As a rueful Queen Elizabeth once said of a particularly rough year for the royal family, 2011 is “not a year on which” Queen Nancy Pelosi “shall look back with undiluted pleasure.” The former House Speaker relinquished her crown — er, gavel — in January. It’s been an epic downhill ski crash ever since.

Most recently, Pelosi faced questions from liberal “60 Minutes” and conservative investigative author Peter Schweizer about a 5,000-share Visa stock purchase she made with her husband as the House was considering credit card regulations.