Prince William continues to be dogged by baseless rumors over alleged infidelity, despite the fact that British newspapers have deleted at least 21 articles which either referenced or hinted at unfounded rumors that he conducted an extra-marital affair with his Norfolk “turnip toff” neighbor, Rose Hanbury.
The astonishing extent of the information cull was revealed in a deep dive into the issue by Vulture reporter Ellie Hall, former royal correspondent at BuzzFeed.
William’s office did not respond to a request for comment from The Daily Beast about whether they had been involved in getting the 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.
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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.
Hanbury herself denied the allegations via lawyers when Stephen Colbert joked during a March 12 Late Show monologue about the alleged affair. Colbert said “internet sleuths” were guessing that Kate Middleton’s absence from public life at the time “may be related to her husband and the future king of England, William, having an affair.”
Colbert mocked the fact that Rose’s married name, Cholmondeley, is pronounced Chumley, and joked that the name of her husband David Rocksavage “sounds less like a British noble and more like a musician from The Flintstones.”
His remarks prompted Hanbury to issue her first public statement denying the rumors, and a legal warning was sent to CBS about Colbert’s remarks.
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 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.”
Hall contacted the newspapers that have removed articles but none responded to her queries except for the Guardian which said it had made changes to one story (about the Colbert monologue) on its own initiative not because of “external” pressure.
Prince William and Kate Middleton 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.
Stephen Pond/Getty ImagesA 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 anymore as it’s old, it’s preferable to retrospectively spike it than to waste thousands fighting it.”
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.”
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.”
Rose’s husband David, 64, held the inherited position of Lord Great Chamberlain of the United Kingdom under Queen Elizabeth II and was made a permanent lord-in-waiting to King Charles when he acceded. Under current rules, the position of Lord Great Chamberlain, in existence since 1126, will revert to him when William accedes to the throne.
Kensington Palace did not return a request for comment.
