MONARCHY MOVES ON
THE QUEEN HAS LEARNED A LOT SINCE HER FAMOUS SPEECH 25 YEARS AGO F or a woman who very rarely shares her personal feelings, it was a bold and surprising thing to do. Nearly 25 years ago, on November 24, 1992, the Queen gave a speech in which she describe
Lessons learned after 1992
Wales. In June, the tell-all book Diana: Her True Story, by Andrew Morton, was published, and revealed the long-term affair between Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles.
Just as everyone was feeling sorry for Diana, in August details of a phone conversation between the princess and car salesman James Gilbey were printed by a newspaper. James frequently called the princess “Squidgy” – and the infamous Squidgygate scandal was born.
Then it was Charles’ turn. A transcript of a recording of him talking to his mistress Camilla (and expressing a desire to be her tampon) appeared in another paper and was promptly dubbed “Camillagate”.
On December 9, a couple of weeks after the Queen’s Guildhall speech – when she would have known what was coming – it was announced that Charles and Diana had decided to separate.
And to top everything off, just four days before the speech – and on what was her 45th wedding anniversary – Windsor Castle caught fire and was extensively damaged.
As she made her speech, the Queen would also have known (an announcement was made two days later) that because of enormous public pressure, she was going to have to start to pay income tax – the first monarch to do so since 1931.
So it really must have felt to Her Majesty like the royal family had hit rock bottom – although things actually got far worse five years later, when Diana died and the Queen was criticised for her unemotional response to the tragedy.
But now, a quarter of century later, those days are long behind her and the family’s fortunes are back on a much firmer footing.
Respect for Her Majesty is at an all-time high, as seen by the outpouring of public affection over the last few years when she celebrated her Diamond Jubilee (2012), becoming Britain’s longest reigning monarch (2015) and turning 90 (2016).
Her family’s rocky relationships are finally under control. Anne is married to her second husband, Commander Tim Laurence. Andrew has never remarried but nor has he embarked on any scandalous romances that have caused his mother headaches – although he does have a strange, co-dependent relationship with his ex Fergie.
Youngest son Prince Edward has pleased his mother by being the only one of her children not to divorce – he and wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, will celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary in 2019.
Charles married Camilla in 2005. The marriage is a very successful one. “She makes Charles very happy – he is much more relaxed thanks to Camilla,” says an insider. “They are fantastic together.”
Then, of course, there is the next generation. Prince William found the ideal bride in Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and they’ve since had the perfect family with the arrival of Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
Prince Harry is a bit of a wildcard thanks to his turbulent love life, and his current girlfriend, American actress Meghan Markle, is not the typical potential royal wife. But it seems that the Queen has
‘ 1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure’
sanctioned the relationship – she has perhaps learned some important lessons and wants her family to follow their hearts.
Royal biographer Robert Lacey says in the years since the annus horribilis, the family has learned they are as vulnerable as anyone else to the ups and downs of life, and have been able to adjust to whatever befalls them.
“I actually think that out of all of the mess, the royal family has discovered it can’t uphold the old-fashioned values of family life any better than anyone else. But you can set an example of care, concern, forgiveness and understanding.”
And with the Queen leading by example, that is exactly what they have done.