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The Queen herself referred to 1992 as her “annus horribilis” – a year she would not look back on “with undiluted pleasure.”
Beset with scandals – Prince Charles separated from Diana, Princess Anne divorced from Mark Philips, Andrew Morton published his explosive book; ‘Diana: Her True Story’ and Fergie was pictured on the front page of the tabloids having her toes sucked by American financial manager John Bryan in southern France.
And then November 20, 1992, further disaster struck after a blaze broke out in the Queen’s Private Chapel on the first floor of Windsor Castle. The fire caused extensive damage to one of the Queen’s residence – estimated at £36.5 million.
In a speech given at Guildhall on November 24, 1992, to mark 40 years since her accession to the throne, the Queen said: “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. Distance is well-known to lend enchantment, even to the less attractive views. After all, it has the inestimable advantage of hindsight.”
The series of dramas and scandals led to the formation of the ‘Way Ahead Group’.
The group was comprised of the Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, Princess Ann, The Lord Chamberlain, and the Private Secretaries of The Queen, Prince Philip and Prince Charles, according to Royal Central’s Jess Ilse.
It’s aim was to propel the royal family forward and plan for the future during a low ebb for the monarchy.
Royal family latest: Prince Charles and Diana separated in 1992 after 11 years of marriage (Image: Getty )
Royal commentator Phil Dampier, who has been writing about the royal family for more than 30 years, was one of the first journalists to identify and write about the group.
He told Express.co.uk: “In the early 1990s when the royal marriages broke up, Windsor Castle caught fire and the Royal Yacht Britannia was decommissioned, it was a very very low ebb for the Royal Family.
“It is impossible to exaggerate how bad things were and it was a really bad thing for the monarchy. People were talking about the monarchy being finished and it certainly was on its knees.
“The family was going through a difficult period, it was felt that they needed to talk things through and try to plot a way out of it, and eventually things did improve with time.
Royal family latest: Sarah, Duchess of York, was caught in a photo scandal in 1992 (Image: Getty )
“The Queen was a pragmatist and she learnt through some of the mistakes that were made. And today the monarchy is a lot more popular than it was.”
He wrote about the group, unbeknown to the public at that stage, in The People newspaper.
Writing in January 1995, he reported the Queen had summoned Prince Charles and Andrew to the Sandringham Estate for a “crunch summit” about their ill-fated relationships.
“The Queen and Prince Philip spent the day with their sons discussing their future, and Di and Fergie weren’t part of it,” Mr Dampier wrote. “It is now believed that the Royal Family is gearing up for a double divorce within months.”
Windsor Castle was devastated by fire in 1992 and ended the annus horribilis year (Image: Getty )
However those divorces did not come and one year later the Queen ordered all her children to the Norfolk residence and told them “the very future of the Monarchy was in danger.”
She ordered Prince Charles to hurry up his divorce to Diana, the Duke of York was told unless Fergie agreed to a reconciliation to divorce her, Prince Edward was warned to stop putting off his marriage to Sophie and Prince Anne was told to support her brothers more.
A Royal insider told Mr Dampier in 1996: “They all looked grim when they arrived. They had clearly been called away from their weekends at short notice and were read the riot act.
“The Queen is at the end of her tether. She can see her life’s work disappearing before her eyes.”
Royal family latest: The Queen surveys the damage after the Windsor Castle fire (Image: Getty )
Not only did the group meet to discuss the ongoing scandals plaguing the royal family, but the finances of the royal family were examined.
One of the decisions made by the Way Ahead Group was that the Queen would start paying income tax.
She would also take responsibility of the working expenses of most of the royal family and the Civil List was cut so only the Queen, Prince Philip and the Queen Mother were supported by the taxpayer.
It would be the first time since the 1930s a British monarch would start paying income tax.
Royal family latest: The Queen makes her “annus horribilis” speech at Guildhall (Image: Getty )
And it was decided the taxpayers would not foot the bill for Windsor Castle’s refurbishment after the fire, instead Buckingham Palace would be opened to the public in the summer to pay for the restoration. While the Queen donated £2 million of her personal wealth to the refurbishment.
Despite the group no longer existing – a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said “the Way Ahead Group hasn’t existed for some time” – Mr Dampier said there is an argument for it to be reformed, giving the problems the monarchy is facing.
“I can see a case for trying to resurrect it,” he told the Express. “They are a bit all over the place at the minute. You have these problems with the Markle family, clearly there was a mistake there, they didn’t really deal with that very well, and you have a lot of senior people leaving and obviously with Prince Philip retiring as well.
“I can well imagine there is a bit of a vacuum and a lack of direction, and in some ways you could argue whether there is a case for the royals reforming it and talking to each other again.”
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