It seems Prince William‘s alleged affair is back in the spotlight! So we guess it’s time to reheat this royal tea and get to serving…
Amid mass conspiracy theories about Princess Catherine‘s well-being and whereabouts, folks are trying to figure out what’s going on with the royal couple right now! Naturally, many have cast their minds back to her husband’s rumored tryst with Lady Rose Hanbury from a few years back. Stephen Colbert, for instance, didn’t mince words when he brought the cheating scandal to the forefront, pointing out how many people think “Kate’s absence may be related” to the affair!
Related: Harry To Appear At Diana Event — AFTER William Leaves!
But for those just tuning into this saga, who actually is this other woman?? William and Rose’s history goes WAY back! Let’s break it down…
The Basics
The 39-year-old is a former British model and is officially known as Sarah Rose Cholmondeley, Marchioness of Cholmondeley. (That’s pronounced “Chumley” btw.) She’s married to David Rocksavage, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley, and together they share 15-year-old twins Alexander Hugh George Cholmondeley, Earl of Rocksavage, and Lord Oliver Timothy George Cholmondeley plus 8-year-old Lady Iris Marina Aline Cholmondeley. The couple met in Italy in 2003 before tying the knot in 2009.
Now, per the Independent, Rose manages her husband’s estate, but she used to work as a researcher for Michael Gove, a Member of Parliament and current Secretary of State for Leveling Up, Housing and Communities.
Royal Ties
As for her relationship with the royals, Rose’s family has been connected to the famous family for a long time. Her grandmother Lady Elizabeth Lambart served as one of Queen Elizabeth II‘s bridesmaids in 1947! Most recently, her son Lord Oliver was one of four Pages of Honour (alongside Prince George) at King Charles III‘s coronation.
But her ties to The Firm go beyond just titles and generational connections — Rose and David were VERY close with William and Kate, and were even neighbors at one point! Rose and David live at their family’s Norfolk estate, Houghton Hall, not far from Anmer Hall, where the royals used to live before moving to Adelaide Cottage in 2022. The couples were known to be very close friends with each other. Just look at Kate and Rose being chummy at a charity event in 2016.
The Fallout
All that changed, however, in 2019 when a UK tabloid published affair rumors. Word was the affair wasn’t being hidden too well, and everyone in high society circles was talking about it.
After the rumors were made public by the outlet, everything was made worse by the fam’s reaction — sound familiar? While the palace doesn’t normally engage in any rumors about the fam, they seemingly tried their best to bury this one as much as possible by threatening legal action against some initial reporters who spoke out about the allegations, such as Times of London reporter Giles Coren. But, ultimately, they couldn’t stop the word from getting out.
Then Kate publicly dismissed William’s attempts at PDA — suggesting something was seriously wrong! Then she and Rose also distanced themselves from each other amid the alleged fallout. They didn’t say why, but there were reports…
According to In Touch at the time, Kate immediately confronted her husband about the claims he was having an affair with her pal when they first emerged, but he “just laughed it off saying there was nothing to it.” She wasn’t convinced and ordered him to cut ties with the Cholmondeleys. A source at the time was confident there was no danger of a split or divorce, but the news had “rocked the palace and their marriage.”
So what happened between Will and the Marchioness? Allegedly, of course?
Affair Details
While the rumors didn’t hit the internet until 2019, the alleged affair actually took place in late 2017, early 2018, according to reports. That’s when the Princess was pregnant with her third child, Prince Louis — a pregnancy that caused her to be very ill! Kate is known to suffer from hyperemesis gravidarum — basically the worst morning sickness ever, only it’s all day long. That means if Will was being unfaithful it was while his wife was at home tossing her biscuits in a bucket to carry his child to term. So the optics looked really s**tty for Will!
But it wasn’t just escaping his pregnant wife that had Will running to Rose, per the sauciest rumors…
In 2022 you may have seen the hashtag #PrinceOfPegging trending alongside “Prince William Affair.” What was that about? Two years ago, DeuxMoi got an anonymous tip about an unnamed “British royal” whose “extramarital affair is an open secret in London and amongst the English artisto set.” The source elaborated:
“At a recent media party, I was told the real reason for the affair was the royal’s love of pegging, which his wife is far too old fashioned to engage in. The wife doesn’t mind her and in fact prefers her husband getting his sexual needs met elsewhere, as long as things don’t become emotional, which was the case with the last woman.”
No names were dished, but the internet quickly matched the gossip to William because of the alleged marital strife he faced after his supposed relationship with Rose. Everyone guessed the Prince was stepping outside his marriage to get his International Women’s Day treatment.
Innerestingly, this was the unusual instance where the royal family did actually comment on a tabloid story. William’s lawyers blasted the affair rumors, calling them “false and highly damaging” in a chat with Daily Beast in 2019. Huh. We guess they were tired of the pounding Will was taking. In the press, we mean. But obviously, that didn’t stop the chatter! Which brings us to today…
Current Scandal
So one of many theories going around on the internet about what’s really going on with Kate is that she and Willy are secretly in the middle of a nasty divorce! She’s finally leaving him, and he’s about to make things official with the Marchioness! Crazy, right? The thinking goes the palace is trying to phase out the future king’s current wife to make room for his new (well, former) lady. You know, just like his father eventually went official with his mistress!
Obviously all of this is just massive speculation — and plenty of royal sources don’t even believe William and Rose ever had a fling! Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s pal Omid Scobie told ET last year:
“Unfortunately, if a rumor’s left to kind of do its own thing it can run 20 laps around the world before you even think about what, how you want to kind of address it. They never addressed it, so those rumors will never go away even though there’s no truth to suggest that they are true.”
He added:
“And I really don’t see proof that there is more to this than just a tittle-tattle, you know.”
Hmm. It’s certainly messy AF! And with the conspiracy theories growing worse, we’d think the palace might finally want to shut down the speculation once and for all — that is, if it’s really all just rumors! None of this is helping the heir’s reputation, that’s for sure!
The question is, since they could solve all this with a single TikTok in which Kate tells everyone she’s fine… why don’t they??
Thoughts? Let us know (below)!
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