Royal heartbreak: How 'devastated' Queen was in turmoil amid 'end of monarchy' concerns
QUEEN ELIZABETH II was left devastated as fears grew that the "end of the monarchy" could be close after her beloved Windsor Castle went up in flames nearly 30 years ago.
Queen left 'devastated' by 1992 Windsor Castle fire says expert
Ex-royal correspondent Wesley Kerr described the chaos he witnessed on that fateful day on November 20, 1992. Millions of pounds worth of damage was sustained in the fire, which eventually destroyed hundreds of rooms inside the Queen’s residence. On the particular night, only Prince Andrew was in the building, as he was doing research work for a course at Staff College, Camberley, when the fire broke out.
He quickly informed the Queen, who was described as being “devastated” by the episode.
The costs to resolve the horror fire was around £36.5million, and it was fully repaired within a few years.
Speaking on ITV’s ‘Inside the Crown: Secrets of the Royals’, Mr Kerr said: “What a terrible blow that must have been for the Queen. She must have thought I am a custodian of this place and I failed in my duties.
“In the evening, I drove along the M4 on my way back to London and the flames seemed to be about 200 feet high.
“You could see it from a couple hundred miles away.”
He grimly added: “It seemed like the end of the world, the metaphorical end of the monarchy.”
Fellow royal expert Piers Brendon also explained how the Queen was “devastated” by what had happened.
He said “you could see it in her face,” adding: “You don’t often see that depressed look on her features.”
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Reports at the time show the fire started inside the Queen’s Private Chapel at around 11.15am.
It was reported that a curtain inside the room had ignited after a spotlight was pressed up against it.
Members and agents of the household had been in the chapel to inspect works of art.
It comes after another episode of the ITV show revealed how the Queen turned on Prince Philip in a shock encounter while away on royal duty.
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She was reportedly seen “throwing a tennis racquet and shoes” at the Duke of Edinburgh in footage captured by a nearby cameraman.
Robert Hardman, a royal expert, had been researching moments surrounding the Queen and Philip’s iconic Commonwealth tour in 1954.
Mr Hardman said the couple had “forgotten they were being filmed by a Commonwealth broadcasting unit” before the row.
He revealed: “Suddenly the door of this chalet opened and the cameraman thought ‘well we’re starting’ so turned on the camera and started filming.
“At which point out ran the Duke of Edinburgh and this flying tennis racquet, a pair of shoes and a rather angry Queen.
“There was a deathly silence of – what did we just see?”