While it's rumored that Rose Hanbury has a… lets say, complicated relationship with
Princess Catherine, it seems Kate's father in-law, King Charles III, holds Hanbury in high esteem.
Rose Hanbury has strong ties to King Charles and the royals due to her family. Before marrying,
Hanbury was a socialite and worked as a model. According to Now to Love,
her family has been a part of British high society for decades, and her grandmother,
Lady Elizabeth Lambart, was even a bridesmaid in the queen's 1947 wedding. In turn, Queen
Elizabeth II's mother attended Lambart's wedding to Mark Longman two years later.
Hanbury became even more entrenched in the royal family in 2009 when she married David
Cholmondeley, who is 18 years older than her. Cholmondeley is the 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley,
making Hanbury's official title Marchioness of Cholmondeley upon
their marriage. The marquess is also a close personal friend of King Charles.
Along with their connection to King Charles, the marquess and marchioness became close friends
with the Prince and Princess of Wales. The Cholmondeleys live at Houghton Hall,
an estate in Norfolk, quite close to William and Kate's country manor. Much like Rose's
grandparents, they run in the same high society social circle as the royal couple.
Indeed, Rose's standing was in full view at Charles' coronation. Coronations are
a symbolic ceremony marking the beginning of a reign of a monarch,
so King Charles III's crowning as king in Westminster Abbey involved many significant
customs that date back through the generations of monarchs before him.
With that in mind, it's hard to overstate the significance of being included in such
a ceremony. For this reason, many were surprised when, in April 2023,
headlines announced that Charles had appointed Oliver Cholmondeley,
the 13-year-old son of Rose Hanbury, as one of his pages for the coronation.
At the coronation, Oliver could be seen alongside Charles' own grandson,
carrying the King's robe as part of the ceremonial procession. It's possible that
giving Oliver such a central role in the ceremony may have been the
king's way of putting rumors about a rift between Hanbury and the royals to rest.
"Traditionally, the children or grandchildren of the monarch haven't had a role in the coronation."
For several years before the coronation, tabloids ran wild with the story of an
alleged affair between Prince William and Rose Hanbury, and a subsequent feud between
the Princess of Wales and Hanbury. It's possible that this appointment was King Charles' way of
communicating to the public that there is no bad blood between the families.
Along with making Oliver Cholmondeley a page, King Charles appointed Rose Hanbury's husband,
Marquess of Cholmondeley, as his Lord-in-Waiting. This firmly placed
the marquess and his wife in high standing with the royal family.
Participating in royal life in an official capacity is not new to the marquess. Prior to
Queen Elizabeth II's death, he served as Lord Great Chamberlain. However, as is tradition,
the role shifted hands upon the monarch's death, and Cholmondeley was replaced by the
7th Lord Carrington. So, for a time, it seemed the Shadows In The Sun director might lose his
close connection with the monarchy, but King Charles righted that with the new appointment.
In an unfortunate turn of events, King Charles' decision to appoint the marquess as
his Lord-In-Waiting may also have unintentionally reignited the vicious rumors surrounding Hanbury,
William, and Kate. The high-ranking position brought the marquess and his wife back into
the spotlight, and Hanbury's name made headlines again as many outlets returned to the same story.
Due to her family ties to the royals and her son being a page of honor, it wasn't
surprising that Rose Hanbury herself attended the coronation as a guest along with her husband.
Given the scandalous rumors surrounding Hanbury,
some tabloid readers may have expected her to steer clear of the event. However,
the marchioness had already attended many royal events over the last few years, including Queen
Elizabeth's funeral, even without her own son playing a direct role in the proceedings.
According to Marca, it was Charles himself who insisted Hanbury attend despite any
animosity between her and the Princess of Wales. One source claims that the princess
made the condition that Hanbury could not interact with her at the coronation. However,
it's hard to know if this was true or merely petty gossip. For now,
it seems that Hanbury's relationship to the crown is as cordial as ever.