This week, Vulture published an impressively detailed article written by friend-of-the-blog Ellie Hall. Hall’s piece was about Rose Hanbury and the years of rumors of an alleged affair between Rose and Prince William. Hall’s analysis is less about the alleged affair and more about the media coverage of the rumors, and the subsequent attempts (many of them successful) to delete or alter the coverage in the British media. It begs the question: why is there a slow-motion cover-up and who is behind it? The answer is egg-shaped. Well, interestingly enough, Tom Sykes at the Daily Beast did a follow-up on Hall’s report, speaking to Hall and analyzing why this Rose story just won’t die. Some highlights:
Water off a duck’s back: Prince William’s office did not respond to a request for comment from The Daily Beast about whether they had been involved in getting the [Rose Hanbury] stories killed. However, The Daily Beast has reported on prior efforts by the Palace to stop outlets in the U.K., where Palace press officers have significant influence, from publishing items about the allegations. Friends of William told The Daily Beast that the allegations were “water off a duck’s back” to him that and he would have ignored the story as “rubbish on the internet,” but had been forced to act after Hanbury, who is a good friend of William and Princess Catherine, was named.
Streisand Effect: Ellie Hall, the author of the Vulture piece, told The Daily Beast that her story which highlighted the removal and editing of dozens of online articles without informing readers, was essentially a critique of “media transparency,” but added that the ongoing interest in the story was “pretty much a textbook example of the Streisand effect” and that trying to “hide information” had only served to make people even more interested in the allegations. Hall said: “I think that this story would have died on the vine back in 2019 if they hadn’t threatened legal action, because the fact that media organizations had been warned off it, as reported by The Daily Beast among others, then became the story. The fact that somebody really wants the story to go away is the only reason it’s still around.”
Why did so many outlets delete/alter the Rose stories? Hall contacted the newspapers which have removed articles but none responded to her queries with the exception of the Guardian which said it had made changes to one story (about the Colbert monologue) on its own initiative not because of “external” pressure.
One former editor explains: A former senior staffer at the Sun told The Daily Beast: “No one likes killing stories and it’s always a bigger deal than you expect. Many editors are against it in principle but it is a last resort when you have lawyers giving you major aggro. If no one is reading the story any more as it’s old, it’s preferable to retrospectively spike it than to waste thousands fighting it.”
Christopher Andersen on the Rose story: The royal author Christopher Andersen, author of a new biography of King Charles, told The Daily Beast, “Anyone who was attempting to scrub or alter past coverage of Rose Hanbury’s alleged affair with William has a mighty—make that impossible—task ahead of them. Of course the irony here is that, by trying to tidy up past articles, whoever is behind this is now pouring more fuel on the fire.”
Friends of William and Kate: However William and Catherine’s friends were quick to defend the couple for pushing back against the stories. One said: “I genuinely think if Rose hadn’t been named they would have regarded this as just more rubbish on the internet and wouldn’t have lifted a finger. Nonsense stories are water off a duck’s back to the royals.” The friend also pointed out that the Cholmondeleys are “one of the great families” and “have a ceremonial role in the monarchy.”
You can read my previous coverage in our Rose Hanbury archives. For years now, I’ve had an involved theory about what went down. My theory is that there was an affair between Rose and William (no smoke without fire) and that Kate actually did try to “phase out” her “rural rival” Rose. In the months before the Mail & Sun broke the story, Rose and William’s situation was common knowledge among the aristocrats and Turnip Toffs. Kate may be the Future Queen, but Rose is definitely the Queen of the Turnip Toffs, and the story becoming public was Rose’s revenge, it was Rose pushing back on Kate for not knowing “the rules.”
