11 Celebs Who Reportedly Dated A Royal

Oh, the royal family — just when you think we've gotten to the bottom of the information well, new pieces of information come to light. This doesn't apply to just the British royal family, either. You may not be aware of the fact that there are royal families scattered across Europe, Asia, and the continents, and many of the institutions come with their flirts, malcontents, and playboys.

When we think about royal dating, Prince William comes to mind. The Prince of Wales dated Catherine, Princess of Wales, in his university days and made quite the splash given that his peer was a commoner. The heir to the throne and the St. Andrews student were on again, then off again, as William was said to be vetting his romantic choice thoroughly — whoever he married would become queen consort one day. Their romance was so prolonged that Catherine was given the nickname "Waity Katie," alluding to the amount of time it took for William to propose (via Mirror). When he did, the nation celebrated, a royal wedding followed, and the rest is history.

William is just one royal who has been romantically connected to a celebrity over the years, and of course, as has his brother, Prince William (who married his bride and "Suits" star Meghan Markle). The Venn diagram between royals and celebrities, as it turns out, has a lot of crossovers. Here are 11 celebrities who dated a royal.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle: Love them or hate them, the two are known for sharing their truth and advocating for the issues that are closest to them in the process. Their Netflix documentary, "Harry and Meghan," shed even more light on the early days of their romance and just how protective they were of the blossoming love.

Amid the candid footage, the Netflix documentary is a beautiful love story of two looking for that life-changing romance. After connecting via social media, Harry and Meghan met in London. Telling the cameras that he was sweating and convinced that Meghan would call it quits before anything between them even started, Harry recounted that very first date and how he and the actress connected.

After staying in contact but going back to their individual lives, Harry and Meghan reconnected when he asked the "Suits" star to join him on a trip to Botswana. Not exactly the tiaras and castles you may envision when thinking of celeb/royal crossovers, Harry and Meghan fell in love while sleeping in tents and backpacking through the African terrain. Of their love story, a close friend revealed as part of the book "Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family," "The fact that they're both as happy just throwing on a backpack and going out to explore ... I honestly think these experiences will never stop for them."

When we think of hard-working royals who keep their lives fuss-free and dedicated to the crown, Princess Anne comes to mind. Despite engaging in a little bit of royal drama herself — as she got divorced and remarried, which is a bit of a no-no — Anne is often dubbed the hardest-working royal, and her personal life displays such drama-free dedication. Her daughter, Zara Phillips, is a staple on the royal scene, and she is very much part of the firm and its causes. Alongside her at royal events is her husband, Mike Tindall, who was quite well-known before marrying into the family.

As noted by Brides, Mike was a star rugby player and quite the man's man in the sporting world. He and Zara met at a bar in Sydney, Australia, during the 2003 Rugby World Cup after he just exited the British team. Their meeting was a classic boy-meets-girl-in-a-bar — she gave his friend her number and the rest is history.

Soon after Mike and Zara made their romance public, the rugby star met Princess Anne and Mark Phillips, divorced royals who are still on pretty good terms. "Zara's mum is a legend, and her father is lovely too," Mike said in 2008 of the royal's parents. "My mates in Wakefield are forever asking how I fit in among the royal family, but they are really down to earth."

Before he became the mental health advocate and married father of two that we know him to be today, Prince Harry was once seen as the royal playboy who bounced from girl to girl, engaging in some headline-making behavior while doing so. Given that he has since shed more light on that time in his life, we know now that much of his frivolous dating and youthful indiscretions were, sadly, trauma coping mechanisms — but that didn't stop his name and the names of several well-known celebs to share the front page years ago.

As noted by Express, Harry was once romantically linked to singer Ellie Goulding, who has been behind hits such as "Lights" and "Still Falling For You." The hitmaker has actually been tied to the royal family for some time, as she and Princess Eugenie are said to be good friends, but it was her flirtatious time with Harry that had a lot of people talking. During an interview in 2016, the singer was asked about her romance with the Duke of Sussex, as they had been seen together at a polo match earlier in the year — and as many royal watchers know, polo matches are often the scene of some royal PDA. When pressed on the matter, Ellie simply said, "Please don't make me go red. I'm bright red," before declaring, "Why did I have a feeling that was going to come up? Naughty people!"

