What was the Queen's 'annus horribilis'?
The year of 1992 was a terrible one for the Royal Family and Queen Elizabeth II summoned the two words that described it more succinctly than anything else and would go down in history – annus horribilis.
In a speech at the Guildhall marking her 40th year on the throne, she referred to it as "not a year I will look back on with undiluted pleasure".
She added: "It turned out to be an ‘annus horribilis."
What does 'annus horribilis' mean?
Annus horribilis literally translates to "horrible year" — and for the royals it certainly was one.
The Queen had to steer her family through several major public relations crises including fire, marriage breakdowns and embarrassing leaks - the scale of which was unmatched in her previous decades as monarch.
Her speech at the Guildhall showed how deeply it had impacted her as she called for "moderation" and "compassion" from the Royal Family's critics.
Yahoo News UK runs down the events that turned the royals' lives upside down.
Sarah Ferguson splits from Prince Andrew – and the Royal Family
The first scandal of the year came in January, when photographs of Sarah Ferguson and a Texan financier named Steve Wyatt on holiday two years earlier were stolen by cleaners and leaked to the press.
In March, the couple’s separation was announced – they didn’t officially divorce for four more years – but it was the beginning of the end for her chequered history with the Windsors.
More compromising headlines emerged in August, when photographs were published in the press of US financial manager John Bryan seemingly sucking the toes of a topless Ferguson while on holiday.
Her expulsion from the inner circle of the Royal Family was reported to be swift and immediate. It would be many years before she was welcomed back – even somewhat – into the fold.
Since then, the Duchess of York has always spoken highly of the Queen. She has even claimed that during the divorce proceedings with Andrew she told Queen Elizabeth that she didn't want a large financial settlement – and instead would rather prize the monarch's "friendship'.
Prince Andrew and Ferguson have maintained good relations and still live together at the Royal Lodge in Windsor.
Anne and Mark Phillips finalise divorce after cheating claims
Having announced their intention to separate the previous September, Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips' divorce was finalised in April.
Their marriage had been plagued by rumours of infidelity on both sides. In 1989, letters to Princess Anne from her mother's equerry — Tim Laurence — had been leaked to the press.
This had been the final blow and led to Anne and Mark separating at the time. Months after her divorce to Phillips was finalised, she married Tim Laurence in a small and discreet ceremony at Crathie Kirk on the Balmoral estate.
The Church of Scotland had different rules about divorced people remarrying, so the ceremony could not have taken place in England in an Anglican Church — particularly as the Queen is supreme governor of it.
Laurence and Anne remain married.
Diana reveals Charles' affair in Andrew Morton biography
For the then-Prince and Princess of Wales, 1992 really was exceptionally bad in terms of public relations.
In June, Diana: Her True Story was released. Unbeknownst to the rest of the Royal Family, Diana had been collaborating with its author, Andrew Morton, for some time. The book opened the door on the dysfunctional state of her marriage to Charles.
Diana admitted to Morton that she suffered from bulimia and Charles' relationship with then Camilla Parker Bowles. Most shockingly, she revealed that she had repeatedly attempted suicide.
While she admitted that she had encouraged her friends and family to cooperate with Morton, it was only after her death that she had been directly involved was made public.
Later in the summer of 1992, just days after Sarah Ferguson's 'toe-sucking' scandal had broken in the press, came yet another scandal.
Squidgygate, as it came to be known, were recordings taken from phone calls in late 1989 between Diana and her close friend, James Gilbey, and published by The Sun in August.
The 23-minute recording featured a male voice referring to Diana as 'Squidgy' and 'Darling' multiple times and saying "I love you".
The recordings are still a matter of controversy: at an inquest into Diana's death in 2008, Ken Wharfe — former protection officer for the princess — said: "It's my belief that this internal recording was probably made by GCHQ."
He added he believed that "GCHQ at that time were monitoring members of the Royal Family because of heightened IRA activity at the time".
The suggestion was dismissed by the home secretary at the time, Ken Clarke, as "wild" and "extremely silly".
The affectionate conversation between Gilbey and Diana also revealed more about her real feelings towards her husband and other members of the Royal Family.
"He makes my life real, real torture," Diana said about Charles.
In December, it was announced that Charles and Diana were officially separating. Although they did not - at that stage - plan to divorce, they would live separate lives going forward.
Windsor Castle Fire
In November, 1992, just four days before the Queen's speech at Guildhall, a huge fire broke out at Windsor Castle.
Faulty electrics started the fire in Queen Victoria's chapel, but it quickly spread. All in all, 115 rooms were destroyed: nine of which were state rooms.
Restoring Windsor Castle took five years, and cost nearly £40 million. Initially, it was said the repairs would be funded by the taxpayer, however this controversial suggestion caused outcry from the public after a long year of sordid scandals.
Instead, Buckingham Palace had to be opened to the public to cover some of the costs. The Queen also used some of her private wealth and had to offer to pay income tax from then on to settle the controversy.
She said in her Guildhall speech that year: "I sometimes wonder how future generations will judge the events of this tumultuous year. I dare say that history will take a slightly more moderate view than that of some contemporary commentators."
The late Queen may well be right. The new season of The Crown will serve as a reminder of what a tumultuous year it was for the royals, and a whole new generation will learn about it for the first time.
Whether they will - after all this time - take the moderate view, remains to be seen.