I also think it’s telling that even Wales-allies are like, yeah, it was different when Rose was named. There hasn’t been a similar freakout whenever William has been caught clubbing with random women or when he’s been seen out with a blonde. It was the fact that Rose was their neighbor in Norfolk, it was the fact that the gossip came out of the Toff set, it was the fact that Kensington Palace had no idea how to control it and so they went into panic mode for months and fed Harry and Meghan to the tabloids to cover it up. That’s another reason why the Rose story will never die – because it’s inextricably linked to what the Windsors did to the Sussexes, all to protect an unfaithful heir.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
- 154066, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attend a gala dinner in support of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices’ nook appeal at Houghton Hall. Kings Lynn, United Kingdom – Wednesday June 22, 2016. UK, FRANCE, AUS, NZ, CHINA, HONGKONG, TAIWAN, SPAIN & ITALY OUT Photograph: © WPA Pool / i-Images, PacificCoastNews. Los Angeles Office (PCN): +1 310.822.0419 UK Office (Photoshot): +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 sales@pacificcoastnews.com FEE MUST BE AGREED PRIOR TO USAGE,Image: 532468851, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS, DIRECT SALES ONLY UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE IN CAPTION – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: i-Images, PacificCoastNews / Avalon
- Sarah Rose Hanbury and David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley, at the Coronation of King Charles III at Westminster Abbey, London, on 06 May 2023.,Image: 774202176, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: James Veysey/Shutterstock / Avalon
- Sarah Rose Hanbury and David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley, at the Coronation of King Charles III at Westminster Abbey, London, on 06 May 2023.,Image: 774202212, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: James Veysey/Shutterstock / Avalon
- KING’S LYNN, ENGLAND – JUNE 22: HRH Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge attend a gala dinner in support of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices’ nook appeal at Houghton Hall on June 22, 2016 in King’s Lynn, England.
- KING’S LYNN, ENGLAND – JUNE 22: HRH Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge attend a gala dinner in support of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices’ nook appeal at Houghton Hall on June 22, 2016 in King’s Lynn, England.
- KING’S LYNN, ENGLAND – JUNE 22: HRH Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge attend a gala dinner in support of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices’ nook appeal at Houghton Hall on June 22, 2016 in King’s Lynn, England.
- KING’S LYNN, ENGLAND – JUNE 22: HRH Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge attend a gala dinner in support of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices’ nook appeal at Houghton Hall on June 22, 2016 in King’s Lynn, England.
- KING’S LYNN, ENGLAND – JUNE 22: HRH Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge are greeted by Rose Cholmondeley, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley as they attend a gala dinner in support of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices’ nook appeal at Houghton Hall on June 22, 2016 in King’s Lynn, England.
- KING’S LYNN, ENGLAND – JUNE 22: HRH Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge are greeted by David Cholmondeley, Marquess of Cholmondeley and Rose Cholmondeley, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley as they attend a gala dinner in support of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices’ nook appeal at Houghton Hall on June 22, 2016 in King’s Lynn, England.
Water off a duck’s back? That reminds me of the time I climbed Mount Everest in my bikini.
Except my bikini-climb is more likely
Oh dear — Rose 🌹 seems to be more engaging and dynamic than Katey. Well who cares about Will— we care more about Prince Harry who btw made a moving powerful speech during the Tillman Foundation award’s night.
Goodness, this woman has been kicked around the press like a football. I bet she wants to scream from the rooftops that she had nothing to do with him and she’s been/being used as some kind of deflection for years.
There was an affair but it’s long over and yeah they press are using her to get to him – they are poking the bear the get a reaction. They can’t talk about it as he’s gotten a super injunction out not just about the affair but also alleged financial mismanagement at the Royal Foundation.
There is a lot that the Wails, esp Peggy, don’t want the plebs to know about – from the hints the reporters have given over the years, its BAD!!!!!
If she had a years-long affair with the married future king of England, as there is very good reason to believe…I’m not sure she can complain about being dragged through the press for it*. She knew what she was signing on for when she decided to peg him.
Can’t most of us name at least one of Henry VIII’s former mistresses, even centuries later?
Why wouldn’t/shouldn’t she go down in history just as infamously (and/or piteously) as the mistresses of Will’s ancestors?
*ETA: I’m not advocating for shaming people for their sexual choices in general. But this is a world that exists for “rules” and “the way things are done” (see every comment about how Kate “broke the Turnip Toff rules,” or “didn’t understand how the aristo world works,” etc. for evidence.
Well, you can’t stand on centuries of tradition to support your superiority, racism, status as “one of the great ancient families,” etc., and then argue to jettison the ancient traditions you don’t like….
Such a good point about wanting to go against the toff grain when all Kate ever wanted was to be accepted by them.
Don’t yell at me for not giving her agency, but the whole story about wanting to exile Rose from high society and thus marking her territory around Egg reeks of Carole’s momager ways. I suspect she came up with it and sold it to Kate, even coaching her how to dethrone Rose and take her place in Toff circles. Then it backfired because she is also an outsider and doesn’t know shit about how the toffs think.
