The Queen infamously described 1992 as her "annus horribilis”, saying she would look back on the year with bad memories.
She witnessed the breakdown of three of her four children’s marriages, including her heir Charles’ relationship with Princess Diana, and watched her beloved home Windsor Castle burn in a horrifying fire.
The fire was caused by a spotlight which was being used for renovation works, starting in the Queen’s Private Chapel before spreading through huge sections of the historic building destroying everything in its path.
The first burnt for 12 hours, with staff doing everything they could to save the priceless pieces of art on the walls.
The job of telling the Queen what had happened went to her "favourite” son, Prince Andrew. He had been at the site doing research for a course he was taking at Staff College in Camberley. As soon as she heard the news, the late monarch travelled to her beloved castle straight away, arriving at 3pm.
Dressed in a casual coat and headscarf, she got the latest updates from firefighters and looked at the damage. She stayed for an hour, leaving as Andrew briefed journalists on what was happened. He told reporters his mum was "devastated”.
And the fire changed the royal family forever, as funding the refurbishment works meant they had to let members of the public see more of their lives than ever before.
The castle wasn’t insured due to its huge value, so there was a huge row about who should pick up the repair bill. It’s technically owned by the State which means taxpayers should have picked up the bill, but this idea caused fury and there were calls for the royal family to pay for it themselves.
To pay the huge bill, the Queen decided to open up parts of Buckingham Palace that had previously been kept private to tourists. She charged an £8 entry fee, with all the cash going to the repair works. It’s believed this covered about 70% of the bill, with the Queen stumping up £2million.
The initial cost prediction was £60million but thankfully work finished at just over £36.5million.
Just four days after the blaze, the Queen stood up at the Guildhall and gave a speech to mark her 40th year on the throne.
She said: "1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure. In the words of one of my more sympathetic correspondents, it has turned out to be an 'Annus Horribilis'.
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"I suspect that I am not alone in thinking it so.
"Indeed, I suspect that there are very few people or institutions unaffected by these last months of worldwide turmoil and uncertainty.
"This generosity and whole-hearted kindness of the Corporation of the City to Prince Philip and me would be welcome at any time, but at this particular moment, in the aftermath of Friday's tragic fire at Windsor, it is especially so.
"And, after this last weekend, we appreciate all the more what has been set before us today. Years of experience, however, have made us a bit more canny than the lady, less well versed than us in the splendours of City hospitality, who, when she was offered a balloon glass for her brandy, asked for 'only half a glass, please'.”
