The Royal Family is undergoing a series of changes, with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry withdrawing from The Firm, and Prince Andrew facing criticism for his association with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. This has echoes of a year dubbed “annus horribilis” which saw 12 months of misfortune hit the Royal Family.

In 1992, several incidents shook the Royal Family, with the breakdown of two marriages and a devastating fire at Windsor Castle.

Prince Charles split from Princess Diana while Prince Andrew separated from Sarah Ferguson in the same year.

Then in November 1992, a huge fire destroyed 115 rooms at Windsor Castle in another major blow to the royals.

Author and historian Sarah Gristwood explained how the Queen blamed herself for this series of unfortunate events.

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Ms Gristwood told the Daily Mail: “It was like slap, slap, slap across the face of the Royal Family, it just didn’t stop.

“The Queen herself is reported to have said to a friend, ‘Where did I go wrong?’”

Now another series of ’slaps’ may be impacting the royals, with the loss of Harry and Meghan as senior royals and the furore surrounding Prince Andrew after his decision to do a controversial interview with BBC Newsnight.

Prince Andrew took part in the interview with Emily Maitlis on his relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, but many criticised the Duke of York for creating more questions than he did answers.

In the weeks that followed, Andrew released a statement announcing his resignation from royal duties for “the foreseeable future”.

The Duke of York’s statement on stepping down said he had asked the Queen for her permission to step back, to which she agreed.

The statement continued: “I continue to unequivocally regret my ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein.

“His suicide has left many unanswered questions, particularly for his victims, and I deeply sympathise with everyone who has been affected and wants some form of closure.

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“I can only hope that, in time, they will be able to rebuild their lives.

The statement ended with Prince Andrew saying he would cooperate with “any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations if required.”

Then in January of this year, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex released a bombshell statement on Instagram detailing their plans to step back as senior royals and become “financially independent”.

This sent a ripple of shock through the Royal Family, with the Queen, Prince William and Prince Charles reportedly only finding out about the Instagram post 10 minutes before it was due to go live.

The Queen then gathered senior royals to discuss Meghan and Harry’s plans, pledging a resolution “within days”.

After intense discussion, the Queen agreed to their request, and in a statement wished the Sussexes well.

Reports said the Queen was “deeply upset” at Meghan and Harry’s move and some of this upset was seen in her statement on the couple’s new life.

She said she was “entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan’s desire to create a new life as a young family”.

However, the statement made it clear she and the rest of the Royal Family wanted the couple to stay as senior royals.

The statement read: “Although we would have preferred them to remain full-time working members of the Royal Family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family.”

How the Queen is feeling amid all this upheaval, and whether she lays some of the blame on herself as she did in 1992 is unknown, but royal biographer Penny Juror previously said being the monarch was a lonely job.

Ms Juror also praised the Queen as a woman who “feels and hurts as we all do”.

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