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Updated May 30th, 2022 at 15:53 IST

A look at challenges Queen Elizabeth II faced as she completes 70 yrs on Britain's throne

From Princess Diana’s death to Prince Andrew's scandal, Queen Elizabeth II's reign witnessed several instances when the royal family came under criticism.

Reported by: Aanchal Nigam
Queen Elizabeth II
Image: AP | Image:self
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From Princess Diana’s death to Prince Harry and Meghan Markel’s tumultuous relationship with the royal household, Queen Elizabeth II’s seven-decade reign witnessed a range of controversies and criticism towards the Royal Family. Over the 70 years of the Queen’s reign, the British monarchy was questioned in unprecedented and unthinkable ways including her son, Prince Andrew’s seedy relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and UK socialite Ghislaine Maxwell. Ultimately, touted as the Queen’s favourite child, Prince Andrew was scrapped off his titles. 

All incidents took place only recently in the last seven decades. Here’s a recap of questions faced by the Royal Family in the recent years as the Queen prepares to mark 70 years on the throne in June which would witness the climax of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

Prince Andrew stripped off his titles (2022) 

In a blow to UK Queen Elizabeth II’s son, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York was stripped of his Freedom of the City of York honour after a vote by councillors in April 2022. Prince Andrew was given the Duke of York title in 1987 when he married Sarah Ferguson. The motion to remove the accolade given to the UK monarch's third child was carried unanimously at a full council meeting.

Additionally, the councillors also called for Prince Andrew to relinquish his Duke of York title in the aftermath of his out-of-court settlement with Virginia Giuffre in the United States. In the settlement of a sexual abuse case, the prince, in February 2022, agreed to pay an undisclosed amount to Giuffre.

Giuffre had sued Prince Andrew in a civil case claiming that he sexually assaulted her on at least three occasions when she was 17. Even though he repeatedly denied the allegations, the out-of-court settlement sparked a fresh crisis for the royal, who was already questioned for his links to convicted sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein and his partner Ghislaine Maxwell. 

Prince Harry, Meghan’s allegations against royals (2021)

In 2021, in the wildly-anticipated bombshell interview of Prince Harry and Meghan with celebrity interviewer Oprah Winfrey, their two-hour-long conversation had several surprising allegations. From Meghan revealing that there were conversations about their son Archie’s skin colour to Harry saying that his father, Prince Charles and brother, Prince William are ‘trapped’ by the conventions of UK monarchy, the damming allegations and revelations by the couple pushed their relationship with the royal family to a new low. 

Meghan has revealed that she had suicidal thoughts and struggled with her mental health shortly after becoming a part of the royal institution. The 39-year-old said in the exclusive sit-down interview aired by CBS that the “stress and isolation” drove her to contemplate taking her own life while she was pregnant with son Archie. She also claimed that the senior Palace official denied her getting treatment for her depression because it would “look bad”. 

In another damming allegation against the Royal institution, Prince Harry and Meghan also told Winfrey that there were conversations in the palace about the skin colour of their son Archie before his birth. She said that Harry told her there had been conversations about how dark her baby’s skin might be and “what that would mean or look like”.

Prince Charles’ right-hand mand resigned over scandal (2021)

In September 2021, Michael Fawcett, Prince of Wales’ right-hand man and the closest and longest service aide of the Queen’s son stepped down from his role as chief executive of The Prince’s Foundation amid a ‘cash for honours’ inquiry. Fawcett resigned from his post after questions were raised about awarding of the Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) title to Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz, a Saudi billionaire, in 2016. According to the leaked letters seen by The Times, Prince Charles’ top aide told a Saudi donor that he would be very happy to help him secure the title while soliciting a £10 million donation from Mahfouz, who denied any wrongdoing.

Prince Harry, Meghan announce ‘step back’ (2020)

Prince Harry and Meghan bid farewell to their careers with “Royal Highness” styles on 31 March 2020, by thanking the community and signing off from their official Instagram account, ‘Sussex Royals’. The royal family’s roller coaster that started with the unprecedented announcement of Duke and Duchess of Sussex ‘stepping back’ as the ‘senior members’ of the family, came to an end with both Harry and Meghan posting their last “thank you” messages and assuring that “the work continues”.

The couple had brokered an agreement with the Queen that they will go their own way from April 2020. 

Harry and Meghan became free to lay hands on new careers and earn money while spending most of their time in North America from April 1. They were barred from using the word “royal” in their branding or take part in any official duties. The couple and the Queen agreed that they would not use HRH (His or Her Royal Highness) titles but Prince Harry would remain a prince while voluntarily ceasing military appointments.

Prince Harry pictured in Nazi costume (2005)

In January 2005, UK tabloid The Sun published an image of Prince Harry on the first page showing the Queen’s grandson wearing a Nazi armband, reportedly at a costume party. The prince, who was 20 at the time, had to release a statement to silence the criticism against the Royal family. He said, “Prince Harry has apologised for any offence or embarrassment he has caused. He realises it was a poor choice of costume."

Princess Diana’s death (1997)

Princess Diana, the first wife of the heir to the British throne, Prince Charles died in 1997 after she became one of the world’s most famous women after marriage to the Queen’s son in 1981. The couple had separated by 1992. However, in one of the most significant lows for the royal family, on 31 August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales died from injuries she sustained in a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris, France. Her death triggered fresh criticism against the Queen’s family, especially considering Diana’s explosive remarks in the 1995 BBC Panorama interview. 

Diana's explosive interview (1995)

Several bombshell revelations were made in the 1995 Panorama interview including Princess Diana describing Camilla Parker as the “third person” in her marriage with Prince Charles and her confession of infidelity with army captain James Hewitt.

In the same TV appearance that was reportedly watched by 23 million people, Prince William’s mother expressed doubts over Prince Charles’ suitability to become the UK monarch. 

Diana's recording with alleged lover & Prince Charles-Camilla recordings leaked (1992)

In 1992, when Prince Charles and Diana were still married, media outlets published the transcript of a candid conversation between the Princess of Wales with her alleged lover James Gilbey. In that conversation, Gilbey had told Diana that he loved her and called Prince Charles’ wife by a pet name ‘Squidgy’ at least 53 times. The scandal was reported by British media as ‘Squidgygate’. 

Interestingly, shortly after that leak, an Australian magazine published the transcript of a call between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, who was Prince of Wales’ longtime married friend. The transcript ultimately confirmed what the rumours at the time had indicated, that Charles and Camilla were romantic partners. Later in 1992, Diana and Charles announced their separation. 

(Image: AP)

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Published May 30th, 2022 at 15:52 IST

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