A rumored affair, living in an historic art space, and a royal heir decided by weight.
While she may be best known for her link to Prince William, Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness
of Cholmondeley, has had her own adventures over the years.
Queen Elizabeth II had eight bridesmaids by her side on her wedding day in 1947, back
when she was known as Princess Elizabeth.
One of the women supporting Her Majesty's wedding to Prince Phillip on this day was
Lady Elizabeth Lambert, Rose Hanbury's grandmother.
She was one of two non-royals in attendance, and was a dear childhood friend of the queen.
Lady Elizabeth Lambert married a publisher, Mark Longman with the queen in attendance.
The couple had three kids and eventually several grandchildren, including Rose Hanbury.
The position Hanbury was born into provided the perfect starting point when it came to
climbing the ladder, as her family was known to the royal family.
The Stowe School, located in the countryside of Buckinghamshire, has been open for a hundred
years and is considered one of the most prestigious schools in all of the U.K.
"This has been another year of achievement, with academic results improving every year,
pupil numbers increasing annually."
The boarding school aims to prepare students to graduate with stellar grades and move on
to other highly-esteemed schools
Rose Hanbury boarded at Stowe School, but when it came time to enroll in higher education,
she received her degree from The Open University, a public research university that is the largest
in the U.K.
This was an interesting choice, given that instead of opting for a typical aristocratic
university education, Hanbury elected to attend a school with a larger acceptance rate.
Very little is known publicly about her studies, however many speculate that she went in the
direction of politics, as she's dabbled in this field throughout the span of her career.
Rose Hanbury and her older sister, Marina, got their first taste of public recognition
in 2005 when they were pictured together with then-British Prime Minister, Tony Blair.
The three were on vacation in Italy, with the sisters wearing pink bikinis next to the
smiling former P.M.
Barely two years later, in 2007, Hanbury had gained national recognition and decided to
become a model.
She signed on to be represented by Storm Models, the agency which most notably discovered Kate
Moss in 1990.
Although Hanbury no longer models professionally, she has shared photos from time to time on
social media of past shoots she's done.
Although it was only for a short time, Rose Hanbury worked as a political researcher in
Westminster for conservative Member of Parliament Michael Gove.
Gove was serving as the Shadow Education Secretary at the time.
In 2009, Hanbury was forced to quit the role, reportedly due to the overwhelming morning
sickness she was dealing with, as she was pregnant with twins at the time.
In 2019, Hanbury was spotted at a state dinner, walking alongside Sarah Vine, Michael Gove's
wife.
Some have wondered if this means that Hanbury has remained close with the couple following
her work with the politician, and given their political views, if she might share in their
conservative values.
Hanbury hasn't pursued any other professional ventures as of yet, as she's taken on a full-time
role of motherhood and renovating her estate.
Rose Hanbury is a patron of East Anglia's Children's Hospices, also known as EACH, which
supports children and young people with life-altering or life-threatening illnesses.
They're a beloved institution in the U.K. and they strive to make a difference using
family-centric care.
Ed Sheeran serves as one of the hospice's ambassadors, and listed as their "Royal Patron"
is Catherine, Princess of Wales.
"I've been fortunate to see, at first hand, the remarkable work that they do for children
and young people with life limiting conditions."
Because the Princess of Wales has a higher title, and therefore more recognition, she
has worked as Royal Patron by opening hospices, reaching out to the public to donate, and
touring facilities to raise awareness of the important work EACH is doing.
Despite the lack of publicity Hanbury has received for her charitable efforts, it would
seem that she's striving to make an impactful difference nonetheless.
Rose Hanbury hit the jackpot when she met David Cholmondeley, a filmmaker and the 7th
Marquess of Cholmondeley, in 2003.
His royal duty used to entail walking in front of Queen Elizabeth II annually as she opened
Parliament and made her way to the throne in the House of Lords.
Hanbury and Cholmondeley hit it off when they met on a vacation in Italy and have been inseparable
ever since, but the relationship caused quite a stir.
Cholmondeley had been known as a bit of a lady's man, having dated many models and actresses
before Hanbury, but the real source of gossip was that the Marquess is 23 years her senior.
2009 was a very busy year for the couple.
Hanbury and Cholmondeley got engaged in June, announced she was expecting only a day later,
and then held their wedding at Chelsea Town Hall the day after that.
The couple have appeared to be very happy together, and their 20-year relationship is
still going strong.
