King Charles III wearing the Imperial state Crown, waves from the Buckingham Palac (Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Forty years into her reign, Queen Elizabeth II described the year 1992 as her ‘annus horribilis’ – or horrible year – in an unusually vulnerable speech.
The characteristically strong and steady monarch stood before 500 guests at the Guildhall to concede that the past 12 months was “not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure”.
1992 was marked by a wealth of scandals, which dwarfed even the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s antics in the four years since their bombshell decision to step down as senior working royals.
Three of the monarch’s children separated from their spouses, intimate details of the Firm’s private lives were splashed on the front pages, and a fire ravaged the late Queen’s most beloved royal property, Windsor Castle.
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A faulty spotlight ignited a curtain and led to a blaze that destroyed 115 rooms at Windsor Castle (Image: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)
Many commentators have questioned whether any subsequent years – 1997, 2019, or 2020 – have surpassed the shame the late monarch felt 1992 brought.
Perhaps 2024 is the only one that has come close to being branded as another annus horribilis – not because of royal scandals and damning newspaper headlines – but due to the unprecedented health crisis affecting those at the very top of the Firm.
Just 16 days into the year, the British public was rocked by not one but two major health announcements.
Kensington Palace announced that the Princess of Wales had been admitted to hospital for planned abdominal surgery, while Buckingham Palace followed less than 90 minutes later with the news that the King will undergo prostate surgery later that month.
For decades, the health of senior royals has been a closely guarded secret, with aides typically giving scant details even when senior members of the Firm have been admitted to hospital.
The late Princess of Wales and the King on a tour of Canada before their divorce (Image: Getty Images)
For years, the public was told the late Queen had “episodic mobility problems” – without further explanation of what exactly that entailed.
But January 16, 2024, signalled a significant shift and a new degree of openness that persisted throughout the year.
“This was a completely new way of doing things,” says Dickie Arbiter, who served as the late Queen’s press spokesman from 1998 until 2000.
“It signalled a new reign, a new way of thinking, a new way of doing things.
“The [late] Queen was brought up in a different generation when you didn’t discuss things like that.”
Weeks later, another unprecedented announcement came from the Palace: the King had cancer.
The shocking update came as a huge blow to the King, who – just 18 months into his reign – had hoped to embark on a normal schedule of royal tours and properly embed himself into the mechanics of the role now his Coronation was out of the way.
But his decision to share his diagnosis with the world humanised him in a way no royal has achieved before.
He was no longer just the King; he was a man facing a heart-wrenching diagnosis.
It was a sober reminder that the cruel disease can affect any of us – even the Head of State – and there’s no question that it would have provided comfort to those in similar situations.
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Being so open had a tangible positive impact, with thousands of men going online to check their prostate symptoms after the King’s initial surgery announcement.
“In terms of the King with his prostate,” Mr Arbiter said, “it was an absolute boom and boost to the NHS in trying to get the message across for men to go and get checked up – and men are reluctant to do that.
“And the fact that the King did it, it sort of, it almost sort of knocked the NHS website off the beam with so many inquiries. So it had a very positive effect.”
The effect on health web pages, namely the NHS and cancer charity websites, soared again after his cancer diagnosis was announced.
Michelle Mitchell, CEO of Cancer Research UK, highlighted the impact when she said: “By being open and transparent, King Charles has helped bring attention to the experiences faced by many cancer patients.
“Such a generous act can help encourage us all to reflect on our health – to listen to our bodies and ask if everything is OK.”
While the King was forced to retreat from his public engagements as he started his cancer treatment, aides were busying themselves with reorganising the royal diary.
Three senior royals were now out of action as the Prince of Wales stepped back to be with his wife and three children, meaning it was down to the Queen, Princess Anne and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh to plug the gaps.
But the trio stepped up superbly, with Camilla “keeping the show on the road”, as one Palace source called it, providing a smiling face of reassurance as she undertook her day job while her husband rested at home.
(left to right) Lady Louise Windsor, the Earl of Wessex, the Duchess of Edinburgh, the Duke of Edinb (Image: PA)
The new normal worked just fine – until alarm bells started ringing when the heir pulled out of a memorial service at the last minute at the end of February.
Social media was awash with speculation that it had something to do with his wife – who hadn’t been seen in public for several months – and the rumour mill only intensified after releasing a doctored family photo two weeks later.
The cruel trolls were only silenced when Kate bravely revealed her cancer diagnosis in a powerful video to the nation.
She didn’t let aides deliver a prepared statement, instead the princess insisted on getting in front of the camera and revealing the news that she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy herself.
It was an incredibly powerful tool, shutting down speculation and showing vulnerability.
Kate’s heart-wrenching news came just a week before Easter, prompting the King to make a bold public gesture by attending the Easter Mattins service and stopping to chat with the public.
The nation was further buoyed when Kate made her first public appearance of the year at Trooping the Colour, followed by her attendance at Wimbledon.
But as the monarch and his daughter-in-law faced cancer battles, tragedy struck when Lady Gabriella Windsor’s husband, Thomas Kingston 45, died from a shotgun wound to the head at his parents’ Cotswolds home on February 25.
The Royal Family has rallied around to help Ella – as she is known to her family and friends – recover from the ordeal in June.
The King invited her to watch his birthday parade from inside Buckingham Palace, marking her first public event since her husband’s death and Kate enlisted her help in planning her annual Christmas carol concert.
And in June Princess Anne was hospitalised with head injuries and concussion after being found unconscious at her Gatcombe Park estate.
Medics believe the royal was struck by a horse, but to this day, Anne has no recollection of the event.
When she stoically returned to work within two weeks of the mysterious incident, with bruising down her face, she told someone: “I can’t remember a single thing about it.”
The Prince and Princess of Wales with George, Charlotte and Louis (Image: KENSINGTON PALACE/AFP via Getty)
As the health of the Royal Family appeared to be improving – with the King returning from a successful long-haul trip to Australia and Samoa and Kate announcing her chemotherapy had concluded – the Queen was struck by a nasty chest infection, which was later diagnosed as pneumonia.
Camilla, who had stood by her husband’s side throughout his diagnosis even though she was privately urging him to take more time to rest, was “knocked for six” and left feeling exhausted from post-viral fatigue.
But after cutting down on engagements and cosying up by the fire, the Queen was back to feeling more herself just in time for Christmas – which she was able to enjoy with her nearest and dearest, as her children and their families were invited to Sandringham for the first time this year.
As the curtain prepares to fall on what has certainly been a “brutal” and “dreadful” year for the Royal Family – words William used to describe 2024 in a revealing interview at the end of his four-day visit to South Africa – would the King describe it as his annus horribilis?
Sources say not. Though the year has been undoubtedly tough and a great test of strength and stamina for all involved, Charles doesn’t consider it a complete write-off.
“There have been just as many highs as there were lows,” says a Palace source, pointing to the successful foreign tour and the King’s ability to conduct 186 royal engagements this year despite his ongoing cancer treatment.
Mr Arbiter also dismisses the suggestion, saying: “No, he won’t look upon it as an annus horribilis.
“If you compare the two, in 1992 there was something happening every single month of the year and many thought this is the end of the monarchy.”
This year has certainly gone off track compared to the one aides had so carefully crafted at the end of 2023.
But far from being derailed, the King has shown incredible strength and fortitude to stay relevant and present the Royal Family in a new, modern light.
He has hailed a new era of openness and is putting his personal stamp on the institution.
Next year, the Palace and monarch are optimistic that the horrors of 2024 are firmly in the past and a visual embodiment of Kate’s message that: “Out of darkness, can come light.”