Those Prince William and Kate Middleton Affair Rumors, Explained
Now, we’re not official royal watchers by any means. Sure, we love following along with the royal family and all the comings and goings. We enjoy the engagements and weddings and of course, the babies! When you live in a country without a monarchy, the whole thing can be very fascinating. So while we wouldn’t call ourselves royal experts, we’ve developed quite the information bank about the current family. So when we first got wind of the affair rumors circulating around Prince William, we got our Google fingers good and ready to dig in. It’s a whole royal scandal!
Infidelity in the royal family is, unfortunately, nothing new. It’s not even considered all that surprising in some circles. But people have a real affinity for Prince William and Kate Middleton, so the current cheating rumors are kicking up quite the cloud of dust. It should be noted, these are rumors! There are ALWAYS rumors of some kind or another floating around about the royals. But the official royal gossips have chomped onto this particular cheating scandal. Probably because it involves Prince William, and wounds from what happened between his parents still haven’t fully healed. So let’s see what’s what with these cheating allegations.
If you’re not up-to-date on the latest royal tea, the gist is that Prince William has stepped out on Kate Middleton.
We know what you’re thinking: HE BETTER NOT HAVE. After what his mom went through, you’d think he would know better than to put Kate through the same. But like we said, infidelity in the royal family is par for the course. Now, the cheating rumors haven’t really taken off in America. But in the UK? This is THE NEWS. The usual tabloids are running the story on the front pages, and all the royal gossipers are all over it. After all, William and Kate are the golden royal couple, and seemed to usher in a new era of royal marriage where the people in the marriage actually loved one another.
So how did this all start?
Back in March of this year, British tabloid The Sun published a story about a falling out between Kate Middleton and her friend Rose Hanbury, Marchioness of Cholmondeley. The story didn’t point to a reason for the friend feud. But they claimed that Kate told Prince William she wanted to start “phasing out” Rose and her husband from their lives. Kate allegedly wanted nothing to do with the couple any longer. William, on the other hand, attempted to salvage the friendship between the couples. Naturally, given the cryptic nature of the story, people started wondering what could have caused the rift.
An immediate rebuttal that just added fuel to the fire.
Just a few days after The Sun piece ran, The Daily Mail published an extensive take-down and rebuttal of the reported rift between Kate and Rose. Once again, no mention was made of an alleged affair between Prince William and Rose Hanbury. Rather, The Daily Mail framed the rebuttal as William wanting to maintain the domestic tranquility he had with Kate, and protect his family. The pub also claimed that Prince William was attempting to salvage the relationship between the two couples because of his own friendship with Rose’s husband David, the Marquess of Cholmondeley. The pub asserted that both sides were considering legal action against The Sun for the initial story.
A tweet sets kicks the rumor mill into overdrive.
Now, had The Daily Mail not ran their rebuttal to The Sun story, there’s a good chance these rumors would have gone the way of many royal rumors and been forgotten. After all, rumors about the royal family are nothing new, especially in the UK gossip circles. However, people were intrigued by the forcefulness of the DM article, and the supposed threat of legal action (the palace rarely, if ever, comments on or involves itself in rumors). Them came THE TWEET. In a now-deleted tweet, gossip reported Giles Coren said, “Yes, it is an affair. I haven’t read the piece but I know about the affair. Everyone knows about the affair, darling.” It’s been reported that Coren was forced to take down the tweet.
The rumors make their way stateside.
The tabloids in the US report on some royal news, mostly to do with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. But it’s not often that they wade into the affairs (heh) of the whole family. But after the Coren tweet, In Touch decided to go full scorched earth, and ran a front page cover story about the alleged affair. They laid it right out, no pussyfooting around. In the story, the pub alleges that Prince William had an affair with Rose Hanbury while Kate was pregnant with their third child, Louis. In Touch claims that William denied the affair, but that Kate insisted on cutting the couple out of their lives after catching wind of the rumors.
The royal family bites back.
Kensington Palace did not comment on record about the In Touch story. But palace courtiers did make it a point to try and discredit the pub’s credibility, calling the story “totally wrong and false”. But, in an apparent attempt to keep the rumors from circulating in the UK, the palace did do some damage control across the pond. Attorneys for the royal family sent letters to various publications about the story. The letter reads in part, “In addition to being false and highly damaging, the publication of false speculation in respect of our clients’ private life also constitutes a breach of his privacy pursuant to Article 8 of the European Convention to Human Rights”.
A Kate and Harry appearance gets tongues wagging.
At the end of April, Kate Middleton and Prince Harry stepped out together to attend the Anzac Day service at Westminster Abbey. Now, at the time, Meghan Markle was at home VERY pregnant and preparing to have baby Archie (who arrived just about a week later). So Harry out and about without Meghan was to be expected. But Kate attending the services with Harry and not with William got the rumor mill going again. Gossipers allege that it was proof of trouble in their marriage, following the In Touch story and cheating rumors.
