Kate's got hate for Will's old flame, while Fergie's standing by Prince Andrew — no matter
what. They may not be in the spotlight anymore, but these royal exes are still making waves.
You don't have to be a royal expert to know that Prince Charles and Diana Spencer didn't wait long
to tie the knot. In fact, the couple only met about a dozen times before getting engaged.
However, some may not know that the two were introduced by Lady Sarah Spencer,
Diana's older sister, who at one point had been Charles' girlfriend herself.
In fact, Sarah reportedly called herself "cupid" when she brought the two together.
And, for a while, it all seemed like a real-life fairytale. Of course, the story only lasted so
long: the couple divorced after a bitter feud, and Diana died in a tragic accident in 1997.
Sarah even joined Charles to retrieve Diana's body from Paris, where the younger Spencer had died.
These days, Sarah lives in Lincolnshire and continues to be a staple figure in high society.
When Prince Charles and Diana Spencer were in the throes of a nasty separation in 1992,
Princess Anne was going through a rather tricky break up, too. Hers was able to slip further under
the radar, however, given the press attention that was being paid to her brother and sister-in-law.
"Should we leave through different doors?" "We came in the same car."
In any case, Anne's divorce from her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips, allowed her to
marry her true love, Timothy Laurence, that very same year. The pair have been married ever since,
but for his part, Phillips hasn't really lost the knack for attracting drama.
Phillips is very involved in the equestrian community, and after he married his second wife,
Sandy Pflueger, he was caught in an extra-marital affair with a riding assistant who was 30 years
younger than him. Unsurprisingly, Phillips and Pflueger would go on to get divorced in 2012,
and Phillips has kept a relatively low profile since then. If you really insist on keeping tabs
on him, you'll find him working as a regular contributor for Horse and Hound Magazine.
Of all Prince Harry's ex-girlfriends, Chelsy Davy may be the most well-known.
The two were together for quite some time — about a decade, in fact — and their young
love was covered extensively by the paparazzi. But the pressures of conforming to royal life, coupled
with the intense media scrutiny, ultimately highlighted the cracks in the couple's foundation,
and the two eventually called it quits. Davy has been notoriously private since, even narrowing
down her own friend group by a large margin. In a moment of surprising honesty, however,
she did open up about the scrutiny she faced in a 2016 interview with The Times. She revealed:
"It was so full-on: crazy and scary and uncomfortable. I found it very difficult when
it was bad. I couldn't cope. I was young, I was trying to be a normal kid and it was horrible."
Maintaining a rather low-key profile these days,
Davy is in a relationship, and the pair welcomed a baby in 2022.
When Meghan Markle first hit the royal scene, the British media boiled down her identity to a few
simple facts: she was bi-racial, American, an actor, and — wait for it — a divorcee.
Yes, Meghan had been married once before, and, as with anything to do with Meghan and Prince Harry,
her previous relationship was brought back into the spotlight for the world to see.
So who was her first husband? Well, the duchess married Trevor Engelson,
a Los Angeles-based producer, in 2011. The couple had been together since 2004
and tied the knot in a destination wedding in Jamaica — but the pair filed for divorce
two years later in 2013. Distance was allegedly an issue for the married couple,
as Engelson was still in LA and Meghan was shooting Suits in Toronto.
Engelson popped the question to his now-wife, Tracey Kurland, just two weeks after Meghan
and Harry's high profile wedding in 2018; they later tied the knot at a wedding in California.
Prince Charles was infamous for engaging in an impassioned relationship with Camilla Parker
Bowles during his youth. But she was not the royal family's pick for the future king.
Despite their feelings for one another, it was made clear that Charles needed to
find a future wife elsewhere. But before Diana was on the scene, there was another
woman who could have become the Princess of Wales. That woman was Lady Jane Wellesley,
an aristocrat and direct descendent of the Duke of Wellington, the legendary British military
commander. Royal biographer Christopher Wilson recounted in the documentary Royal
House of Windsor that Jane was also courted by the heir to the throne, and while it should've
been an exciting time, their short-lived union was clouded by Camilla's influence.
"Charles, who's young, he's red-blooded, he's a passionate
man, and I think he was looking for someone who could blow him away."
With that said, Jane quickly pulled the plug. Lady Jane has kept a relatively low profile
since then, but she did release a book entitled Wellington: A Journey Through My Family in 2010.
