The British Royal Family has a long history with malicious gossip , some they ’ve addressed principal on , and others that have continued to be rumors .
If you’ve been anywhere on the internet over the last few weeks, you’ve probably noticed the absolute chaos that has erupted over Kate Middleton, aka the Princess of Wales.
It all started when Kensington Palaceannouncedthat Kate was admitted to a London hospital for surgery in January 2024, after her last public outing on Dec. 25, 2023. The palace noted in their statement that it was a “planned abdominal surgery” and she would not “return to public duties until after Easter.”
Throughout February, William attended a series of high profile events,like the BAFTAs, alone. Then, he had to miss the memorial service for his godfather, King Constantine of Greece, due to a “personal matter.” So, yes, hedropped outof a royal engagement.
By the time February ended, the entire internet was wondering where Kate was, withcountless memesspreading about her whereabouts. A rep for Kateissueda statement saying that Kensington Palace “made it clear in January the timelines of the princess' recovery.”
That brings us to just a few days ago, when things got arguably even more chaotic after the official Instagram account for the prince and princess shared a photo of Kate for UK Mother’s Day. And, well, the photo appeared to be photoshopped. It was so badly edited that photo agenciesrefusedto run the image.
All of this just fueled the “Where is Kate Middleton really?!” conspiracy theories, memes, and news coverage, with many even more invested in the saga now.
So, because we seem to be living through yet another British Royal Family scandal — and PR crisis — here are 21 real-life facts about other Royal Family scandals and events throughout the years that you might not know about:
1.First, King William II, who ruled from 1057 to 1100, died after he was shot through the chest with an arrow while out hunting. Walter Tirel, who wasreportedlyalone with the king at the time of the accident, fled the scene, with the rest of the hunting party not going to William’s side. William’s body was reportedly found by locals who transported him to Winchester Cathedral.
2.Known as thePrinces in the Tower, the deaths of King Edward V and his brother, Richard, Duke of York, in 1483 in the Tower of London remains one of the most interesting Royal Family mysteries. Edward V and Richard were entrusted to be protected by the Duke of Gloucester prior to Edward’s official coronation, however the Dukereportedlyplaced both Edward and Richard in the Tower of London. They were never seen alive again. The Duke of Gloucester, aka King Richard III, ultimately ascended the throne.
3.In May 1810, Ernest Augustus, the Duke of Cumberland, and later King of Hanover, was woken up in his house and was reportedly wounded by a sabre. After calling one of his valets, people in the house quickly found Joseph Sellis, another valet, in his locked room with his throat slashed. Reportssurfacedthat Ernest might’ve murdered his valet, after it was believed that Joseph had been blackmailing him.
4.In December 1936, King Edward VIII shockinglyannouncedhe was abdicating the throne, thus reshaping the entire future of the monarchy. He voluntarily abdicated the throne in order to marry US socialite Wallis Simpson, who was divorced. The Church of England, the government, and Edward’s advisors made it clear that marrying Wallis would be impossible while he was King. He had been reigning King for less than a year at the time.
5.As depicted inThe Crown, Princess Margaret and her love affair with Peter Townsend was one of the earliest scandals during Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. Margaretreportedlyfirst fell in love with Peter when she was 17, while he was 32, married, and had two children. He’d later divorce his wife with every intention of marrying Margaret. Despite theirengagement, the Queen did not grant Margaret permission to marry Peter, and it was called off.
6.Princess Margaret would marry Antony Armstrong-Jones, aka Lord Snowdon. Many reported that Antony washavingextramarital affairs while they were married, with Margaretreportedlyalso known for carrying out affairs, too. Their marriage was believed to be in trouble whenphotosof Margaret with Roddy Llewellyn, a gardener, surfaced. In March 1976, the New York Timesreportedthat they were separating after 16 years of marriage.
7.In March 1974, Princess Anne was at the center of anattempted kidnappingwhen Ian Ball, an unemployed laborer, shot at her car as it was returning to Buckingham Palace. Her chauffeur and private detective were both injured, with Ball climbing in the front seat of the car. Eventually, after fending off Ball herself, Anne was helped by passerby Ronnie Russell.
8.Princess Anne and Mark Phillips were both rumored to have extramarital relationships while they were married to each other from 1973 to 1992. In particular, Anne reportedly began herromancewith Timothy Laurence, her current husband, around 1989 whenlettersbetween the pair were reportedly stolen and leaked to the press. As for Mark, in 1991 he was at the center of apaternity suitwhere a 37-year-old woman in New Zealand alleged that he was the father of her child.
