A supposed affair? Terrible fights? And what did Prince William say about Donald
Trump? These rumors about Prince William and Kate Middleton just won't go away.
One of the biggest rumors to plague Prince William and Kate Middleton was the allegation
that the Prince of Wales had an affair with one of their friends. In a since-deleted March 2019 post,
The Sun alleged that Middleton had fallen out with a neighbor at their Anmer Hall property
in Norfolk. That neighbor was former model Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley.
That April, In Touch took the story further by alleging that Prince William had been having
an affair with Hanbury. Soon after, the Daily Beast reported that Prince William
was seemingly desperately attempting to get In Touch's reports removed from the internet,
claiming that the cheating allegations were untrue. However, rumors of infidelity persisted,
and in December 2022, William found himself at the center of cheating allegations once again.
In April 2023, it was announced that Hanbury's son would serve as a page
in King Charles III's coronation, suggesting that there is, in fact,
no bad blood between the families. Hanbury continues to move in royal circles,
further suggesting that she remains on good terms with the Prince and Princess of Wales. While we
may never know the truth concerning this rumor, some royal experts have insisted that rumors of
conflict between Middleton and Hanbury had been invented to damage both of their reputations.
"I'm Catherine, and this is William next to me."
Following allegations of an extramarital affair, even more rumors started to
swirl regarding the sexual proclivities of members of the royal family. In July 2022,
the internet was alight with discussion when gossip platform Deux Moi ran a blind item
suggesting that a member of the royal family had been cheating on their spouse. Deux Moi's
tip alleged that one of the princes was having an affair, which was apparently
widely known about in London's elite social circles. The blind item even went so far as
to allege that the prince's wife knew all about the affair and was in support of it.
Obviously, as Deux Moi runs unverified blind items from anonymous and random sources,
it's quite possible that there is zero truth in this particular rumor. Unfortunately,
Prince William is likely to find himself at the center of even more rumors, as the internet seems
to latch on to any allegations regarding this particular royal and Kate Middleton.
Kate Middleton and Prince William have weathered a number of rumors throughout their marriage,
and that includes speculation regarding what they're really like behind the scenes. Royal
expert Tom Quinn, author of Gilded Youth: An Intimate History of Growing Up in the Royal
Family, opened up about the Prince and Princess of Wales' relationship,
and the picture he painted was far from perfect. Quinn told Fox News in March 2023,
"Someone at the palace told me about the nicknames they have for each other. But
it's not all sweetness. They have terrible rows where they throw things at each other."
The royal author also suggested that Kate was the peacemaker of the two, claiming,
"William is the one who's a bit hotheaded."
Kate Middleton and Prince William got married in a fairytale wedding
at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011.
"To have and to hold from this day forward. For better or for worse."
Since then, the couple has generally shown a united front, regularly attending official
engagements together, while raising their three children. However, in May 2022,
rumors that Kate and William were getting a divorce started circling the internet,
much to the shock and horror of royal fans everywhere. The trouble started when MSN
shared a since-deleted tweet of an article alleging that the Princess of Wales had
moved out of the residence she shared with Prince William, and that she'd taken the kids with her.
Newsweek was quick to debunk this particular rumor and tracked down
the original source of the allegation: MSN had picked up a translated article
from French site Oh My Mag. But the story was false, and it was taken down.
Unfortunately for Kate and William, the damage had already been done,
and the internet was aflutter with rumors of an impending split. For now,
it seems that this rumor can be put down to human error. It was based in no truth whatsoever.
In further proof that infidelity rumors refuse to die, Prince William found himself
at the center of fresh allegations in February 2023. According to Marca,
various unnamed British tabloids reported claims that Prince William didn't spend Valentine's Day
with his wife and instead had dinner with alleged mistress Rose Hanbury. As one might
expect from this type of rumor, there didn't appear to be any proof of this alleged tryst,
nor were there sources confirming the supposed date ever happened.
Another report had previously surfaced circa 2019 when William and Hanbury were allegedly
seen kissing and hugging. Marca surmised that the 2023 rumor most likely originated
from that. The outlet also suggested that rumors of Valentine's Day discord
may have sprung up after Kate Middleton made a personal revelation. Earlier that same month,
People reported that the Princess of Wales had met with a florist in Leeds, England,
during an official royal engagement outing. The florist apparently suggested that William
would be buying his wife some red roses for Valentine's Day, to which Kate allegedly revealed,
"I don't think he will do."
But maybe Prince William is just more of a chocolates guy?
"I think William loved chocolate as much as his granny!"
It's common knowledge that Prince William and Kate Middleton temporarily called it quits before they
eventually got married. The couple's brief split took place in April 2007, and saw both
Kate and William hit the town as singletons — only to reunite in June of the same year.
However, according to royal author Katie Nicholl's book The Making of a Royal Romance:
William, Kate, and Harry — A Look Behind the Palace Walls,
it was William who allegedly instigated the breakup. Nicholl wrote,
"William had been having second thoughts and sat down with his father and his grandmother to have
a frank discussion about his future with Kate. Both advised him not to hurry into anything."
William's doubts had allegedly been brewing for some time before the April 2007 split,
with the royal expert suggesting that he previously didn't end up spending a New
Year's Eve celebration with Kate and her family, as had been the original plan. Kate was reportedly
devastated by the prince's alleged flakiness, and according to Nicholl, she couldn't stop crying.
In January 2005, then-Prince Charles' official residence at the time,
Clarence House, apologized on behalf of Prince Harry after a
photo of him wearing a Nazi costume was published by The Sun newspaper.
