 76, has continued to fight on valiantly and carry out his duties while undergoing treatment. 

He stopped public engagements initially after beginning treatment but continued doing paperwork and his weekly one-on-one sessions with the UK Prime Minister.

In May, during one of his first public engagements, he made a surprise visit to an army barracks where he joked about being ‘allowed out of my cage’.

His 11-day 30,000-mile round-trip tour of Australia and Samoa in October was hanging in the balance for months with doctors worried about the grueling 24-hour journey and the punishing time difference.

New Zealand was removed from the itinerary following medical advice. 

The health issues mean the King now reportedly travels with two of his personal doctors and a supply of his own blood, to ensure an exact match is at hand in the event a transfusion is required.

A source told Rebecca English: ‘Even when tweaks were made to his diary, it wasn’t because he was too sick, but simply because doctors advised that he needed to be careful in case his diminished immunity made him more vulnerable.

‘He had to take a little time out at the start and had some more rest times built into his programme because of his treatment cycles, but that’s it. It’s pretty remarkable when you think about it.’

Conspiracy around Princess Kate’s absence, followed by heartbreaking news of her cancer diagnosis 

Meanwhile, Princess Kate was admitted to hospital for abdominal surgery on January 16. Aides let it be known her condition was ‘non-cancerous’.

And although the Princess of Wales wished to keep her recovery as private as possible, in the absence of an explanation or updates, a series of conspiracy theories took flight around the world.

Spanish TV reported that the Princess was in a coma, while a rumour emerged from South American stating that she was either in hiding following a disastrous haircut or failed cosmetic surgery.

After almost two weeks of hysteria and wild speculation, the ‘Where is Kate?’ brigade had an answer of sorts on March 10 as Kensington Palace released a photograph of Kate and her children.

But instead of calming the speculation down, it sent the commentariat into overdrive due to inconsistencies with the photograph due to minor editing. 

Instead of a royal statement, the Princess issued a first-person apology via Twitter/X, confessing that it had been her who had made the tweaks. 

The speculation came to an abrupt halt at 6pm on March 22 when the Princess appeared in a pre-recorded video message to say she was undergoing treatment for cancer.

It was officially confirmed that the chemotherapy had started in late February. 

Due to the disease, the Princess has mostly kept out of the limelight and her public appearances have been few and far between. 

Sarah, Duchess of York’s skin cancer procedure

Although Sarah, Duchess of York, is not a frontline royal any more, she became the third member of the family in quick succession to announce a medical procedure at the beginning of 2024.

It came after she revealed a diagnosis of malignant melanoma, a form of skin cancer. 

It was her second cancer diagnosis within a year, having been diagnosed with breast cancer in the summer which led to her undergoing a mastectomy and subsequent reconstructive surgery.

She had discovered an early form of breast cancer during a routine mammogram screening.

The Duchess of York plays a supporting role for the royals and is the mother of Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice.

‘Naturally another cancer diagnosis has been a shock, but I’m in good spirits and grateful for the many messages of love and support,’ Sarah said on Instagram. 

Prince Harry’s continued estrangement and absence

Due to ill-health in the family, some commentators have claimed there is a ‘Prince Harry-shaped hole’ in the Royal Family. 

Charles’s slimmed-down monarchy mantra means ‘the pressure is on a much smaller team’ to perform, but it has been placed in jeopardy because of the health issues.

However, despite the need for Harry having never been so great, the disillusioned prince continues to wallow in California.

Although Harry returned to the UK after making an emergency dash from the US to see the King following his cancer diagnosis. The duke cleared his diary and made the journey alone, with Meghan and their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet remaining at home in California. 

But there was no reconciliation between Harry and his brother the Prince of Wales during the visit, after the duke spent around 45 minutes at Clarence House seeing Charles.

He last appeared alongside the Windsors and the Waleses at the King’s coronation, but hurried home immediately afterwards to mark his son’s fourth birthday.

Since stepping down as working royals in 2020 and moving to California with their family, the Sussexes have aired allegations and grievances against the monarchy and members of Harry’s family.

The duke’s allegations against his family appeared unrelenting in the aftermath of Megxit with his Oprah interview, and, in the months following the Queen’s death, his Netflix documentary and memoir Spare.

There were accusations of racism in relation to Archie’s skin tone before he was born – with the remarks in the end alleged to have come from two senior royals – and claims Kensington Palace lied to protect William over reports he allegedly bullied Harry out of the royal family.

While Charles and Harry were said to still speak, William has reportedly not been in contact with his brother for an extended period of time.

However, Harry previously suggested that the King’s health troubles could lead to a reconciliation with the family.

