Hello, we are gathered here together to discuss the origin story of Prince William and Rose Hanbury’s affair rumors (emphasis, as ever, on rumors)—which have been occupying the internet’s fascination since 2019. Honestly, it’s been five years of pure chaos, but in the interest of understanding how we got *glances around nervously* here, we’ve put together a full timeline taking us from when the rumors started to literally. right. now.
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March 22, 2019
British tabloid The Sun publishes a since-deleted article that Kate had a falling out with one of her glamorous countryside friends named Rose, who happens to be the Marchioness of impossible-to-pronounce Cholmondeley. The tabloid claims Rose is Kate’s “rural rival” and the Duchess has asked Prince William to have her “phased out” of their country friend group. Scandal!
Meanwhile, a source tells The Sun, “It is well known that Kate and Rose have had a terrible falling out. They used to be close, but that is not the case anymore. William wants to play peacemaker so the two couples can remain friends, given they live so close to each other and share many mutual friends. But Kate has been clear that she doesn’t want to see them anymore and wants William to phase them out, despite their social status.”
Hmm, this rumor is kinda awkward considering Rose and her husband live at Houghton Hall, which is just a stone’s throw away from Kate and William’s country home, Anmer Hall.
March 24, 2019
The Daily Mail reports that Kate is super pissed about The Sun’s claims, with royal reporter Richard Kay telling the outlet there’s no truth to them and that both sides are so upset they’ve “considered legal action.” However, since “none of the reports have been able to offer any evidence about what the so-called dispute is about, they have chosen to ignore it.”
A family source also tells Kay that “these hurtful rumors of a fallout are simply false. William and David [Rose’s husband] were in touch with each other over the weekend, not knowing whether to laugh or complain. Both wives are hurt by the suggestion that there is any argument or even a coolness between them. They have plans for future events involving their charity.”
March 26, 2019
Writer Giles Coran sets affair rumors in motion by tweeting and deleting this: “I know about the affair. Everybody knows about the affair, darling.”
Please note: The Daily Beast says it “understands that pressure was applied by the palace” to get this tweet removed. Interesting.
March 30, 2019
Writer Nicole Cliffe tweets a viral thread (which has also been deleted) with her personal theories about William/Kate/Rose, speculating that William and Rose’s alleged “affair” is the source of the “rift” between Harry and his brother. (But that’s a whole other ~feud~ for another time.)
April 4, 2019
While the British media remains unusually quiet about the speculation, American tabloid In Touch freakin’ goes there and alleges that Kate and Rose’s feud is a direct result of an “affair” between Rose and William. The magazine claims Kate confronted her husband, who “laughed it off, saying there was nothing to it.”
April 9, 2019
The Daily Beast publishes an article claiming the palace has been issuing lawsuit threats to publications covering “details of the rumors.” One letter reportedly states, “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 Rights.”
Tabloids are basically just all:
June 3, 2019
Rose attends the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace with her husband, and Kate is definitely also there. The pair doesn’t appear in photographs together and they’re seated at different tables—but still, this seems like a pretty clear “NOTHING TO SEE HERE, FOLKS” on the part of the palace.
June 12, 2019
A source speaks to Us Weekly to give a quick update on how Kate and Will are doing after all this drama.
“The affair rumors turned out to be a good thing for them in the end. Kate finds the rumors hurtful, obviously, and hates the thought that one day her children will be able to read about them online,” the insider says. “It forced her and William to sit back and examine their relationship, which they realized they should have been doing more often.”
January 5, 2020
Rose is spotted with Prince William and Kate Middleton (and other royals!) on a walk to church:
March 29, 2022
Rose attends Prince Philip’s memorial service.
July 28, 2022
#PrinceOfPegging and #PrinceWilliamAffair trend amid a DeuxMoi blind, and the affair rumors are once again dusted off.
May 6, 2023
Rose is spotted at King Charles’ coronation!
And on top of that, her son Oliver is one of Charles’ pages.
August 14, 2023
The Daily Mail reports that Kate had dinner with Rose and her husband David (the Marquess of Cholmondeley) at their home Houghton Hall and secretly attended the Houghton Festival. As a source tells the outlet, “After dinner, one of the guests suggested that Catherine go to the festival. Catherine was nervous about the idea, but, after much discussion with her protection officers, she went with lots of security. William wasn’t there.”
March 10, 2024
Kate posts her infamous Mother’s Day pic with her wedding ring notably missing. This, combined with the “where is she” of it all, prompts the internet to fully spiral.
March 11, 2024
People notice an article on Rose has popped up at The Independent, leading to speculation that she’s being “soft launched.”
Meanwhile, Stephen Colbert dusts off the rumors during his Late Show monologue, saying, “The Kingdom has been all a flutter about the seeming disappearance of Kate Middleton. Well now, internet sleuths are guessing that Kate’s absence may be related to her husband, and the future King of England, William, having an affair.”
March 13, 2024
A friend of Kate’s tells the Daily Beast, ““It’s fair to say we were all completely baffled when the picture came out with the wedding ring missing, especially as it was Photoshopped. It just seemed guaranteed to get people asking questions about the state of the marriage.”
A former royal courtier also tells the outlet that the rumors are “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?”
March 16, 2024
Rose Hanbury’s lawyers tell Business Insider, “The rumours are completely false.”
March 19, 2024
Royal expert Nick Bullen tells Us Weekly, “I know people who know the Marchioness of Cholmondeley very, very well, and she absolutely was not having an affair with the Prince of Wales. Even when those rumors broke a few years ago, she was very upset by them then. She’s still very upset by them now.”
That brings us up to date, but we’ll be updating this with the latest.
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