Why Queen Elizabeth Could Be Facing Another ‘Annus Horribilis’

2019 was a rough year for the royal family and many felt it was going to be known as another “annus horribilis” for Queen Elizabeth because of all the drama and negative reports that surrounded her and the rest of the Windsor clan. However, 2020 is also shaping up to potentially be another bad year for her according to a royal expert.

On a new episode of the ROYALS podcast, commentator Angela Mollard revealed that because of everything that has already happened this year, as well as other events that are set to happen, 2020 could very well be the “annus horribilis.”

“I think this could be annus horribilis part 2, don’t you?” she said. “1992 was the last time she claimed it was her worst year. Of course, three of her children separated, there was the Windsor Castle fire, all sorts of things happened that year.”

As for the things that are set to potentially make the year so terrible are the drama that will likely surround Princess Beatrice’s royal wedding in May. Not only will the fact that another wedding is taking place likely ruffle feathers due to the potential cost to taxpayers, but Prince Andrew’s involvement at his daughter’s nuptials could also cause a stir following his step back and scandal from 2019.

“She’s got Prince Andrew’s embroilment with the Jeffrey Epstein case, she’s got the management of Harry and Meghan exiting the Royal Family, she’s got her own husband’s poor health and she’s got Beatrice’s wedding,” Mollard said.

“It should be a joyous occasion, but there’ll be much speculation around it in terms of who’s paying for it and that sort of thing,” she added. “I think poor Beatrice is going to have a wedding that’s going to be embroiled in controversy purely because parts of it will be paid for by the public purse and there’ll be questions around that, depending on how the Prince Andrew situation develops.”

Of course, the leadup to the wedding isn’t the only thing that will potentially threaten the Queen’s year. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle got the year off to a rough start with their bombshell announcement that they would be stepping down as senior lives and living new lives in Canada. They have since been stripped of their HRH titles and effectively left royal life behind as a whole.

In addition to their leaving royal life behind the royal family has also been rocked by another shocking announcement in 2020. In February, Peter Phillips, the son of Princess Anne and her first husband Mark Phillips, announced he and his wife, Autumn, were getting divorced.