We're going back to the Golden Age of Hollywood for this one. For those who need a crash course in Hollywood elite, Rita Hayworth was one of her day's most popular actresses and one of the classic Hollywood pin-up girls who shot to fame during World War II. Becoming the image and voice of a generation, Rita starred in the 1948 film "Gilda," which became one of Europe's most popular films in the summer of that year, Vanity Fair notes. In doing so, Rita caught the attention of a royal — Prince Aly Khan.

As Vanity Fair tells it, Khan became somewhat obsessed with Rita, who was married to Orson Welles at the time. He told friend and gossip writer Elsa Maxwell of his wish to meet the Hollywood legend, and — as luck would have it — his prayers were answered. Rita was set to arrive in Europe shortly, and Elsa was helping the prince plan an extravagant party at the Palm Beach Casino. Telling the royal she would do everything she could to get him seated next to Rita, Elsa did her magic, and the rest is history.

But was it love at first sight for these two? Definitely not. Shifra Haran, Rita's secretary, said of their introduction, "The prince was immediately smitten, but Miss Hayworth definitely was not." Still, Rita and Khan would go on to be married from 1949 until 1953 and had one child together.

Rob Lowe dated Princess Stéphanie of Monaco back in the 1980s. As noted by InStyle, Lowe first mentioned the princess when he was in London filming "Oxford Blues." He suggested that she take the opposing role in the film, but his efforts never materialized. Just a few years later, Stéphanie appeared on the cover of Vogue, and the actor was smitten. Glenn Souham, a colleague who happened to know the royal, set about introducing them.

What exactly happened between these two? As InStyle points out, Lowe and Stéphanie had their first date in Paris, with the actor writing in his autobiography of the evening, "By dessert, neither of us is interested in anything other than getting the hell out of there and back to her apartment." As it turned out, Stéphanie was seeing someone else at the time but asked her butler to clean out her boyfriend's things from her apartment so that she and the "Parks and Recreation" star could continue with their evening. After that, Lowe admitted that he left the hotel he was staying in at the time and "moved in" with Stéphanie in her flat.

Though their romance seemed rather hot and heavy, Lowe admitted in 2012 that there was nothing truly sustainable between himself and the princess. Saying that they were "the definition of immediate fireworks," it's clear that these two shone brightly, then faded just as quickly.

Though Prince Harry was known for a time as a bit of a royal player, he had many established relationships over the years. As noted by Town & Country, he and actress Cressida Bonas were together from 2012 until 2014, and their relationship was — not surprisingly — well-documented by the tabloids. However, royal expert Tina Brown asserted in her book, "The Palace Papers," that their relationship went far deeper than people may have initially thought — Cressida was said to have encouraged Harry to go to therapy for the first time to address his mental health struggles.

"His outbursts were ever more frequent and childlike," Brown wrote in her book of the time Harry and Cressida were dating. "He took up boxing because, as he later said, he was always 'on the verge of punching somebody.' Cressida began to have serious worries about his mental health. It is not widely known that it was she who first persuaded Harry to see a therapist."

Thanks to Cressida, Harry was said to have "accepted" that "he had problems," and began seeing a psychoanalyst. The two later split up for a number of reasons — Cressida wanted to zone in more on her acting career, and the constant media attention made things difficult for the young couple (story of Harry's life, it seems). Nevertheless, it's clear that Harry and Cressida had a meaningful time together and are better off for dating.

Though much of the royal press coverage focuses on the British royal family, the royal family of Spain is equally glamorous. Namely, Queen Letizia is known for her grace, subtle political statements, and dedication to the job — having been married to King Felipe VI for more than a decade, these two are incredibly secure.

Before she married Felipe, however, Letizia was a well-known figure in Spain as she was a popular television newscaster. As noted by Popsugar, Letizia worked for Televisión Española and served as an anchor during the evening broadcast. She famously covered the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and the war in Iraq and made quite a name for herself within her industry. Felipe, then a prince, was taken by the news broadcaster and asked his friend, fellow journalist Pedro Erquicia, to set them up. The dinner was ultimately a success — Letizia gave her number to the future king, and they started dating a few months later.

Letizia is a very solid, reliable queen, but she is a bit of an anomaly for the role. A commoner, Letizia became the first woman with no royal lineage to assume the Spanish crown. She is also divorced, having married Alonso Guerrero Pérez in the 1990s. Talk about a trendsetter.

