The six biggest scandals to hit the Royal Family since Queen Elizabeth's death

Following Queen Elizabeth II’s death on September 8 last year, King Charles immediately ascended to the throne.

He was the longest-running Prince of Wales and had prepared much of his life for his moment.

But the King has had anything but a smooth start in his royal transition as the monarchy has grappled with a number of issues.

In the past 12 months, the King has faced some of the biggest scandals to date, from sensational claims from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and the potential royal return of Prince Andrew.

With the first anniversary of the late Queen’s death taking place on Friday, Express.co.uk looks back at the six biggest scandals faced by the royals since last September.

1. Harry and Meghan’s Netflix docuseries

In December 2022, the couple released their highly-anticipated Netflix docuseries, Harry and Meghan.

The six-episode series, which was released in two parts, sent shockwaves across the world after the couple appeared to send more potshots at the Royal Family.

According to the show’s synopsis, Harry and Meghan “share their complex journey in their own words in this docuseries”.

The couple, who have a strained relationship with the Royal Family, fired a host of accusations and claims at the Royal Family – seemingly directing most of their focus on Prince William and the King.

In one episode of the two-part instalment, Harry claimed that William had taken the approach to “scream and shout” at him during a meeting in early 2020 over the Sussexes’s decision to step back as working royals.

Recalling the meeting, Harry said: “It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me, and my father say things that simply weren’t true, and my grandmother quietly sit there and sort of take it all in.”

Harry claimed that his relationship with William had broken down after his marriage to Meghan Markle in 2018.

2. The release of Spare

Less than one month after the release of their docuseries, Harry’s tell-all memoir, Spare, was published.

The Duke of Sussex didn’t hold back, pouring out more claims against the family.

Firing more accusations towards his brother and father, Harry recalled the moment he found out about the death of his mother in 1997.

Blasting his father for his parenting skills, Harry claimed that the King didn’t hug him after telling him the tragic news, also revealing that he didn’t understand the world’s outpour of emotion over the death of his mother.

Harry also recalled a phyical encounter that he had with William in 2019, whereby he got hurt.

Describing the confrontation at his London home, Harry says William referred to Meghan Markle as “rude” – leading to a physical attack by his elder brother.

Harry wrote: “He set down the water, called me another name, then came at me. It all happened so fast. So very fast. He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor. I landed on the dog’s bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me.

“I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out.”

3. Archie and Lilibet’s titles

Under royal protocol, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s two children are entitled to the titles of Prince and Princess due to being grandchildren of the current monarch.

Archie, four, and Lilibet, two, were eligible for the titles after their paternal grandfather became monarch last September. But no decision was announced in the aftermath of the Queen’s death last September.

However, on March 8, the couple sent the world into a frenzy after they referred to their daughter as ‘Princess Lilibet’ in a statement announcing her christening.

The bold statement seemingly meant that the couple now wished for their two children to have royal titles.

Shortly after news of Lilibet’s christening, Meghan and Harry defended their decision to adopt the titles, stating that it is their “birthright” to have them.

It was reported that in December 2022, three months into his reign, King Charles was undecided over his plans to grant his two youngest grandchildren royal titles.

This appears to have been granted as the two children, who are sixth and seventh in line to the throne, now stand as ‘Prince’ and ‘Princess’ on the official Royal Family’s website.

4. Meghan snubbed the Coronation

It was confirmed earlier this year that, despite tensions at an all-time high, both Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were invited to the King’s Coronation.

But the couple left the Palace hanging after failing to offer a quick response over whether or not they would attend, with them finally revealing their decision just a few weeks before the event.

Harry attended the Coronation solo, with Meghan deciding to skip the King’s big day.

A statement released by the couple, via their spokesperson, read: “Buckingham Palace is pleased to confirm that the Duke of Sussex will attend the Coronation Service at Westminster Abbey on 6th May. The Duchess of Sussex will remain in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.”

5. The eviction of Angela Kelly

Back in May, Angela – who worked as the late Queen’s dresser until her death last year – was spotted moving her belongings out from her grace-and-favour home in Windsor.

Although it was reportedly that the King had gifted her a new home, the news collided with a recent post on her personal Instagram page.

The post read: “No matter how kind and generous you are, you’ll never satisfy an ungrateful person.”

But the gift of a new home does appear to come at a price – with her no longer being able to discuss her close friendship with Queen Elizabeth II any longer.

Despite this, it is believed that prior to the late Queen’s death, she gave Angela “lieutenant” permission to write one more book.

6. Andrew’s potential royal return?

Since the death of the late Queen, it has been widely speculated whether the King would bring his younger brother back into the royal fold.

Following the widespread scandal over his friendship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, Andrew stepped away from public life in 2019.

Andrew has maintained that he cut ties with the American businessman following his conviction and has repeatedly and vehemently denied the allegations of sexual assault against accuser Virginia Giuffre or that he had any knowledge of wrongdoing committed by Epstein.

Despite this, some things have recently come to light that could mean Andrew is set for a royal return.

Last month, it was reported that Andrew had been invited to join the royals at Balmoral for the summer break there.

He was also spotted in a car with the Prince and Princess of Wales on their way to a church service in Balmoral – hinting that William could also be set to welcome his uncle back into the fold.