Once upon a time, Kate Middleton was something of a regular on the London nightclub scene. And
while she ultimately married Prince William, he wasn't her first love — that title belongs
to Willem Marx, a successful journalist with whom Kate crossed paths in 2000.
Kate and Marx first met when she was a pupil at Marlborough College. Not too
much is known about their relationship, but it must have ended on good terms,
because the journalist was invited to Kate and William's wedding in 2011.
These days, Marx serves as a special correspondent for PBS' NewsHour, and has worked for NBC,
CNBC, NPR, and more. Marx is said to focus his work on religious issues,
environmental causes, and human rights. He is happily married and currently based in London.
Prince Harry's single years were certainly a topic of intense press attention,
and when he and girlfriend Cressida Bonas called it quits, people were more than a
little surprised. The pair reportedly ended their relationship in an "amicable" decision,
maintaining that they were still "the best of friends" in the aftermath. The news came as
a shock for some, who genuinely believed that Harry would ask Bonas to marry him,
as his 30th birthday was in the near distance at the time. But alas, the two were not meant to be.
So what has Bonas been up to since? Well, she has kept a relatively low profile in recent years,
but she has clearly moved on, too — with yet another Harry. Bonas tied the knot
with Harry Wentworth-Stanley in a low-key wedding in 2020,
not even confirming the news herself until six weeks after the wedding.
As you may have guessed by his name, Andrew is the ex-husband
of Camilla Parker Bowles — and he also happens to be Princess Anne's ex-boyfriend, too.
Yes, before Andrew and Camilla tied the knot, Anne and Andrew were quite
an item — but they weren't allowed to get married for religious reasons. In any case,
Andrew is quite the royal insider these days, and even though he's an
ex not once but twice removed, he is still very much a part of the royal circle.
Anne and Andrew have been spotted together in public on many occasions. Most recently,
he was seen in the royal box during the 2021 Royal Ascot.
Whatever drama happened there is clearly old news these days.
Of all the famous royal exes, maybe none are as well-known as Sarah Ferguson. The ex-wife
of the now disgraced Prince Andrew, Fergie is an author, a mom of two,
a grandmother, and a staunch supporter of her ex-husband. Some might find it hard to believe,
but the divorced pair still live together. When the news broke about Andrew's affiliation
with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who was right there to support him?
Fergie, of course. In fact, Andrew's ex-wife has dismissed allegations against him for years.
"I won't stand by, because I know what it's like to have salacious lies made up about you."
In an interview with People magazine while promoting one of her books,
Fergie briefly opened up about the allegations lodged against her ex-husband,
telling the publication that she was in his corner no matter what. She explained:
"Whatever challenges he has, I will stand firm to the co-parenters that we are together.
I believe that he's a kind, good man, and he's been a fabulous father to the girls."
Of her life outside her relationship with Andrew,
Fergie's second act has been defined by her commitment to herself. She told People:
"I have to be aware that trying to be perfect is no longer necessary,
and that actually being Sarah is just enough."
Prince William is now so well associated with his role as a family man that it's sort of difficult
to see him as a young guy who's dating around. As it turns out, though, he had quite a few
girlfriends back in the day — one of them being Rose Farquhar, a connection that dated back all
the way to his childhood. William and Farquhar dated while they were at university, and she was
his first committed relationship, but it certainly doesn't seem like there is bad blood between them.
In fact, years after their college days together, Farquhar decided to audition for The Voice: U.K.,
flexing her singing chops in front of the show's judges. Clearly she didn't want to
bring any kind of bad publicity to her ex, and with that in mind,
Farquhar apparently secured William's "blessing" before hitting the stage.
There always seems to be that one ex that someone in a relationship can't quite get over — no matter
what they might say. Take William and Kate, for example. Will's relationship with Jessica
Craig — commonly known as Jecca — has caused a lot of tension between him and Kate Middleton. William
and Craig still kept in touch and saw each other while vacationing, even when the prince was dating
Kate. In fact, one summer, William traveled all the way to Kenya, where Craig grew up, and didn't
take his future wife with him. When he attempted to go for a third time, Kate was not having it:
A source revealed that she was "threatened and humiliated" regarding the situation.
William and Kate ultimately tied the knot in 2011,
and Craig found her match in conservationist Jonathan Baillie. The two got married at a
wildlife conservancy in Kenya in 2016, and the prince traveled to the country
as a wedding guest. But get this — Kate didn't go with him. Talk about bad blood.