When we think about royal playboys, one Prince Charles comes to mind — though he is now happily married, Charles was quite the bachelor back in the day and seemingly jumped from girlfriend to girlfriend before marrying Diana Spencer. However, there is another international royal who may dethrone him as the royal playboy — Prince Albert of Monaco. A cursory search about Albert will show that he cycled through girlfriends, crushes, and flings faster than the star football player in college. Though he finally got married in 2011 to Charlene Wittstock — and reports of Albert's illegitimate daughter overshadowed their nuptials — the prince's reputation hasn't improved drastically. In fact, back in the day, Albert was romantically connected with supermodel Naomi Campbell, if you can believe it.

As noted by Esquire, Naomi was just one of many celebrities and dazzling models that Albert kept company. While these two never confirmed if they were an item, Albert and Naomi were photographed partying across Europe, and the body language between them was quite telling. Seen holding hands, hugging, and even feeding each other, Albert and Naomi were quite the spectacle.

Whatever happened between them, it does appear that everything is friendly. As noted by CheatSheet, the supermodel was one of the many guests that attended Albert's wedding to Charlene, so clearly, things are cordial between the rumored exes.

Remember how we were just talking about Prince Albert, the playboy? Well, one of his most high-profile relationships came with model Claudia Schiffer, who was seen as the world's most sought-after beauty for years. In a cover story for Vanity Fair, Schiffer modeled and even touched on her relationship with Albert, who was dubbed "the world's most elusive bachelor." The two were seen together throughout their relationship at a number of high-profile events, including the Monegasque social season, balls, the Grand Prix, and more, across both Europe and the Americas. Questions circulated about their romance and the starkly different worlds they came from — Schiffer was notoriously private, and Albert was equally as wild.

The romance between Albert and Schiffer started in the summer of 1993, according to French journalist Emmanuel de Brantes, who asserted at the time that the two could very easily go the distance. Though neither commented on their romance, the model did address it — in a way — while questioned at the Ritz in Paris.

"I prefer not to talk about that,” she said at the time. "But one thing I can tell you is that I'm not getting married right now. I'm only 22. I do know Albert very well. I live in Monte Carlo, so it's only normal.” Of course, these two did not make it down the aisle — but their romance gave royal watchers a lot to talk about.

This would've been the early 2000s relationship to end all celebrity/royal romances — Prince William and Britney Spears were linked at one point, which either comes as news to you or just a sad reminder for what could've been. In 2002, the princess of pop gave an interview with Frank Skinner and addressed her relationship with the now-Prince of Wales, saying that they had formed a "cyber" connection and chatted via email while both teenagers (via Fox News). When Spears was 20, she found herself in London and even extended a dinner offer to William — he stood her up.

"We exchanged emails for a little bit and he was supposed to come and see me somewhere but it didn't work out," Britney explained of their 2002 date that never was. "You were blown out by Prince William?" Skinner questioned, to which Spears replied, "Yeah."

The timing of the cyber relationship gave people a lot to talk about. Spears, who had famously been in a relationship with Justin Timberlake, had just split from the heartthrob hitmaker. Unlike William, Spears knew what it was like to deal with intense paparazzi and have the details of her life hit the headlines. If only he hadn't stood her up for that date, the Prince of Wales and the princess of pop could've been quite the item.

The Golden Age of Hollywood gave us a number of Hollywood/royal crossovers, including the aforementioned Rita Hayworth. Yet another celeb transformed into a princess overnight, and that was Grace Kelly. Kelly, of course, was the golden girl of the screen for years, as her beauty and talent firmly set her apart from the crowd. It only made sense, then, for her to take things one step further and transform from Hollywood royalty to actual royalty, and that's exactly what happened in 1956. As noted by History, Kelly married Prince Rainier of Monaco in a stunning ceremony just one year after meeting him, and it seemed as though her blossoming into the world's most-watched celebrity was complete.

Kelly and Rainier met while the Hollywood icon was filming the 1955 film, "To Catch a Thief." Shooting in the French Riviera, the prince was immediately smitten with the actress, though she wasn't so convinced. Kelly finally agreed to keep in touch, and things evolved from there. The two got married in 1956, Kelly said goodbye to acting, and she became Princess Grace of Monaco. After welcoming three children and firmly establishing herself as a royal, Kelly tragically died at just 52 years old in 1982. While driving a mountain road situated by the Cote D'Azur, Kelly drove off the path and died due to her injuries.