Editorial: Bad year looms for Queen

The Prince Andrew sex scandal may make it a very bad year for the Queen.

The Prince Andrew sex scandal has the potential to make 2015 another "annus horribilis" for the Queen.

The term - Latin for horrible year - was used by Queen Elizabeth to describe 1992.

Ironically, it was Andrew, the Duke of York, once again who was part of the reason it was not a good year for Her Majesty. He had just separated from his wife, the Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson, after she was photographed topless with another man.

However, not all the blame for the annus horribilis-ness of 1992 can be laid at poor old Prince Andrew's feet. The Queen's daughter, Princess Anne, had divorced her husband; Princess Diana had written a tell-all book that took a hefty swipe at the royal family; and Windsor Castle caught fire.

While 2015 still has a long way to go, the destructive potential of this scandal is simply huge.

Virginia Roberts, now in her 30s, has claimed she was a 17-year-old "sex slave" to the Duke's former friend Jeffrey Epstein and says she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew three times. The claims are part of a US civil case against Epstein.

The second son of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip has, of course, denied any wrong doing, but to say that he is in a bit of trouble is an understatement. Even though he is a royal, he is not immune from a police inquiry if Ms Roberts makes a formal complaint to Scotland Yard.

However, that is probably minor compared to the trouble he is in with his mother.

Randy Andy, as British tabloids dubbed him in the 1980s, has some explaining to do.

Methinks, the Queen is not amused.