Asked during an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America whether the cancer diagnosis for Charles could have a ‘re-unifying effect’, Harry replied: ‘Yeah, I am sure.’

In an unexpected move in late October, William publicly named his brother in an interview about homelessness – the first time he has done so since 2018. 

He recounted how their mother, the late Princess Diana, had taken both of her young sons to a homeless shelter in London. 

Many suggested that the public acknowledgment of his brother could be an early olive branch for better relations between the warring siblings. 

Questions raised over Charles and William’s secret financial dealings

The monarchy took another hit in November when it was revealed King Charles makes millions out of the cash-strapped public services such as the NHS through his secretive royal finances.

The revelations by the Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches that the King’s Duchy of Lancaster, along with Prince William’s Duchy of Cornwall, make a fortune from a property empire that extends to thousands of leases spread out over the country.

As well as the NHS, the Ministry of Defence, local authorities and other public bodies are swelling the coffers of the Duchies. 

Charities – even those where the King is patron – are also stumping up millions, the five-month investigation of more than 5,000 landholdings and properties shows. 

Duchy money is private income for Charles and William on top of the Sovereign Grant, which will pay the Royal Family £132 million next year, up 50 per cent on this year. 

The revelations came as struggling Britons were hit by Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s £40billion tax hike budget – and will spark renewed debate about how much tax the royals should pay, and how secretive they are about their operations. 

The Labour government is not instinctively sympathetic towards the monarchy. 

And the story was presented as a sceptical observation to the sheer amount of money that the Duchies earn.

It is one of the biggest negative stories the King (and indeed his eldest son) have received for a while. The findings will undoubtedly sting the whole Royal Family.

Two TV shows rehashing Prince Andrew’s disastrous BBC interview about Jeffrey Epstein  

When Prince Andrew was forced to step back from public duties in 2019 following his car crash interview with the BBC, the Royal Family hoped that would be the end of the scandal.

But 2024 proved that the disgraced Prince’s friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein continues to follow the family.

King Charles’s brother is an ongoing source of humiliation, due to two TV shows about the scandal being broadcast this year.

Netflix rehashed the devastating Emily Maitlis interview in April, with one and a half hour TV film called Scoop.

It starred Gillian Anderson as Maitlis, Rufus Sewell as Andrew and Billie Piper as the young BBC Newsnight guest producer Sam McAlister who booked the interview.

It was followed by Amazon’s version of the interview in September. 

A Very Royal Scandal, a three-part series released on Amazon Prime, tells the story of Maitlis’s version of events (instead of McAlisters) in the build up to the interview which eventually led to the Duke stepping down from public life. 

In the show, Ruth Wilson plays Maitlis, Clare Calbraith is McAlister and Michael Sheen is Andrew. 

Both series garnered reasonable reviews and pulled in decent viewing figures, but were seen by the Firm as a reminder that past mistakes can still come back to haunt them.

Death of husband to the King’s second cousin from ‘catastrophic head injury’

Another tragedy to befall the Royal Family in 2024, came in February when Thomas Kingston, the husband of their daughter Lady Gabriella Kingston, was found dead at his parents’ home. 

Lady Gabriella, 43, is the King’s second cousin as they are both great-grandchildren of King George V. Her parents are Prince Michael of Kent, 82, and Princess Michael of Kent, 79. 

An inquest into the tragedy earlier this year heard 45-year-old Mr Kingston died from a catastrophic head injury and a gun was found near his body. 

The financier married Lady Gabriella at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, in 2019 with Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, among the guests. 

He was a close friend of Pippa Matthews – the Princess of Wales’s sister – and the pair were said to have dated in 2011.

Lady Gabriella, who has worked as an arts and travel director for a brand company, is a writer and contributing editor.

The Royal Family have rallied around her, with the Daily Mail’s Richard Eden reporting that she had moved out of the Notting Hill home she shared with her husband and back into Kensington Palace with her parents in April.

Announcing his death in February, Buckingham Palace described Kingston, a financier, as a ‘much loved member of the family’ who was being mourned by King Charles and Queen Camilla. 

A friend of the couple said: ‘They remained childless but were happily married until the end.’ 

For confidential support, call Samaritans on 116 123, visit samaritans.org or visit www.thecalmzone.net/get-support 

The battle for Royal Lodge between Charles and Andrew

The TV shows about Prince Andrew’s disastrous Newsnight interview were not the only problems the disgraced royal caused for his family in 2024.

The disgraced Duke of York, 64, has long been engaged in a battle with his brother, Charles, over his £30million property in Windsor – Royal Lodge.

