It will never stop. Prince William’s home base responded to the Rose Hanbury affair allegations. The rumors are making the rounds again after Kate Middleton’s conspiracy theories surrounding her abdominal surgery recovery. The future king and Rose Hanbury made headlines back in 2019 due to several rumors about cheating.
On March 12, 2024, Stephen Colbert made a joke about the affair in his monologue on his show The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. A former royal courtier told the Daily Beast that the bit came across as “deeply annoying and unhelpful for the palace, but it’s not surprising that the affair rumors are being reheated. What else are people supposed to think when she sends out a photo not wearing her wedding ring?”
Rose Cholmondeley (née Hanbury) is the wife of David Cholmondeley (pronounced Chumley), 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley. A Marquess (and his wife, a Marchioness) holds the fourth most senior rank in the British nobility (behind King/Queen, Prince/Princess, and Duke/Duchess). The Cholmondeleys are particularly notable, however, as they are hereditary co-holders of the office of Lord Great Chamberlain.
David was named King Charles’ Lord-in-Waiting meanwhile their son, Oliver, was named as one of the king’s pages, who was tasked with holding the robes of the king, alongside Prince George on Coronation Day. The couple also share another son, Alexander—Oliver’s twin—and daughter Iris. Not only is Rose connected to the royal family through her friendship with Kate, but her grandmother, Lady Elizabeth Lambert, was a bridesmaid at Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip’s wedding in November 1947.
The Daily Beast reported that In Touch’s reports about an alleged affair between Prince William and Rose Hanbury are clearly not true. Courtiers told the site that the story “was totally wrong and false.”
The site reported that at least one British publication was served with legal warnings because they spread the rumors. The letter from law firm Harbotte and Lewis states that “in addition to being false and highly damaging, the publication of false speculation in respect of our clients’ private life also constitutes a breach of his privacy pursuant to Article 8 of the European Convention to Human Right.
Though Buckingham Palace swiftly put Prince William and Rose Hanbury rumors to rest, netizens were quick to examine evidence from past drama to apply to the current situation with the Princess of Wales: Where is Kate Middleton after her abdominal surgery?
Recent, The Independent published the article, “Lady Rose Hanbury: Who is the Marchioness of Cholmondeley?” which caused social media users to delve more into the Kate Middleton conspiracies.
Many eagle-eyed fans saw the edits on Kate Middleton’s Mother’s Day Instagram photo such as Prince Louis’ fingers and around Princess Charlotte’s dress. Kate Middleton issued an apology on social media for the mistakes. “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C,” she wrote on X.
