The Queen reveals the “most ghastly day” of her life – and it’s heartbreaking
She’s the longest reigning Queen in the history of the British monarch, and in that time, Queen Elizabeth II has experienced some shocking events.
But according to The Sun, what she considers the worst day of her life has been revealed and it’s heartbreaking.
Her Majesty has said that out of everything she has endured, it was the IRA's 1982 attack on London - the Hyde Park bombings - as “the most ghastly day of my life”, according to Andrew Parker Bowles.
The attack took the lives of 11 soldiers and seven horses after the blast was set off in Hyde Park and Regent’s Park on July 20.
Brigadier Parker Bowles, who is the ex-husband of the Duchess of Cornwall, was in charge of the Household Cavalry on the day.
He told the Express: “It was a nice, sunny day and suddenly one heard this explosion one heard all the time in Northern Ireland.
“One of the barriers opened and someone said, ‘They’ve blown up the Guard’. So, we ran down to where the smoke was rising.
“The first horse I saw was Sefton. He had a bloody great hole in him, but he managed to pull through.”
After the events unfolded, Andrew spoke to The Queen and revealed: “She said to me it was, ‘The most ghastly day of my life’.”
Two blasts were set off in London that day.
One of the two was a nail bomb that exploded from the boot of a Morris Marina car in Hyde Park, causing major fatalities amongst a troop of soldiers leaving the Knightsbridge Barracks.
Four soldiers were killed and seven needed to put down. And the horse Andrew mentions, Sefton, survived with terrible injuries.
The second bomb exploded two hours later under the bandstand at Regent's Park, which was responsible for killing seven of 30 military bandsmen and injuring the rest.
At least eight civilians were also injured.
Gilbert McNamee was sentenced to 25 years in prison after it was revealed he was behind the Hyde Park bomb in 1987 but was later released after 12 years under the Good Friday Agreement.
IRA member, John Downey, was charged with four counts of murder in 2013 in regard to the attack, but the trial collapsed.
No-one has ever been charged in connection with the Regent’s Park attack.