I really don’t think there was an affair. I’m sticking to my gut feeling on this, although it’s a lonely place to stick given that not many others think the same! What I believe happened is, Rose knows something about perhaps another relationship and by virtue of simply having that information, and somehow that information getting to Kate, she was cast out by W&K. Always the same: if you know about an affair you’re as guilty as the affair-ees for some people. However, who’d care about being cast out by Kate! Seriously. It’s one of those situations where you’d be delighted not to be on someone’s card list.
DK- you’re right, Rose is no victim here. The affair/pegging rumours aside, she’s someone who agreed to marry a man twice her age who spends all his time in Paris with his “best friend”, had a quickie registry office wedding with no photos two *days* after the engagement was announced and then produced both the heir and the spare just four months later.
Like so many marriages among the nobility this is an arranged one and Rose knew what she signed up for. She and Kate ain’t that different, they both know what side their bread is buttered.
The press wants to expose William so bad and they’re pressed they can’t. I can only imagine how much they want to. There are some people who like him like Kay, Eden, English but you can tell he’s not liked but has to be put on a pedestal because of “hierarchy”.
“That’s another reason why the Rose story will never die”
This story will never die because the British Tabloid media, for some reason(s), will not let it die and bury it.
None of those people actually like him either – they just like that they have access to him.
Just want to flag up that Andrew Parker Bowles played a ‘ceremonial role in the monarchy’ too, lol! Oh dear.
All the royal reporters who first reported about Rose through some non-palace sources are the ones getting major H&M slanders from palace sources, W&K’s friends even now. Dan Wootton, that Eden guy, Tom Sykes. They all got paid in exchange of their silence about Rose. If it was all lies, why did the palace need to feed H&M to them?
Because they were hungry????
@BayTampaBay, the royals don’t get this serious about lies. They just let it die. They go after the true stories before the media uncovers more evidence about it. It was reported that the Sun sent bunch of reporters to Rose’s friends, relatives to get more info. They even got some quotes from her brother about Will & Rose’s private dinners. You don’t feed your own brother to the press if you aren’t that scared about what is gonna get uncovered next. It isn’t like Will never cheated before. We saw his dad dancing with other women.
Forever I have thought that perhaps Rose is being left to dangle in the wind in order to protect her husband and the heir. Her silence is being rewarded, imo.
I think Rose was, at the start, hamstrung by William (at one point it was reported that he insisted she and her wider family got lawyered up). Also by her commitment to her marriage and children, and why not. And perhaps a personal integrity. Again, why not. Silence, as you say, has been a classy friend to Rose. Or have I read you wrong, Libra, and you mean that William and her husband are together?! I’m not too bright today and no doubt slow on the uptake. I’ve just unpacked a food order and realised I doubled up on eggs online, to the point that we’re swimming in boxes of Clarence Court. I’ll be scrambling them up for days on end. Perhaps I could lend a few to Carole – she could go off piste and make William egg and soldiers rather than cheese on toast.
@Sparrow; I failed at being subtle. I was alluding to the David, William affair gossip. Sorry I was not clearer. Hard boil those eggs. Devilled eggs, egg salad sandwiches, eggs on top of salad etc.
@Libra – Many people believe the affair was William & David or maybe a threesome with Rose.
Wrong Place!
Okay, I’m sorry but what is the point of William and Catherine’s friend reminding everyone that the Chumleys are one of the great families. And? Would they not have gotten lawyers involved if the woman had not been from a great family? What an asinine detail for the Wales’ friend to point out.
Lol! Good point.
They’re discussing Rose/David’s pedigree as a way to sneak remind everyone that they belong in the upper echelons of society. In contrast…Kate has none.
Kate is descended from Edward III but so is Meghan. Distant cousins.
@Sunnyside the point is that Kate is not an aristocrat
@sunnyside up — I’m a direct descendant of Benjamin Franklin but that does nothing for me socially, nor does having a royal ancestor from 8 centuries ago mean anything. They’re not even distant cousins 800 years later as the lineage has been so watered down. In the aristos’ eyes Kate is still the very middle class daughter of a stewardess and flight dispatcher.
I say this every day, but I’m going to say it again today: what a bunch of weirdos and oddballs. They are all so awkward and strange looking, and it’s funny to me that they think Harry wants to return to their closed and peculiar world.
@SueBarbi33, this 100%
Just like it’s the case with his missing wife, William and his team think that not addressing the rumors will simply make them fade away. It’s never the case and rumours are always getting worse when they’re not addressed.
