Is Prince William Still Dealing With Rose Hanbury Cheating Rumors?
Prince William and Kate Middleton's relationship has been mostly immune to criticism, at least in comparison to brother, Prince Harry's marriage to Meghan Markle. The biggest scandal to rock the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's rock-solid foundation, in fact, occurred in March 2019 when rumors surfaced of an issue between Kate and her "rural rival," Rose Hanbury, per The Sun (via Elle).
However, the Daily Mail quickly clarified that such stories were false and even suggested that the royal couple had considered taking legal action. "None of the reports have been able to offer any evidence about what the so-called dispute is about, [so] they have chosen to ignore it," per the outlet. Nevertheless, this led to rumors of infidelity on William's part, involving Hanbury herself (via Elle). The royal couple lived quite close to Hanbury and her own husband at the time.
Luckily, the Cambridges managed to weather the storm and even, as Us Weekly confirmed, seemingly came out of it much stronger. "It forced [Kate] and William to sit back and examine their relationship, which they realized they should have been doing more often," an insider revealed.
Has everything died down in the intervening time, or does William still feel pressured to defend himself in the court of public opinion?
Prince William may be struggling in private
According to In Touch Weekly (via Aussie site Micky), Prince William is still struggling with the fallout from rumors that he cheated on Kate Middleton with her bitter rival, Rose Hanbury. Although the Duke of Cambridge never even acknowledged the allegations publicly, let alone commented on them, behind the scenes, they're reportedly just another in a long line of issues he has had to contend with.
"There's the fallout from his cheating scandal, his feud with Prince Harry, and his power struggle with his father over who will be king," an insider listed. Likewise, revisiting his mother's, the late Princess Diana's, sad life via the hit Netflix show "The Crown" didn't help matters.
The father of three is putting on a brave face but, "friends and people inside the palace are worried about him," said the insider. "He's holding on to so much anger." The stressed-out royal allegedly might even be turning to alcohol to lessen the pain.
However, it's worth noting that this is all purely conjecture based on one source's opinion. The cheating rumors died because William and Kate refused to give them oxygen, so it's likely they're taking the same tack going forward in hopes everybody will simply forget it ever happened.
The cheating scandal was little more than a 'blip'
Although Prince William was plagued by cheating rumors at one point, even if he did get close to Rose Hanbury, royal experts believe there was nothing untoward to their relationship.
During a 2019 appearance on the "Royals" podcast, via CheatSheet, commentator Angela Mollard reasoned, "I suspect that they were just good mates, they got on well." Although she acknowledged that various stories suggested Kate Middleton had cut off her former friend because she'd acted improperly with her husband, as far as Mollard is concerned, William isn't the kind of man "that would ever put either his marriage or the monarchy in jeopardy."
Moreover, the fact that the rumors died down after a while and have yet to resurface since suggests that it was little more than "a blip," if anything, she said. "They may have become close, it may have been slightly inappropriate," but there wasn't any "substance" to the relationship.
Although the story attracted a lot of attention at the time, it's worth reiterating that this is "the only scandal" the Cambridges have really had to deal with during their lengthy relationship. "Anything that happens with the heir to the throne, number two in waiting, it makes news headlines," Mollard said. But there's nothing more to it than that.
William and Kate are stronger than ever before
They've been together for over a decade and weathered at least one major scandal during that time, but the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are more in love than ever. According to Aussie site 7News, during the recent Earthshot Prize awards ceremony, Prince William and Kate Middleton were caught "full-on snogging" (i.e., making out, for those who aren't familiar with British slang).
The eyewitness account was detailed by infamous celebrity gossip site Deux Moi. The Earthshot awards, which honor those working hard to tackle the world's most pressing environmental issues, took place in London, and William impressed with his rousing inspirational speeches at the event.
Backstage, though, all eyes were on the famous couple, who were reportedly "all over each other whenever it was quiet and no one was really around, just like a couple of kids in love." The source was surprised to see William and Kate indulging in such blatant PDA, but, according to alleged friends of the couple, the vibe was "casual" prior to proceedings starting proper.
The insider also shot down rumors of a longstanding feud between Middleton and Rose Hanbury, who was in attendance at the event herself. "The rumors have always been scoffed at in my circles," according to the source. Evidently, the proof is in the pudding when it comes to this scandal.