Queen Elizabeth II: Scandals that rocked her reign as Britain's monarch
The Queen's reign was marred with divorces, sex scandals and racism claims.
On Thursday, September 8, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II passed away at the age of 96.
The revered monarch's rule spanned for over seven decades - the longest by any British royal.
In this piece, we take a look at the controversies and scandals that rocked the most admired reign in the history of the monarchy.
The throne
Interestingly, Queen Elizabeth was not even supposed to be the Queen. This became possible after Edward VIII abandoned his short reign as king for the love of an American divorcée, Wallis Simpson.
Edward VIII's abdication of the throne made it impossible for his kids to take over. This then opened a path for Queen Elizabeth to become Queen after her father King George became king following Edward's exit.
Racism claims
All through her reign as Queen of England, racist claims and allegations were major issues. From the late Queen's late husband, Prince Philip who was known for making remarks described as racist to Princess Kent wearing a blackamoor brooch to her first meeting with Harry’s then-fiancee, Meghan Markle, it was one accusation to another.
Divorces
When it comes to divorces, the British royal family has a penchant for always being at the top. In 1992, the Queen's second son, Prince Andrew's then-wife, Sarah Ferguson was caught having her toes sucked by US financial adviser John Bryan.
That same year, the most watched wedding on TV between then Prince Charles and Princess Diana crashed over infidelity allegations.
The Queen's only daughter, Princess Anna who got married to Captain Mark Philip in 1973, got separated in 1989 and were officially divorced in 1992.
Prince Diana's death
When the news broke of Princess Diana's death in 1997 following a car crash in Paris, the world was brought down to its knees.
The queen's silence for days after the tragic demise of Prince Williams and Harry's mum's death was criticised in many corners
Harry and Meghan's exit
In Feb 2021, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle resigned as senior members of the royal family.
“Following conversations with The Duke, The Queen has written confirming that in stepping away from the work of The Royal Family it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service,” the statement read.
In a tell it all interview with Oprah that same year, Harry and Meghan revealed the unfair role the royal family played in their decision to resign as senior members of the influential family.
Prince Andrew
Prince Andrew was caught in the middle of one of the messiest sex scandals of modern times. Jeffery Epstein an ally of the Prince was accused of child sex offenses. He later committed suicide while in prison over the charges.
When Prince Andrew granted the famous interview with BBC - allegedly without the permission of the royal family over his role in the sex scandal involving his late pedophile friend Epstein, it became clear he was getting into big trouble.
He was stripped off all his royal titles by the Queen.
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