Despite Prince William’s attempts to bury the story, by now, you’ve probably heard about the biggest royal scandal to rock Buckingham Palace since the days of Charles and Diana.
It all started with reports of a feud between Kate Middleton and Rose Hanbury, a longtime friend of Kate’s who lives just a few miles from Cambridges’ country home, Anmer Hall.
From the start insiders claimed that Kate was very upset that the press had gotten ahold of her falling out, and she reportedly "considered legal action" against The Sun, the first outlet to report on the matter.
Not surprisingly, the fact that Will and Kate both seemed so eager to sweep this whole mess under the carpet led to rumors that there’s more going on here than a simple rift between friends.
Specifically, it led to speculation that William and Rose had an affair.
Reports of royal infidelity are not uncommon, and much more often than not, they turn out to be bogus.
But this time is different, and not only because Will and Kate are working with lawyers to keep this story out of the tabloids.
In addition to the fact that members of the royals’ social circle have confirmed that Will’s infidelity has been an open secret for quite some time, an affair between Will and Rose would explain many of the events of the past year — including the increasingly icy relationship between Will and Prince Harry.
So who is Rose Hanbury, the woman for whom Will was (allegedly) willing to risk it all?
Well, not surprisingly, she’s a mover and a shaker in the world of the British nobility, complete with a posh background, a fabulously wealthy husband, and an esoteric title.
Thanks to her marriage to David Rocksavage George Philip Cholmondeley — who, at 58, is 23 years her senior — Rose is now the Marchioness of Cholmondeley.
Prior to marrying a marquess, Rose was a model who later became a researcher.
But this is no Middleton- or Markle-esque tale of a peasant unexpectedly joining the ranks of the British upper-crust.
Rose’s grandmother is Lady Elizabeth Lambart, the daughter of an earl, who also happened to serve as one of Queen Elizabeth’s bridesmaids.
These days, Rose, David, and their three children live in Norfolk, England at Houghton Hall, widely considered to be one of the architectural treasures of the UK.
(Which, again, is just a stone’s throw from the Cambridges’ country estate of Anmer Hall.)
Though her modeling days are behind her, Rose is no shrinking violet, and she enjoys posting glamour shots of herself on the Houghton Hall Instagram page.
For several years now, Rose and David have reportedly been Will and Kate’s favorite double date partners during their weekend jaunts to Norfolk.
Obviously, it remains to be seen if there’s really anything going on between Rose and Will.
But whatever the case, it looks as though the Cambridge-Cholmondeley friendship is well and truly a thing of the past.
