She has endured terrible wars and family tragedies. But in her 66 year reign there is one day that stands out as the worst for the Queen. Photo / Getty Images
She has endured terrible wars and family tragedies. But in her 66 year reign there is one day that stands out as the worst for the Queen. Photo / Getty Images
The Queen is famously stoic, but the monarch has revealed the one day that she considers to be "the most ghastly" of her life.
According to Andrew Parker-Bowles, former guardsman and ex-husband of the Duchess of Cornwall, Her Majesty considers the 1982 Hyde Park bombings among the worst days of her existence, reports the Daily Mail.
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.
The carnage of the bombing included seven horses on their way to the changing of the guard. Photo / Getty Images
Brigadier 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.
Speaking to Hardman he said: "One of the barriers opened and someone said, 'They've blown up the Guard'. So we ran down to where the smoke was rising."
On July 20, 1982, a car bomb left on South Carriage Drive killed the soldiers as they rode through Hyde Park in Central London to the changing of the guard.
Andrew Parker-Bowles with then-wife Camilla, received an OBE two years after the bombings. Photo / Getty Images
The explosion killed Roy Bright, Dennis Daly, Simon Tipper and Jeffrey Young and injured other members of the Royal Household Cavalry. Some 31 people were injured in total.
Seven horses were also killed as the soldiers travelled from their barracks to Buckingham Palace. Another horse, Sefton, survived terrible injuries and became a national hero.
The investigation into the bombing led police to prime suspect John Downey, through fingerprints on parking tickets and a description given by witnesses of two men carrying out reconnaissance in the area before the attack.
Sefton the horse became a national icon. Photo / Getty Images
An arrest warrant was issued, but it was decided not to seek Downey's extradition from the Irish Republic in 1989, in part due to the lack of strong evidence against him, the court was told.
John Downey, 66, was due to stand trial at the Old Bailey in 2014 for the atrocity.
But convicted IRA terrorist Downey was told he would not face prosecution because of a letter – dubbed a 'get-out-of-jail-free card' – mistakenly sent to him in connection with the 1999 Good Friday Agreement, saying he was not wanted by police.
Trooper Steven Sullivan (18) who sustained minor injuries and Corporal James Pitt with bandages on his face after the bombing. Photo / Getty Images
But in February this year after being denied legal aid five times to help launch the civil action, funds have finally been granted to the families who have spent some 36 years campaigning for justice.
Mark Tipper, whose 19-year-old newlywed brother Simon was killed, said the funds to take a civil case against Downey will help the families in their quest for the truth.