9.In 1992, months after Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, and Prince Andrew separated, photos of Sarah on vacation with John Bryan, her financial advisor, werepublishedin the Daily Mirror. The photos depicted Bryan seemingly sucking Fergie’s toes. The photos werepublishedalongside several other paparazzi photos from their vacation in St. Tropez.
10.Queen Elizabeth IIdubbed1992 as “Annus Horribilis,” aka a horrible year. The yearprovedto be one of the most difficult in her reign. Most notably, three of her four children’s marriages were ending, conversations from Princess Diana and Prince Charles to their reported lovers were leaked, a book detailing Princess Diana’s mental health struggles was published, and media and public scrutiny was at an all-time high.
11.In 1993, the British media published transcripts of privateconversationsbetween Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles. Known as “Camillagate” or “Tampongate,” the phone calls notably included Charles telling Camilla he would like to “live inside [her] trousers,” joking that he would like to be a tampon. At the time, both Charles and Camilla were married to other people.
12.In November 1995, Princess Diana notably sat down for a TV interview with journalist Martin Bashir. The televised interview famouslyfeaturedDiana confronting the Charles and Camilla rumors by saying, “Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.” In 2020, a formal investigation was launched whichfoundthat Bashir “used fake documents to gain access to Diana.”
13.Of course, all of this drama ultimately led to one of the biggest British Royal Family media frenzies, which was Prince Charles and Princess Diana’sdivorce. After separating in 1992, their divorce was finalized in August 1996. After their divorce, Princess Diana was under media attention even more, with her relationship with Dodi Fayed notably taking center stage. In one instance, photos of Diana and Dodi kissing were published on the front page of the Sunday Mirror andreportedlyattracted bids of £500,000
14.Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed were killed in a fatal car crash in Paris in August 1997, with the entire world mourning Diana’s passing. Alongside widespread rumors surrounding her death, the royal family wascriticizedfor their strict adherence to protocol, and there wasreportedly"angry public response" to the family’s initial refusal to lower the flag to half-mast at Buckingham Palace.
15.In 2002, Prince Harry wasreportedlytaken to a rehab facility for a single day after Prince Charles discovered Harry was “regularly smoking” marijuana. At the time, the Guardian reported that the incident was “highly embarrassing for the royal family,” and the incident put a spotlight on Harry, who was still coping with Princess Diana’s death.
16.In 2005, photos of Prince Harry wearing a Nazi costume at a Halloween party werepublishedby British tabloids, with many calling for him to bedisqualifiedfrom joining the army and calling him out for minimizing the Holocaust. In his 2023 memoir,Spare, Harrywroteabout the incident, saying, “I phoned Willy and Kate, asked what they thought. Nazi uniform, they said.”
17.In 2010, Sarah Ferguson, aka Fergie, was caughtoffering accessto Prince Andrew, her ex-husband, for a reported £500,000. In a video obtained by an undercover journalist posing as a businessperson, you can reportedly hear Fergie say, “500,000 pounds when you can, to me, open doors.” She laterissuedan apology saying she “deeply regret the situation and the embarrassment caused.”
18.In 2012, photos of a naked Prince Harry from his trip to Las Vegassurfaced. TMZ posted the photos of Harry online, which featured Harry engaging in a game of strip billiards at a “high rollers hotel suite.” At the time the Daily Telegraph reportedly said the publication of the photos “risks embarrassing Buckingham Palace and raises questions about the prince’s security arrangements.”
19.In 2019, Prince Andrew spoke to BBC about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, with Vanity Fair viewing theinterviewas a “clumsy attempt to clear his name.” This came after photos of Andrew and Epstein walking together in NYC surfaced in 2010. At the time, Virginia Roberts Giuffre came forward with aphotographof herself and Andrew, and alleged she had sex with him three times. Prince Andrewsettledhis sexual abuse lawsuit with Giuffre in 2022.
20.Also in 2019, rumorsbegancirculating that Prince William was cheating on Kate Middleton with Rose Hanbury, a friend of Kate’s. The rumors resurfaced after a new book titledEndgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survivalwas published in 2023, which mentioned the rumors. They’ve nowresurfacedagain in 2024 following Kate’s absence from her royal duties. The rumors have never been directly addressed by the royal family.
21.And finally, in January 2020, Queen Elizabeth II released astatementdetailing the royal family’s summit in Sandringham to discuss Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s exit from their duties as senior royals. The news came after increased media intrusion, with the toxic dynamic being a catalyst for their departure,accordingto Harry.