Just a few months after Hanbury became the Marchioness of Cholmondeley, she gave birth
to twin boys.
In the instance of granting titles to twins, usually the baby who arrives first in the
delivery room would become the heir, naturally being the eldest, but both boys were born
at practically the same time via C-section.
So, the couple decided that they would decide which of their sons would someday become the
future Marquess based on which baby weighed the most, giving Oliver Timothy George the
title of Lord of Cholmondeley.
Alexander Hugh George, the slightly lighter baby, became the Earl of Rocksavage.
A friend of the family told The Telegraph -
"There was only eight ounces in it, but they will be a very significant eight ounces."
The couple also welcomed a baby girl named Iris in 2016.
The family of five live a fairly private life in their beautiful Houghton Hall home, with
only a handful of pictures of the children having ever been published for the public
thus far.
Located three miles from William and Catherine's Anmer Hall home lies Houghton Hall.
It was built in the 1720s for England's first Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole.
"This great house, which is, uh, a triumphant survivor of the 18th century, and speaks to
so much, uh history."
The property has since been passed down from generation to generation, and although he
grew up living in Cholmondeley Castle, the home eventually landed in the lap of David
Cholmondeley.
He and Hanbury moved to Houghton Hall after their first children were born, and are currently
raising their family there.
Houghton Hall is a desired venue for various exhibitions and events as a publicly open
art space.
It's no wonder, seeing as how Cholmondeley is an avid art collector and selects many
pieces to display at his home himself.
It seems that an eye for art is a shared quality between the couple, as Hanbury has taken it
upon herself to showcase her home to entice guests through her Instagram account.
She frequently shares brilliant snapshots of the wonders on the property, often with
its bright green garden in the background.
To fully understand the circumstances behind the rumors involving Rose Hanbury and Prince
William's relationship, let's first take a look at the friendship timeline between Hanbury
and the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Hanbury and her husband were pictured at William and Catherine's wedding back in 2011, but
apparently the two couples didn't become close until 2014, when William and Catherine lived
at Anmer Hall, just a few miles away from the Marquess and Marchioness' home.
The Cholmondeley children are also similar in age to William and Catherine's kids, and
they were playmates for a time, which worked well given the proximity of their homes.
According to New Idea, a source that is reportedly close with both couples said about the rift
that would split the friends apart just a few years later -
"It's very sad because they were close friends."
So, what was it that led to the end of the seemingly perfect royal friendship?
Back in 2019, unfounded rumors surfaced that Prince William and Rose Hanbury had an affair
while Princess Catherine was pregnant with Prince Louis.
The drama subsided after some time, firstly, because all parties involved denied the rumors,
and there was no proof.
Most importantly, however, William and Catherine's lawyers served legal warnings to at least
one publication for promoting the rumors.
But, since the release of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Netflix special, Hanbury's
name has come up again in relation to the royal couple when Harry made a claim on the
show.
"They were happy to lie to protect my brother."
Followers of the royals jumped back on to the 2019 cheating rumor, assuming that the
royal family had been lying to protect Prince William after his infidelities, rather than
stepping in to help Harry and Meghan when they were going through hardships.
Hanbury received a fair amount of backlash over the allegations and, a source for a since-deleted
article by the Daily Mail said -
"The most loyal friends are sticking by her but others, they haven't."
Despite the public's scrutiny, she hasn't seemed all too phased, as she's still attended
royal functions and made an appearance at Queen Elizabeth II's funeral.
Whether Princess Catherine believed the rumors or not isn't clear, but it seems she either
didn't have the patience or couldn't afford the controversy, because her relationship
with Rose Hanbury has crumbled.
Middleton has even reportedly tried to phase Hanbury out of her social circle completely.
A source reportedly told The Sun that Middleton and Hanbury, quote, "had a terrible falling
out."
The source continued, saying -
"They used to be close but that is not the case any more.
William wants to play peacemaker so that the two couples can remain friends...
But Kate has been clear that she doesn't want to see them any more and wants William to
phase them out, despite their social status."
Of course, much of this is hearsay and the royals have yet to comment on the circumstances
publicly.
They likely never will, as it seems that William and Catherine would rather let the dust settle
than delve into the unfounded rumors and supposed rivalry, which would ultimately give the tabloids
more to dish over.
William and Catherine still see Rose Hanbury and David Cholmondeley at various events,
and they've remained cool-headed enough to not let this apparent rivalry become any more
public.