Queen Elizabeth opens up about the 'worst day' of her life

Queen reveals the worst day of her life

Referring to it as the most "ghastly". - by Grace Back

Queen Elizabeth II is usually tight-lipped on her personal life and experiences, but it's been revealed what she considers to be the most "ghastly" day of her life.

Andrew Parker-Bowles, former guardsman and ex-husband of Camilla Parker-Bowles, has claimed Her Majesty considers the 1982 Hyde Park bombings the "worst day" of her life.

The IRA attack took place in July that year when, a car bomb left on South Carriage Drive killed four soldiers and seven horses as they rode through Hyde Park in Central London to the changing of the guard.

Parker-Bowles was leading the Queen's Calvary that day and described the moment the explosion took place in Robert Hardman's new book, Queen of the World.

"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."

Following the tragedy, Parker-Bowles spoke to Her Majesty and described her words as "She said to me it was "The most ghastly day of my life"."

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This article originally appeared on New Idea.

Grace Back

Grace is the Digital Content Editor at New Idea. Grace is a lifestyle junkie who has previously interned at Dolly, Stellar and marie claire, as well having written in the fashion and beauty sections at Finder.com.au. When not working, you can find Grace heading for the slopes, playing with her pup or stuck in a seemingly endless Instagram scroll.