So who is Rose Hanbury, and what is her connection to Kate and Prince William?
When the affair rumors first started circulating, few outside of the royal watchers even knew the name Rose Hanbury. She’s not really a public figure, not in the way Kate and Meghan are. But she and her husband have ties to the royal family going back decades. Rose and Kate have been close friends for going on 10 years, and the couples have been public friends since around 2016. Rose is a former model, married to David Rocksavage. The couple has been married for over 10 years, and have three children together. David inherited a fortune, which included Houghton Hall on Norfolk, England. The couple lives there with their kids, making them neighbors of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
How has Rose responded to the cheating allegations?
Rose Hanbury attended a recent state banquet at Buckingham Palace, sans wedding rings. Now, there could be lots of reasons a lady leaves her rings at home. But given the timing of the appearance, people were quick to pounce on it. Rose attended the dinner with her husband David, who is required to attend certain official royal engagements because of his title. The couple gave no indication that anything was amiss, other than the missing wedding rings. Apparently Rose has worn her wedding rings to several other engagements, so not wearing them at the state banquet sent some interest signals.
Rose Hanbury hasn’t commented publicly on the scandal, but may be considering legal action.
Like Kate Middleton and Prince William, neither Rose Hanbury nor David Rocksavage have commented publicly on the allegations or subsequent fall-out. That’s pretty par for the course when it comes to the royal family and their inner circle. But it’s being reported that Rose is considering her legal options in regards to the initial reports. She allegedly thinks the reports are “absurd” and believes there’s a case to made against the outlets that published them. However, there’s also the possibility that everyone involved will remain mum on the scandal in the hopes that it simply fades away in the next news cycle.
And how has Kate Middleton been holding up?
In public, it’s been business as usual for Kate Middleton and Prince William. Despite not attending a few events together, the couple have appeared publicly several times since the rumors surfaced, often with their three children in tow. Behind the scenes, Kate is allegedly using this scandal to reprioritize her life. According to a source for Us Weekly, Kate was incredibly hurt by the rumors and allegations. But they forced her to take a step back and reexamine her marriage to Prince William. Says the source, “It forced her and William to sit back and examine their relationship, which they realized they should have been doing more often”.
Regardless of how this plays out, divorce isn’t an option.
Prince William and Kate Middleton have been married for eight years, and it’s certainly not unusual for couples to experience ups and downs in their relationship. We’re sure the added pressures of being royals and heirs to the throne don’t help. Not to mention, the constant media scrutiny! But they remain committed to one another and their family. The Us Weekly source says, “They’re still going strong. Regardless of their ups and downs, they love each other dearly and their kids are the most important thing in their lives.”
The cheating allegations shook royal watchers and fans.
Prince William and Kate Middleton are consummate royals – they are always smiling, never cross, and dedicated to their posts within the royal family. Clearly, they are a couple in love, and wholeheartedly focused on their family and three young kids. Which is why the cheating rumors surprised so many people. No one could believe that William and Kate’s relationship wasn’t as rock-solid as it appears, and given what happened with his mom and dad, it seemed like cheating is the last thing he would ever do. Also, people are REALLY fond of Kate, and were dismayed to hear she might be hurting.
The royal family has been rocked by cheating scandals before, and it got very ugly.
Who could forget the drama of Charles and Diana?! Their rocky marriage and subsequent divorce was played out in news and tabloids all over the world. It was incredibly messy, and we’re sure many of the wounds are still fresh for those who witnessed it firsthand. People seemed to forget that there were two young boys at the center of the scandal, who probably heard and saw a lot more of the details then they should have. Without a doubt, Prince William and Kate Middleton want to shield their children from the same fate, even if the rumors swirling around are false.
Prince William and Kate Middleton seem committed to ignoring the gossip and rumors. But they’re ready to flex their substantial power if necessary.
When you’re a member of the royal family, there are certain things you just have to abide. And unfortunately, tabloid reports and rumors about your personal life seem to be one of them. The palace rarely comments on or hits back at this kind of stuff, but it has been done. In 2017, Prince William and Kate Middleton successfully sued French publication La Provence for posting paparazzi photos of a topless Kate. And Prince Harry struck back at the negative press coverage of Meghan Markle shortly before they got married. In this case, it seems like Prince William and Kate Middleton are prepared to take legal action should the story continue to be reported on.
These types of rumors can be so destructive. But we’re glad William and Kate are facing them with a united front.
As prim and proper as Kate Middleton comes across, we have a feeling she’s got a wicked Mama Bear side lurking just beneath the surface. And she would stop at nothing to protect those three sweet kiddos. Prince William, knowing what it’s like to grow up with these kinds of hurtful rumors, is equally prepared to protect his wife and family. We’re crossing all our fingers and toes that these rumors are just that – rumors. But regardless of how this all shakes out, we just hope that Prince William and Kate Middleton can find a way to move past this and protect their family. As parents, we know that’s their top priority.