The long-running family feud between the brothers over the duke’s continued residence at the 30-room mansion where he has lived for 20 years. 

Earlier this year the Duke of York rejected the opportunity to downsize to the nearby Frogmore Cottage, which used to be occupied by Harry and Meghan.

Friends of the Duke say he has a ‘cast iron’ 75-year lease from the Crown Estate.

As part of the deal, the prince would only have to pay £250 a week in rent, but he would have to maintain the property which is understood to cost around £400,000 a year. 

He also has to pay for the ten privately funded guards who patrol the grounds of the house and its 98-acre estate – costing around £3m a year.

In October, it was revealed the King stopped paying for the security costs in a bid to drive his younger brother out of the mansion once and for all.

But Andrew has stubbornly vowed to remain in the house, which he shares with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, and the battle between the brothers has caused for some awkward family gathers.

Among senior courtiers, though, his continued presence at Royal Lodge is not just an embarrassment but a persistent source of public criticism for the monarchy. 

Princess Anne gets a head injury from a horse 

To further drive home the fragility of the monarchy, Anne – lovingly known as the ‘no-nonsense Princess’ – was taken to hospital in June with minor head wounds and concussion.

The former Olympic equestrian was walking on her Gatcombe Park estate when she was hurt.

Although she couldn’t recall how she was injured, her medical team revealed her injuries were consistent with the potential impact from a horse’s head or legs.

The Princess Royal, 74, would go on to miss nine engagements while recovering from her injury.

The King’s sister is the hardest working royal in terms of annual engagements at a time when the King has cut back on events and Prince William has also taken time off to care for his wife.

Queen Camilla’s chest infection was a form of pneumonia

Towards of the end of the year Camilla endured a sticky chest infection for around a month that turned out to be a form of pneumonia.

It was first discovered when she was said to be feeling particularly ‘fatigued’ on November 5 when it emerged she had been forced to pull out of this year’s Remembrance events.

The Queen contracted her chest infection after a long haul trip to Australia and Samoa and has pulled out a series of engagements since then, including the Royal Variety Performance, the Gladiator II premiere and the Remembrance Day service at the Cenotaph. 

The 77-year-old was suffering from post-viral fatigue and also had to miss the outdoor parts of the Qatari visit on December 4 after being urged by her doctors to take more time to recover. 

Sources stressed there was no cause for alarm, saying the chest infection had simply left the Queen ‘with significantly diminished reserves of energy’. 

It is understood the Queen was not taken to hospital for the pneumonia, but faced bouts of extreme tiredness. 

Prince Andrew linked to an alleged Chinese spy 

As the year was coming to an end, yet another issue surround Prince Andrew arose, this time involving, yet again, one of his personal relationships.

The Duke had to pull out of spending Christmas with the Royal Family a row broke out over his relationship with alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo. 

There are grave concerns about the depth of Andrew’s involvement with Mr Yang who, it has emerged, referred to himself as the ‘special envoy of Prince Andrew’ and was appointed by the royal as head of his Pitch@Palace China, a Dragons’ Den-style initiative from which the Duke took a cut. 

Andrew insists he has done nothing wrong, despite a judge raising questions about how the alleged spy could have become such a ‘close confidant’.

It follows on from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal and concerns over the Duke’s role as an official UK ‘trade ambassador’.

The Court Circular also records Yang as having been invited into several royal residences.

But the most damning revelation of recent days was the emergence of correspondence in 2021 from his ‘senior advisor’, Dominic Hampshire, found by security services on Mr Yang’s phone.

Mr Hampshire emphasised the ‘strength’ of the relationship with the Duke and his family, adding: ‘Outside of his closest internal confidants, you sit at the very top of a tree many, many people would like to be on.’

More worryingly for palace officials, Mr Hampshire wrote that after a meeting with Andrew, they had ‘wisely navigated our way around former private secretaries and we have found a way to carefully remove those people who we don’t completely trust’.

He added that ‘under your guidance, we found a way to get the relevant people unnoticed in and out of the house in Windsor’ – a reference to Royal Lodge, Andrew’s Berkshire home.

There is no clue who these individuals are – or why they would be so keen to circumvent security to smuggle people into his home.

Investigations continue into what access Mr Yang had when he visited royal residences several times on Andrew’s invitation.

Mr Yang, a businessman who forged close ties to the Duke of York and met senior politicians including Lord David Cameron and Baroness Theresa May, has been banned from the UK since last year.

He has insisted he has ‘done nothing wrong or unlawful’, and said it is ‘entirely untrue’ to claim he was involved in espionage.