State banquets, a coronation, and time with the queen— While rumors have followed Rose Hanbury for years, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley still has good friends in high places.
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00:00State banquets, a coronation, and time with the queen. While rumors have followed Rose
00:05Hanbury for years, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley still has good friends in high places.
00:10In 2017, Buckingham Palace hosted King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain.
00:15Amid the royals and dignitaries in attendance, the state banquet had a surprising guest.
00:20Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley, was seated next to Prince Harry for the prestigious
00:24occasion. Two years later, Hanbury was also present at the Buckingham Palace state banquet
00:29hosting then-U.S. President Donald Trump. Her appearance came amid explosive reports
00:34she had been having an affair with Prince William and that she'd, in turn,
00:37had a falling out with pal Princess Catherine. The reports were published just months before
00:42the banquet.
00:43"...and then there was said to be a massive falling out and that Kate was no longer
00:46speaking to Rose Hanbury."
00:48Exemplifying her close connections and good relationship with the royal family,
00:52Rose Hanbury attended the coronation of King Charles III in May 2023.
00:56Her appearance at the event appeared to once and for all quell ongoing allegations of a rivalry
01:01between Hanbury and Princess Catherine. Hanbury attended the ceremony in a chic,
01:05understated white dress and black heels. The outfit drew comparisons with Catherine,
01:09who had previously worn the same shoes and a very similar dress. However,
01:13it's unlikely that Hanbury was copying Catherine. The Princess of Wales is,
01:17after all, hardly the first person to wear a white dress and designer heels to a royal event.
01:23Prince William and Rose Hanbury's relationship may not be as shady as people think. In June 2022,
01:28Princess Catherine's sister, Pippa Middleton, welcomed a daughter whom she named Rose.
01:33Somewhat inevitably, social media was buzzing following the baby's name reveal,
01:37with folks accusing Pippa of betraying her sister. One person tweeted,
01:41"'Not Catherine's sister Pippa Middleton naming her daughter after Prince William's affair,
01:45Rose Hanbury."
01:46The notion that Pippa trolled her sister by naming her baby after William's supposed
01:51mistress is an incredibly far-fetched prospect. In actuality, Rose is a common baby name in the
01:56U.K., and it's also the flower of Pippa's daughter's birth month. Since Pippa named
02:00her daughter Rose, it's unlikely that Catherine and Rose Hanbury are on bad terms. Moreover,
02:05following Rose's birth, sources told Us Weekly that Catherine was overjoyed for her sister
02:10and had already met the little one. Catherine and William also attended the baby's christening the
02:14following March, suggesting there was no bad blood between the sisters and, by extension,
02:18the Princess of Wales and Hanbury.
02:21Rose Hanbury and her husband, David Rocksavage, the seventh Marquess of Cholmondeley, have three
02:25children together. Twins Alexander Cholmondeley, Earl of Rocksavage, and Lord Oliver Cholmondeley,
02:30and daughter Lady Iris Cholmondeley. Oliver served as a Page of Honor at King Charles' coronation.
02:36Pages of Honor play a pivotal role in the coronation, tasked with holding the ceremonial
02:40robes of the king and queen. The youngster undoubtedly wouldn't have been given this
02:44prestigious role if his mom had bad blood with the royal family. Oliver joined Prince George as a
02:49page, and the pair were photographed laughing together, appearing to get along swimmingly.
02:54In addition to hailing from an aristocratic family, Rose Hanbury married into royal blood.
02:58Her husband held the role of Lord Great Chamberlain from 1990 until the death of
03:03Queen Elizabeth II in 2022. The role required him to accompany Her Majesty to the state opening of
03:08Parliament, though upon her death, he was replaced by Rupert Carrington in line with royal tradition.
03:13Following the queen's death, Rocksavage was appointed Lord-in-Waiting by King Charles.
03:18The role requires Rocksavage to work closely with the king, attending royal events and ceremonies,
03:22and serving as a representative on behalf of the monarch. The Marquess' esteemed roles have
03:27been a testament to his and his wife's close relationship with the royal family.
03:31It has been noted that, since Rocksavage is over a decade younger than King Charles,
03:35he will likely also serve again as Lord Great Chamberlain to Prince William when he is king.
03:40Such a direct link to both William and Catherine undoubtedly signals a good relationship with the
03:45couple, regardless of the scandal that has engulfed the quartet.
03:49Proof that Prince William can't escape affair rumors, Princess Catherine's absence from public
03:53life at the start of 2024 resulted in the return of a familiar name, Rose Hanbury. Stephen Colbert
03:59joked about William supposedly having an affair with Hanbury on his late show.
04:03I think we all know who the alleged other woman is. Say it with me,
04:07the Marchioness of Cholmondelay."
04:10Following the remarks, Hanbury sent Colbert a legal notice and publicly denied the affair
04:15for the first time. Following various outlandish conspiracy theories regarding Princess Catherine's
04:20disappearance, she revealed in March 2024 that she had cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy.
04:25For everyone facing this disease, in whatever form, please do not lose faith or hope."
04:31Amid the drama instigated by Where's Kate conspiracies,
04:35Hanbury reportedly offered Catherine her well-wishes following her hospitalization.
04:40In May 2024, Rose Hanbury attended the Badminton Horse Trials with Queen Camilla.
04:44Following her appearance at the event, there were reports that the Marchioness has developed
04:48a close relationship with the Queen consort. Interestingly, Prince Harry alleged in his
04:52memoir, Spare, that it was King Charles and Camilla's reps who fed stories of Prince
04:56William's supposed affair to the press. Such allegations paint Hanbury's closeness with
05:01the Queen in a more sinister light. Prince Harry wrote,
05:04Towards the end of April 2019, Willie rang. He was seething, actually. I gathered that
05:09Parr and Camilla's people had planted a story or stories about him and Kate and the kids,
05:14and he wasn't going to take it anymore. Give Parr and Camilla an inch, he said. They take a mile."
05:18The timeline Harry gives lines up with the date the initial story about William and
05:22Hanbury's supposed affair first broke. However, the cheating claims were damaging for both William
05:27and Hanbury. Therefore, it's difficult to reconcile Harry's claims with the Marchioness'
05:31reported bond with the Queen consort.