Did Pippa Middleton Shut Down Rumors William Had An Affair? Some Royal Fans Say Yes
Rumors that William, Prince of Wales had an affair have been circulating for years. InTouch Weekly was the outlet that initially reported that William stepped out on Catherine, Princess of Wales while she was pregnant with the couple's third child, Prince Louis. The person named as William's mistress was Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley, following an unsubstantiated claim that she had a falling out with Kate. Hanbury has had ties to the British royal family for her whole life. For example, Hanbury's grandmother, Lady Elizabeth Lambart, was a bridesmaid at Queen Elizabeth II's wedding. Moreover, Hanbury's son Arthur served as a Page of Honor at King Charles's coronation in May 2023, alongside William and Kate's son Prince George.
The Hanbury affair rumors quieted down rather quickly but resurfaced in early 2024 after Kate's abdominal surgery and her subsequent absence from the public eye. However, some royal fans have found themselves convinced that said rumors are complete rubbish, thanks to something that Kate's sister Pippa Middleton did. In 2022, Pippa gave birth to a baby girl named Rose Louise Victoria. It seems obvious that there's no way that Pippa would name her child "Rose" if there were any chance that William had an affair with a woman by the same name ... right?
The meaning behind the name Pippa Middleton chose for her daughter
Pippa Middleton and her husband James Matthews have three children together: Arthur, Grace, and Rose. When it came to naming their children, Pippa and her husband weren't under any strict rules or guidelines — such as choosing traditional family names — like her royal older sister Kate Middleton. Arthur Michael William Matthews was born in October 2018 and was named after James' grandfather. His middle names, Michael and William, are nods to his maternal grandfather, Michael Middleton, and his uncle, Prince William. Two years later, Grace Elizabeth Jane, was born. Her first name doesn't have any connection to her parents' immediate families, but her middle names are tributes to James' mother, Jane Matthews, and Pippa's mom, Carole Elizabeth Middleton.
This brings us to Rose, who was born in June 2022, three years after the Rose Hanbury affair rumors first surfaced. Not unlike her older sister, Rose's name doesn't seem to hold significant family meaning, but may have just been a moniker that Pippa and James fancied. This seems to further prove that the rumored affair between William and Hanbury never actually happened. Would Pippa actually troll her sister in such a hurtful way with a name that wasn't tied to a close family member? Unlikely. Pippa and Kate were very close when they were kids and have become the best of friends even as adults. In fact, The Royal Observer reports that Pippa was a "rock" for her sister amid her March 2024 cancer diagnosis.
Rose Hanbury has denied having an affair with Prince William
As if Pippa Middleton's daughter's name isn't enough to convince royal watchers that the Prince William affair rumors aren't true, Rose Hanbury also spoke out about them in March 2024. Keeping things short and sweet — and going through her lawyers, Hanbury maintained that "the rumors are completely false," per Business Insider. Hanbury has taken things a step further and had her lawyer send a legal notice to late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert following his jokes about the alleged affair. "We have written on our client's behalf to CBS and various other reputable media organizations to confirm that the allegation is false," Hanbury's lawyers told InTouch Weekly.
For those unfamiliar with Hanbury, she married David Rocksavage, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley, in 2009, and the couple has three children together: twins Alexander and Oliver and a daughter named Iris. The affair rumors appeared to quiet down once more after Kate Middleton revealed that she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy for cancer in an Instagram post uploaded on March 22, 2024.