At this point most believe the affair happened, but as for believing Peggy lets anything roll off his back that is hilarious this man is known and described as “Incandescent with rage” about everything. He lets nothing roll off his back, his constant clenched fists and jaw prove that.
So WandK will run to the press to protect a “friend” but won’t lift a finger to protect his brother and his brothers family? WandK are moral cowards in ever sense of the word.
This.
The actual “rumored affair” is a non-issue. Will-not’s reaction and the clear collusion with certain segments of the media to bury reporting made it an issue. I think some of Will-not obsession with initially burying this story is because the turnip toffs didn’t behave like he thought they would. Camilla and Charles’s relationship was coordinated and hidden by the aristocrats who would arrange private weekend getaways and events (like shooting parties) at their estates for them to conduct their relationship. Their affair was an open secret and none of the aristocrats leaked private information to the press. Will-not didn’t anticipate disloyalty from the crowd that protected his father/stepmother a generation earlier and was also shocked that Keen was openly and publically ostracized. Both Keen and Willy are snobs . To put Keen in her place put Willy’s in his. I think he trots it out Rose stories now to make the toffs leary of leaking because he never forgets and will recycle the same stories over and over and over. Not many people would chose to be treated like Harry and Rose in the media.
Wasn’t Tom Sykes the one claiming “everyone knows about the affair” and how he heard about it at a Toff party? Look at him pretending like he never wrote that. I guess he lawyered up too and was told to shut his mouth and fall in line.
Yes he did. He said he learned about the affair from the daughter of an Earl and he won’t report something unless he heard it from 3 separate sources. It was THE gossip among the toff dinner crowd.
I wonder if they had sordid details.
Yes he was and Ellie Hall mentioned that in her Vulture article. Her comments here are very good about how the more they try to bury it, the more they are ensuring the story will never die.
Imagine if they had just not responded to the stories in spring 2019. Maybe people would still be referring to Rose as William’s mistress, but honestly, we all probably would have long moved on. It was the immediate threat of legal action that made people assume there was something there.
Giles Coren also said a very similar thing and then tried to backtrack by claiming he was drunk and it was just a joke.
I harken back to Meghan’s comment during the Oprah interview that Kate was “going through something” and actually had some compassion for her and understood why she was being *difficult*. That wasn’t long after Louis was born so I think we can safely assume that was when the leaks about Willbur and Rose first started and Kate thought she could handle it by trying to turn the Toff tide against her. Of course that backfired spectacularly and all it did was ensure Kate was snubbed by the whole silly, preening lot of them who already probably thought she was nothing more than a social climbing parvenu.
Yes Meghan gave her a break for lying about the tights story because she knows Kate learned about the cheating with rose (or David) at the same time. Kate then continued to be a royal bitch well after that interview shutting down all excuses for her behaviour except for just being an awful person
So let me get this straight: because the hanburys are great friends of William and Kate that spurred them to intervene. It williams sister in law being on the end of racial abuse because of a lie she made Kate cry, did not spur them to action? Wow cool.
Keep letting a hostile foreign power know the future king of the UK can be blackmailed.
TBH I think in a way this is the press telling us that he already is – the story is now out there so can’t really be used against him now. Most people on the street believe it so …
As I say above – there is worse about him thats actively being covered up by the media. They hate him and so desperately want to publish the truth – the hints suggest that its bad enough that it could force him out of the line of succession. One comment from a journo said that ‘it would make your toes curl’. And it’s more than liking pegs.
He’s been compromised. The Russians probably have all kinds of information on the silly FK. He thinks he’s so smart and superior to everyone else, he’s bound to slip up and reveal something he should have kept to himself.
Just as William used Meghan to cover for his affair with Rose (& others), he’s using Rose to cover for his affair with the Russia attorney.
Jinkx Monsoon, RuPaul’s Drag Race winner should copyright “water off a duck’s back” lol.
https://youtu.be/_EPCPAx7h6k?si=UwsN7Xl-A9Wiadt0
If they only commented because their friend, Rose, was mentioned, why didn’t they comment when their sister inlaw Meghan was mentioned? Also, what is this narrative that the royals “only” comment when a story name checks their friend they’re trying to make happen? The Tatler article, Kate’s baby botox, etc? William calling his own mother paranoid? What about that? They’re not getting away from this now.
I feel sorry for Rose. Imagine everyone thinking about that every time they see you.