diff --git a/core/modules/ckeditor/js/ckeditor.js b/core/modules/ckeditor/js/ckeditor.js
index 313621f..5a4547b 100644
--- a/core/modules/ckeditor/js/ckeditor.js
+++ b/core/modules/ckeditor/js/ckeditor.js
@@ -60,8 +60,17 @@
           editor.updateElement();
         }
         else {
-          editor.destroy();
-          element.removeAttribute('contentEditable');
+          // Try to destroy the CKEditor instance; this may fail if the CKEditor
+          // instance hasn't finished initializing yet, because initializing is
+          // asynchronous (by necessity, because it needs to load plugins, which
+          // themselves may need to load more things etc).
+          try {
+            editor.destroy();
+            element.removeAttribute('contentEditable');
+          }
+          catch (e) {
+            // Empty.
+          }
         }
       }
       return !!editor;