Who is Rose Hanbury? Prince William’s alleged affair resurfaces as Kate Middleton drama escalates
Royal rumors galore.
Rose Hanbury has come back into the spotlight, as rumors swirl around what’s going on with Prince William and Kate Middleton.
“The kingdom has been all aflutter by 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,” Stephen Colbert said on Tuesday’s episode of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.”
What was the comedian talking about?
Middleton, 42, has barely been seen in public since her planned abdominal surgery in January.
Wild conspiracy theories about her whereabouts and the reason for her long absence have abounded on social media.
Prince William, 41, has ignored questions about his wife’s condition and her recovery from her unspecified medical issue.
Circumstances got more bizarre when Kensington Palace released a Mother’s Day photo of Middleton smiling with her children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5.
The photo was subsequently recalled by news agencies, which claimed the photo was “manipulated.”
A “kill notification” released by AP read, “At closer inspection, it appears that the source has manipulated the image.”
Middleton herself took to X (formerly Twitter) on Monday to explain why the portrait was “manipulated.”
“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused,” she wrote.
She ended by saying, “I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day” — which was Sunday in the UK — and ending casually with “C,” for her first name, Catherine.
Kensington Palace has refused to release the original unedited photo.
The snapshot was meant to put to bed the speculation about Middleton’s long absence from the public eye, but it backfired.
“Canceling all plans this afternoon as I’m now down a very deep rabbit hole,” one royal watcher joked on X.
“I’m not generally into conspiracy theories but this Kate Middleton photo has got me feeling like a flat earther,” another wrote.
As Colbert noted on his show, some speculation about Middleton has concerned Hanbury. Here’s everything to know.
Who is Rose Hanbury?
Hanbury, 39, is a member of William and Kate’s inner circle.
Her connection to the royal family goes back generations, since her grandmother, Lady Elizabeth Lambart, was of the bridesmaids at the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s 1947 wedding.
Since 2009, she’s been married to David Rocksavage, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley.
The couple live at their family’s Norfolk estate, Houghton Hall, not far from Anmer Hall (William and Kate’s estate).
The duo have been known to socialize with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
They attended Queen Elizabeth’s state funeral, and also attended King Charles III’s coronation in May 2023.
Their 15-year-old son, Lord Oliver Cholmondeley, was one of the pages of honor at the coronation, along with Prince George.
In addition to Oliver, they have two other kids: Oliver’s twin, Alexander Hugh, and Iris Marina Aline, who is 8.
Before she married, Hanbury worked as a researcher for Conservative Party Parliament member Michael Gove. She also reportedly used to work as a model.
What is Rose Hanbury’s title?
Hanbury’s official title is the Marchioness of Cholmondeley.
Cholmondeley is pronounced “Chumley.”
Colbert joked on Monday’s show, “What a beautiful name!” and proceeded to pretend to think her title was “Marching Band of Chicanery.”
What are the allegations?
Rumors about the alleged affair between William and Hanbury began in 2019 when In Touch reported the claim.
Hanbury was also rumored to be close friends with Middleton before having an alleged falling out around 2019, but that claim was never verified.
The Instagram gossip account Deuxmoi posted a tip in 2022 that claimed a British royal couple’s “extramarital affair is an open secret,” according to a screenshot shared by Cosmopolitan.
The message didn’t specify that the royal was William, but fans drew that conclusion.
Has any royal ever confirmed or denied the rumors?
Hanbury, Middleton and Prince William have not spoken publicly about the affair rumors.
But William’s attorney denied it and told the Daily Beast it was “false and highly damaging.”
Omid Scobie touched on the alleged scandal in his latest book about the royals, “Endgame,” and believes that nothing happened between the Prince of Wales and Hanbury.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Scobie said he understands why gossip has spread that William cheated on his wife.
“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,” the writer explained.
“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.
Scobie claimed that Kensington Palace feared that the rumors would “impact negatively on William’s reputation” and alleged that the Firm used Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to divert attention from the gossip.
The Post has reached out to Kensington Palace for comment.
