Was 2024 Princess Kate's annus horribilis?
the definitive timeline of a trying royal year
On November 24th, 1992, Queen Elizabeth gave a speech referring to recent events in her reign as part of an annus horribilis, or horrible year. That year, Prince Andrew separated from Sarah Ferguson, Princess Anne finalized her divorce from Mark Phillips, Prince Charles and Princess Diana formally announced their separation, a major fire broke out at Windsor Castle, the Queen's primary residence, and (to top it all off), Andrew Morton's book Diana: Her True Story was published and serialized.
Many have proposed that 2021 could have given 1992 a run for its money in terms of the Queen’s personal annus horribilis. That year, Buckingham Palace weathered Oprah Winfrey’s interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex—for starters. There was also the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, new allegations against Prince Andrew in relation to his connections with Jeffrey Epstein, the ongoing fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, and the BBC documentary The Princes and the Press.
As 2024 waned, I found myself wondering whether 2024 would receive a similar examination. With a multitude of both personal health crises and public relations snafus to contend with, surely 2024 wasn’t an easy year for anyone at the palace. But at the center of the drama—from beginning to end—was Catherine, Princess of Wales. If 2024 could be described as anyone’s annus horribilis, it should be hers.
Because, look. If you’ve been following royal news this year (and even if you don’t normally; I even got a number of WHERE’S KATE texts from people with whom I haven’t communicated in years), you’ll know that 2024 had Kate's name written all over it. While the previous royal annus horribilis years spread the chaos around, 2024 was laser-focused on the Princess of Wales. If there was a royal drama to be had this year, Kate was to be found at the center of it.
The timeline I’ve laid out reads like a masterclass in how even the most polished royals can quickly get caught in the perfect storm of personal challenges and PR nightmares. We've watched in real-time as Catherine—usually the definition of “keep calm and carry on”—became the unexpected main character of 2024's royal drama. This year transformed Kate from the palace's reliable not-so-secret weapon into the subject of more conspiracy theories than Area 51. Each week came with reports of her mortification at the coverage…and of Prince William’s fury. Between social media meltdowns and palace statement scrambles, it was, to say the least, quite the ride.
So take a walk back through 2024 (if you have the bandwidth for it) with my definitive timeline of Catherine’s year. I’ve included newsworthy moments and public appearances, as well as (where appropriate) glimpses of what else was going on in the House of Windsor at the time.
Dec. 25, 2023: Kate makes her last official public appearance of 2023: walking with the royal family to Christmas church services at Sandringham
Jan. 16, 2024: Kate is admitted to a London hospital—although the public is unaware of this at the time. The London Clinic is a private (read: bougie) hospital known for its world-class cancer care and innovative surgical technology.
Jan. 17, 2024: Kensington Palace reveals in a statement that Kate has had “successful” “planned” abdominal surgery. At this time, the palace noted that it was “unlikely” Kate would resume her public duties “until after Easter,” which this year falls on Sunday, March 31.