EXCLUSIVE: Inside Queen Elizabeth's Secret Nervous Breakdown — Sparked by Fears Terrorists Were Set to Assassinate Prince Charles
Queen Elizabeth was said to have been terrified her son was going to be assassinated.
May 7 2026, Published 11:00 a.m. ET
Queen Elizabeth II came closer to a nervous breakdown than the public ever realized during a terrifying period of political unrest in 1969, when fears of a terrorist attack targeting Prince Charles overshadowed one of the most important royal ceremonies of the century.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the late monarch, who died in 2022 aged 96 after a record 70-year reign, is now said to have been left emotionally shattered by mounting threats surrounding Charles' investiture as Prince of Wales at Caernarfon Castle in Wales on July 1, 1969.
Prince Charles prepared for a globally televised investiture ceremony at Caernarfon Castle.
At the time, Charles – now King Charles III, 77 – was preparing for a globally televised ceremony marking his formal introduction as heir apparent.
But behind the pageantry and carefully choreographed television spectacle, Britain was facing growing political instability, violent separatist tensions in Wales and wider international unrest following the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy the previous year.
Royal biographer Robert Hardman has now exposed the Queen's traumatized state of mind and condition during the period.
Secret Terror Threats Haunted Royal Family
Queen Elizabeth approached a total nervous breakdown during the summer of 1969, according to a source.
According to the author, who has just released his latest book, Elizabeth II: In Private. In Public. The Inside Story, the atmosphere surrounding Charles' investiture became increasingly alarming as Welsh extremist groups planted bombs and carried out attacks in the lead-up to the ceremony.
And one royal source told us the Queen was consumed by fear her eldest son could become the victim of a political assassination attempt.
The insider added: "Elizabeth understood better than anyone the symbolic importance of the investiture, but she was also painfully aware that it made Charles a target. There was genuine terror inside palace walls that something catastrophic could happen in front of the world's cameras."
Emotional Toll of Historic TV Spectacle
The monarch carried enormous anxiety while attempting to protect her eldest son, an insider revealed.
Another source familiar with the period described the emotional toll on the monarch as overwhelming.
They said: "The public saw the flawless ceremonial side of the monarchy, but privately the Queen was carrying enormous anxiety. She felt personally responsible not only for protecting her son, but for holding the institution together during a deeply unstable moment in British history."
Hardman described the investiture as "coronation mark two" for the royal family and "the first made-for-TV royal moment."
He said: "That was all lovely except for the fact there was this sort of nascent terrorist movement, Welsh separatist terrorist movement, that started planting bombs around the place. People were actually being killed in the run-up to and even on the day of this investiture, and it was a very tense moment."
Queen Suffered Near Nervous Breakdown
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Queen Elizabeth withdrew from public life for more than a week following the event.
Hardman also reflected on the wider global instability dominating the late 1960s.
He said the investiture unfolded during "a very fractious, febrile time" when "people are really nervous about which way the world is going."
According to the author, the Queen became increasingly fearful in the weeks before the ceremony as threats escalated around Charles and the royal family.
He said: "This was the threat of terrorism against her son, against his event and against the family; there was just so much pressure in the run-up to the event that afterwards, it was really interesting."
After the investiture, while Charles embarked on a tour of Wales, Elizabeth reportedly withdrew entirely from public life for more than a week – an extraordinary move for a monarch known for rigid discipline and relentless duty.
Hardman said Elizabeth "retired to her bed, and canceled all engagements for the week."
The cancellation included Wimbledon appearances, garden parties and other official engagements usually considered untouchable in the royal calendar.
Although Buckingham Palace publicly claimed the Queen was suffering from flu, Hardman said a source later revealed the real explanation was "nervous exhaustion."
He added: "I don't know whether we could call it a full nervous breakdown, because she was back on duty just over a week later, but it was the nearest thing to a nervous breakdown."