But according to Harry, he shouldn't be entirely blamed for the offensive choice
that has haunted him for decades. In his 2023 memoir Spare, Harry suggested that he'd
consulted his brother and future sister-in-law before selecting the outfit. Harry wrote,
"I called Will and Kate and asked them what they thought. 'Nazi uniform,' they said. I
rented it, along with a ridiculous moustache, and returned home."
The Duke of Sussex also suggested that it was the Prince and Princess of Wales'
reaction to his costume that convinced him to wear it to the party. Harry wrote,
"Willy and Kate were laughing. It was even worse than Willy's
leopard [cat] costume. Much more ridiculous."
Prince Harry's memoir Spare sent shockwaves through the monarchy and inspired many more
articles to be written about the royal family. It would also seem that Harry's sister-in-law,
Kate Middleton, was less than pleased with the way she was portrayed in the
best-selling book. According to Radar, a so-called palace source alleged that
Kate was upset with her husband for not defending her honor after his brother
wrote some extremely revealing things about her in Spare. But as is the way in royal circles,
Prince William allegedly believed it was best not to react to Harry's book at all.
Whether or not Kate was really upset with her husband for not speaking out on her behalf remains
unclear. Still, it's easy to see why Kate might have taken umbrage with Spare. In the memoir,
Prince Harry revealed that Kate and Prince William were huge fans of Meghan Markle's TV
show Suits and couldn't believe that the younger prince was dating her. However,
when they finally met Meghan, Kate and William were allegedly less enthusiastic.
"He aired some concerns, very early on."
One of the most surprising revelations made by Prince Harry in Spare involved
comments made by Meghan Markle. Following their wedding in May 2018,
Meghan and Harry apparently tried to make amends with Kate and William by inviting them over to
their home at Kensington Palace. However, the reconciliation apparently didn't go as planned.
As Harry wrote, Meghan previously suggested that Kate, who would've
just welcomed her third child around this time, was experiencing "baby brain." Recounting the
follow-up conversation that June, Harry wrote in Spare that Kate told Meghan,
"You talked about my hormones. We're not close enough for you to talk about my hormones!"
Perhaps understandably, the Prince and Princess of Wales were reportedly taken aback by Meghan's
comments, and an argument of sorts allegedly ensued. According to sources cited by the Daily
Mail, Meghan reportedly ended up getting upset when she was told off by the couple and didn't
understand how she'd done anything wrong. In this instance, it seems that William stood up for his
wife and tried to assert some boundaries within the family. However, Harry added,
"Meg said she'd never intentionally do anything to hurt Kate, and if she ever did,
she asked Kate to please just let her know so it wouldn't happen again."
In 2012, French magazine Closer published topless photos of Kate Middleton, taken while she was on
vacation with Prince William in Provence, France. The Princess of Wales would later
sue and win against the publications that had published inappropriate photos of her.
"Today a harsh lesson in the elusiveness of privacy."
However, when the photos were first released,
Donald Trump decided to wade into the debacle by tweeting,
"Kate Middleton is great — but she shouldn't be sunbathing in the nude — only herself to blame."
Unsurprisingly, it would seem that Trump's comments about the situation
angered Prince William immensely. Royal expert Christopher Andersen discussed the
royal family's alleged reaction in his book The King: The Life of Charles III, writing,
"Trump's criticism of Kate resulted in what one Clarence House butler referred
to as 'torrents of profanity' from both Prince Charles and his sons."
Over the years, rumors have swirled regarding how exactly Kate Middleton met Prince William. While
the pair started dating when they both attended the University of St Andrews in Scotland, it's
possible that Kate and William first crossed paths much earlier. Discussing the Prince and Princess
of Wales' relationship history, royal expert Katie Nicholl wrote in her book Kate: The Future Queen,
"Although Kate wasn't especially interested in boys, the arrival of one particular young
man had caught her attention. Nearby Ludgrove Prep school would often play matches against
St. Andrew's Prep, and there was much excitement when Prince William, a left back on Ludgrove's
Colts team, came to St. Andrew's to play a hockey match when he was nine years old."
As children, Kate and William seemingly moved in some of the same circles.
It's not known if the future princess had a crush on the prince all those years ago when
she saw him play hockey or not. However, it's certainly strange to find out that the pair
may have been aware of each other when they were just kids. As a result, it makes sense
that rumors started to spread suggesting that Kate was a fan of William when she was young.
"By the way, you've got to be careful what you say now, because these guys, they're filming everything."
"I know."
Having apparently entered one another's orbit as young children, Kate Middleton and Prince William
both attended the University of St Andrews in Scotland, as previously mentioned, arriving in
September 2001. But ever since their relationship was first made public, rumors have continued to
circulate regarding Kate's decision to attend the same university as the prince. While it may just
have been a coincidence, some have speculated that Kate may have planned her college career around
William. In 2005, journalist Matthew Bell wrote about the issue for The Spectator, suggesting,
"Although at the time of making her application to universities it was unknown where the Prince
was intending to go, it has been suggested that her mother persuaded Kate to reject
her first choice on hearing the news and take up her offer at St Andrews instead."
While this rumor has never been confirmed, it seems many royal onlookers have wondered if Kate
instigated a meet-cute with Prince William. If her mother did, indeed, encourage Kate to attend the
Scottish university in an attempt to meet the royal heir, she likely helped change history.
Either way, the Prince and Princess of Wales found love while studying at the
education institution, and they remain together decades later.