The Biggest Scandals Of The British Royal Family During The Reign Of Elizabeth II. Sexual Harassment, Swastika And Megxit

You don't choose your family. Many scandals are connected to the British royal family during the reign of Elizabeth II. These include the alleged sexual abuse of a 17-year-old girl, Prince Harry's turbulent youth full of alcohol and drugs, but also divorces, alleged infidelity and accusations of racism.

Divorces, alleged infidelity
and the mysterious death of Diana († 1997)

One of the biggest cases of the royal family, concerns the death of Princess Diana, the wife of the then Prince Charles - the future King Charles III. Even after 25 years, many conspiracy theories continue to circulate about Diana's death, while some believe that her car accident may have been planned. The alleged reason was said to be so that Prince Charles could marry his current wife Camilla.

Princess Diana talked about her troubles with her husband in an exclusive interview for the BBC, which caused conflicting reactions. In it, Diana spoke openly about postpartum depression, bulimia and self-harm. According to Diana, there were always three people in the marriage - her, Charles and Camilla. Apparently, she also suffered from psychological difficulties as a result of problems in the relationship.

Constant mutual conflicts and alleged infidelities on both sides dragged on for many years, and the couple began to live separately in 1992. When Diana's statements from the interview reached the queen, she granted the couple a divorce. They officially divorced in 1996. A year later, Diana tragically died in a car accident with her partner, Egyptian film producer Dodi Al-Fayed. The queen did not comment on her death until five days later.

"I want to pay tribute to Diana. She was an extraordinary and gifted human being. In good times and bad, she never lost her ability to smile and laugh or inspire others with her warmth and kindness,” she said in a speech. Prince Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005. Queen Elizabeth II. nor her husband Prince Philip were present at the wedding, writes Time.

Divorce between the children of Queen Elizabeth II. was nothing new. Princess Anne, the Queen's only daughter, announced back in 1992 that she was divorcing her husband Mark Phillips. She subsequently married a naval officer, Timothy Laurence.

Wild Harry and nude photos of duchesses (+ 2002)

In his youth, Prince Harry was clearly the most controversial member of the royal family. There were several reasons. At the age of 17, he admitted to his father that he had tried marijuana, so he had to spend one day in a rehabilitation center, where he was allegedly taught about the negative effects of the drug, writes Telegraph. 

In 2005, when he was 20 years old, a photo of him wearing a Nazi costume was published in The Sun newspaper. He apologized for choosing inappropriate clothing through a spokesperson, the BBC reports. He clarified that it was not a public event, but a private masquerade party at a friend's birthday party.

Seven years later, The Sun published photos of a naked Harry having fun at a private party in Las Vegas. Someone thought they'd send a picture of the undressed prince to the tabloids and at least make some money. However, it was not the last time. The tabloid later also acquired nude photos of the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton and Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle sunbathing.

Although these relatively innocent scandals caused a stir for a short time, none of them matched the rebellious attitude of Prince Harry. At one time, he did not avoid not only the constant consumption of alcohol, but also drugs, which he said he used to dull the pain after the death of his mother, Princess Diana, writes People with reference to the documentary The Me You Can't See from AppleTV+. Harry was only 12 years old at the time of Diana's death.

Queen's son allegedly paid for a "sex slave"(2019)

What is lawful for God, is not lawful for an ox? With Prince Andrew, this could be partially true. He allegedly paid the company of a 17-year-old girl with whom he claimed he had sex, and when he got into trouble, the royal family helped him.

Although he lost his military and royal titles due to suspicions of alleged sexual crimes, the crown decided to help Andrew with the payment of an out-of-court settlement and the fees of top lawyers. According to the Telegraph's calculations, they cost several million pounds.

"With the consent and permission of the Queen, the Duke of York was stripped of his military titles and royal patronages. The Duke of York will no longer hold any public functions and will continue to defend his case as a private person," said Buckingham Palace, , which continued to support Andrew, in a statement on Twitter. Andrew could not afford such large expenses himself.

A statement from Buckingham Palace regarding The Duke of York: pic.twitter.com/OCeSqzCP38

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) January 13, 2022

The charges allege that Andrew sexually abused a 17-year-old young woman in 2001. He allegedly got to the girl through the infamous sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. According to news.com.au, the now adult woman stated in her statement that she kept Andrew company, they rode horses together, swam in a luxurious pool, but their contact ended in sexual intercourse several times.

According to her, he liked it best when he could lick her between her toes. Andrew denied the allegations from the beginning. It was the first time that a member of the royal family was involved in legal disputes due to suspicion of sexual abuse.

Megxit and alleged racism (2020)

Life in the royal family is far from fairy-tale perfection. Meghan Markle, the wife of Prince Harry, talked about the controversial life on Oprah Winfrey's show. The media and the public gave Meghan Markle a hard time, just like Diana after her controversial interview. Not even the now popular Duchess Kate Middleton had it easy in the family. The tabloids nicknamed her "Waity Katie" because of the long wait for Prince William's proposal.

In an interview with Oprah, Meghan Markle mentioned, among other things, alleged racism. Someone from the royal family is said to have expressed their concern that Meghan and Harry's child will have a darker skin color. She also complained that she had to contact HR to seek professional mental health help. However, they refused to help her because they said it would not look good to the public eye. This approach did not work for Prince Harry, who was also troubled by psychological problems, which he openly talked about in the already mentioned documentary The Me You Can't See.

Meghan and Harry finally decided to leave the British royal family. Their case was named megxit in the media (a reference to Brexit, the departure of Britain from the EU). Queen Elizabeth II. later responded, that if they have a problem with racism, they will definitely solve it. She also emphasized that Meghan, Harry and their son Archie are loved and welcome members of the family.

"In this statement, the Queen was trying to make it clear that they are still part of the family and are welcome in it, but also indicated that their point of view is different and they do not agree with Meghan. The royal family did not convince me with this statement, and it does not seem to me that they will solve anything. The fact that they said they would try to deal with it 'in private' suggests they won't be transparent about it. They should deal with it publicly," stated Peter Murray, an ex-BBC News producer and media expert. 

Meghan Markle did not escape her own accusations at the time. According to The Times of London, Prince Harry's wife allegedly bullied several Buckingham Palace employees in the past. At the time, the Crown stated in a statement that its HR department would deal with these allegations.

A spokesman for Meghan Markle and Harry denied the allegations, saying they were calculated to come at a time when the couple had opened up to the media about their family relationship. In the case of the alleged sexual abuse of Prince Andrew, there was no such investigation, as a result of which the palace was accused of using a double standard, reports Insider.