Queen Elizabeth suffered in private with the divorces of 3 children

Queen Elizabeth remained as stoic as ever when the divorces of three of her four children were made public in the 1990s. However, behind the scenes, the story was different.

In the forthcoming biography, “Queen of Our Times: The Life of Queen Elizabeth II,” author Robert Hardman explores the Queen's private grief as the marriages of Prince Charles, Prince Andrew, and Princess Anne came to an end.

"Seemingly stoic, as always, the queen found the divorce talks deeply disturbing," Hardman writes in his book, according to an article in People. "Another former member of the household recalls that, from time to time, there was a glimpse of her despair."

"It distressed her far more than it appeared to," a former staffer told Hardman, recalling her attempt to put the royal failed marriages in some kind of perspective. "I said, 'Ma'am, it seems to be happening everywhere. This is almost common practice.' But she just said, 'Three out of four!" in sheer sadness and exasperation. The pain she's been through should not be underestimated."

Despite what was going on internally, the Queen never lost her cool during her horrible year, or "annus horribilis," in 1992. Throughout that year, she saw a fire that destroyed part of Windsor Castle and the collapse of the marriages of Charles, Anne, and Andrew, as well as the ongoing scandals surrounding Princess Diana and Prince Charles.

"I don't remember a single occasion when I went to see her, and she exclaimed, 'No! What's next?" her former press secretary, Charles Anson, told Hardman in "Queen of Our Times," which will be published on April 5. "The trouble at times was embarrassing, but she moved on. It's immensely reassuring in those situations to work for someone who doesn't feel overwhelmed."

At all times, he adds, the Queen "was never impatient, never irritable, completely stable."

Outwardly, the queen chose "stillness" amid the drama surrounding Charles and Diana's separation, an approach she learned from her father, King George VI.

"Her mother's strategy in these situations—to carry on as if nothing was happening—had earned her the nickname 'imperial ostrich' among the royal staff," Hardman writes. "The Queen's response, as always, was to follow her father's example, absorbed in his days at sea, and treat adversity like the ocean."

"Storms come and go, some worse than others," Sir John Major, who worked so closely with her during this period, told Hardman. "But she will always put her head down and ride through them. The Queen has always lived by the doctrine: 'This too shall pass.'”

"While the Queen has sometimes been accused of acting slowly, there has never been an accusation of panic. Her default mode in the face of a crisis is stillness," Hardman writes.