A beacon of hope THE QUEEN'S NEW YEAR RESOLUTION

Despite family tragedy and scandalous allegations, Her Majesty is determined to carry on with courage

When December 31, 2020, ticked over into January 1, 2021, the Queen would have been among the millions of people around the world toasting the arrival of a new year and hoping it was much better than the last one.

For the royals, like many other families, 2020 was a testing time. They did not escape the reaches of the Covid pandemic, with several members – including the Queen’s son Prince Charles, 73, and grandson Prince William, 39, – contracting the virus. She and her husband Prince Philip had to isolate at Windsor Castle for months on end and were unable to see family. That made it harder to try to fix the issues that arose with Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex when they stepped away from senior royal roles and moved to North America.

So with the dawning of the new year came the hope that there would be a chance to mend fences. But sadly, 2021 has turned out to be an even tougher year for the 95-year-old monarch, thanks to the loss of her husband, Prince Philip, the ever-widening rift with the Sussexes, the scandal surrounding her son Prince Andrew and bad health.