The Queen’s Worst Year

1992 was a year of scandal, tragedy and turmoil for the royal family that stretched the monarchy’s credibility to near breaking point. From Fergie’s topless scandal to Charles and Di’s separation to the Great Fire at Windsor – to the point where no one could quite believe the Queen’s bad luck.

This film argues that the impact of the events of 1992 threw the monarchy into a profound identity crisis. The Monarchy had long since lost its religious mandate, but in 1992 it lost something almost as profound – its ‘fairytale’ reputation, its glitz, glamour and romance, its image as the perfect model family. But what would it become instead, and how did the Queen weather the storm of 1992 to become more popular than ever in 2016?

This film charts the Queen’s worst year month by month, headline by headline, through the chronology of the scandals and setbacks that plagued her in 1992. It began with the announcement of Fergie’s separation from Prince Andrew, continued with the publication of Andrew Morton’s revelatory book about Diana and worsened with the release of the ‘Camilla-gate’ tapes that revealed Charles and Camilla’s long running affair.