Who Is Rose Hanbury? Prince William’s Alleged Affair, Explained

Royal families and monarchies are no strangers to gossip and questions about their fidelity. And the British royal family in particular is certainly no exception. Where fans have avidly watched The Crown for insights into the love lives of royalty (lest we forget about King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort’s relationship, too) there are certainly more timely infidelities running riot in the rumour mill. Prince William himself, has been embroiled in such rumours. Following the release of the second trailer of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, royal watchers are asking what exactly Buckingham Palace was lying about. “They were happy to lie to protect my brother,” says Harry in the trailer, leading many to speculate that he may be talking about Prince William’s alleged affair. But who is the lady in question? And what was the whole #PrinceOfPegging about? Here’s everything we know.

Who Is The ‘Prince Of Pegging’?

First of all, it is important to note that nothing here is confirmed or verified information, but an explanation of the conversation which happened online. The Prince of Wales was dubbed the ‘Prince of Pegging’ after DeuxMoi ran an anonymous post about a royal affair. Important to note that DeuxMoi’s disclaimer reads: “this account does not claim any information published is based in fact.”

But anyway, there was a (rather scandalous) claim made about an unidentified royal, suspected to be Prince William, about an extramarital affair, and a love of pegging. “This is so salacious I’m almost too shook to share with you (but will anyway),” the post read. “This British royal’s extramarital affair is an open secret in London and amongst the English aristo set, and is the talk of every party and desk. At a recent media party, I was told the real reason for the affair was the royal’s love of pegging, which the wife is far too old-fashioned to engage in. The wife doesn’t mind her and in fact prefers her husband getting his sexual needs fulfilled elsewhere, as long as things don’t become emotional, which was the case with the last woman.”

So, Is Prince William Having An Affair?

The Deuxmoi post is believed to be about Prince William for a few reasons. Namely that the heir to the throne has been previously romantically connected to Rose Hanbury, Marchioness of Cholmondeley (pronounced Chumley, naturally), with reports of this affair having surfaced on and off for years.

Hanbury is (or was) a member of William and Kate Middleton’s inner circle, and she and her husband live at Houghton Hall in Norfolk, a stone’s throw from the Prince and Princess’s Anmer Hall residence. The “old-fashioned” wife is believed to be Middleton. Despite the spike in searches for pegging and Prince William’s affair, Buckingham Palace has not addressed the rumours and, given its track record, is unlikely to address the matter publicly.

Who Is Rose Hanbury?

As previously stated, Rose Hanbury is the Marchioness of Cholmondeley. She and Prince William move in the same circles, as Hanbury’s grandmother — Lady Elizabeth Lambert — was a bridesmaid for Queen Elizabeth. Hanbury has been a guest at numerous royal events, including William and Kate’s wedding in 2011, President Trump’s state visit, and more recently, Prince Philip’s memorial service. It’s also rumoured that Hanbury and Middleton were pretty good friends, until that is, Kate started to see Hanbury as her “rural rival” — as Gawker has pointed out, they look rather alike.

The Marchioness is a former model and used to be signed to Storm Models, the same agency that discovered Kate Moss. Back in 2016, she shared a picture on Instagram of herself and Amanda Seyfried modelling for Miu Miu in Vogue. She was also briefly a researcher for Conservative MP, Michael Gove.

Hanbury married David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley, in 2009, having first met on holiday in Italy in 2003. There is a 23-year age gap between the couple, according to Hello! magazine, and they tied the knot after being engaged for just two days. They also share three children: Alexander, Earl of Rocksavage; Oliver, Lord Cholmondeley; and Lady Iris.

During the late Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, Cholmondeley — otherwise known as David Rocksavage — held the title of Lord Great Chamberlain. As per the Daily Mail, part of his role was to walk backwards in front of the Queen during the State Opening of Parliament. However, following the Queen’s death, the filmmaker has been replaced by the 7th Lord Carrington. Although some may link the role change to the aforementioned affair rumours, Cholmondeley lost the position due to a long-standing tradition that sees the title awarded to another aristocratic family upon the death of the monarch.

Does Prince Harry Reference The Affair In His Netflix Docuseries?

On Dec. 8, Neftlix released part one of Harry & Meghan, a six-episode docuseries on the couple’s transition away from their royal titles. While the first three episodes focused heavily on their love story, how the duo supported each other, and Meghan ’s family; the second part will dive deep into how the UK media and royal family treated the couple to the point of their departure. In the short trailer for part two, Harry discussed the disparity between him and William, he said, “They were happy to lie to protect my brother. They were never willing to tell the truth to protect us.”

Although Harry does not explicitly mention Hanbury, some have pointed out that the Duke of Sussex appears to be referring to the rumours of the affair. William and Hanbury’s alleged affair hit the headlines in March 2019, around the same time that Meghan was pregnant with Archie and as a result faced harsh and racist headlines. In the same trailer, Meghan said she wasn’t “thrown to the wolves,” she was being “fed” to them, possibly talking about how the royal family protected Prince William and worked to shut down the rumours of an affair, without extending the same courtesy to her.

Why Does It Matter?

Even though #PrinceOfPegging definitely brought us some light-hearted memes and some much-needed humour, it doesn’t reflect all that well on the royal family as an institution. Especially when you consider the number of scandals – Prince Harry’s comments, the infamous Oprah interview, Prince Andrew’s civil sexual assault case and friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, and King Charles’s dodgy dealings – it paints a very precarious picture for the future of the monarchy beyond the late Queen Elizabeth II’s rule.