[ad_1]
In the swirling vortex of British royal intrigue, rumors of Prince William’s alleged affair with a friend of Kate Middleton have re-emerged. Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley, has once again found herself at the center of a storm that questions the foundations of royal fidelity.
Rose Hanbury boasts a lineage intertwined with the House of Windsor, with her grandmother having served as a bridesmaid at Queen Elizabeth II’s wedding. Married to David Rocksavage, the 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley, Hanbury shares close geographic and social ties with the Cambridges, their estates mere miles apart in the picturesque Norfolk countryside. She was also a close friend of Kate Middleton for many years.
The proximity has fostered a friendship that has been both celebrated and scrutinized, particularly in light of the rumored rifts in William and Kate’s relationship, and the past speculation of an affair between Prince William and Hanbury that has haunted the family.
The intrigue intensified following Kate Middleton’s prolonged absence from the public eye after an abdominal surgery, an absence that catalyzed rampant speculation and rumor-mongering. Amidst this backdrop, a seemingly innocuous Mother’s Day photograph released by Kensington Palace became a lightning rod for controversy.
The image, showing Kate Middleton with her children, was later suspected of digital manipulation, fueling further speculation about the Duchess’s whereabouts and state of her marriage. The Princess apologized for the edited photograph, which inadvertently intensified the controversy surrounding her health and the authenticity of her publicly shared personal moments.
WATCH:
Stephen Colbert, in a segment on “The Late Show,” humorously spotlighted the alleged affair, reflecting the level of attention this saga has garnered beyond the shores of the United Kingdom.
“Now there have been rumors of an affair between William and the marching band of chicanery since 2019. According to tabloids back then, when Kate supposedly confronted him about it, he laughed it off, saying there was nothing to it,” Colbert said.
Despite the juicy fodder for tabloids and social media detectives, all parties have maintained a dignified silence on the matter. Kensington Palace’s reticence, coupled with the Cambridges’ strategic public appearances and communications, aimed to quell the storm. However, the lack of a direct statement has only served to perpetuate the cycle of speculation and rumor.
In his latest publication, “Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival,” royal commentator Omid Scobie introduced the topic to Entertainment Tonight. “Unfortunately, if a rumor’s left to kind of do its own thing it can run 20 laps around the world before you even think about what, how you want to kind of address it,” the royal commentator and writer shared with ET.
“They never addressed it, so those rumors will never go away even though there’s no truth to suggest that they are true.”
“I was very careful in the book to really focus on this, as the allegations against William, Kate, and their fallout with Rose Hanbury,” Scobie said. “For legal reasons there are so many things that one can’t go into but I thought it was really important, even if a rumor is a rumor. And I really don’t see proof that there is more to this than just a tittle-tattle, you know.”
“The worst case scenarios that they feared would happen, you know, just those rumors themselves were going to have enough impact, negatively, on William’s reputation.”
The royal source added, “We still see them (the rumors) trend on Twitter on a regular basis … that’s something that’s incredibly damaging, I think, for William. It probably looks even worse, actually, that there was a kind of willingness to throw Harry under the bus simply to make these things disappear.”