Prince William Once Danced His Way Into A Scandal (Literally)

It's one thing for a public official to skip an important engagement for personal frivolities, but what happens when they also involve a suspected indiscretion? One of Prince William's biggest controversies ever dates back to 2017 when he was already being slammed as "work-shy" — a snappy, British way of saying he wasn't as dedicated to his job as some of the other royals. Many royal watchers defended the Prince of Wales at the time, pointing out that he was working diligently with the Air Ambulance Service and that his children needed an available father too. Unfortunately, even these defenders were left speechless when William missed the Commonwealth Day Service in March 2017 to go on a solo holiday without his wife or kids. 

The royal went skiing in Verbier, Switzerland, and he was photographed hanging out with then-24-year-old model Sophie Taylor. But things took a turn for the worse when footage was captured in a local nightclub of William engaging in questionable behavior for both a married man and a senior member of the British royal family. While most of the clips simply demonstrated Prince William's already well-established awful dance moves, which amused royal watchers, he was also seen holding a woman's waist as she whispered in his ear. The Prince of Wales' hands remained there even after the conversation ended.

To no one's surprise, the British tabloids rushed to provide additional, salacious details from unnamed "sources" that indirectly accused Prince William of having an affair. In particular, The Sun reported that William had been "gyrating" and flirting with a blonde woman, even wearing her hat as they danced together. The Daily Mail also mentioned that he danced with another woman who apparently "sl*t dropped" right in front of him. Model Sophie Taylor was among the revelers at the Swiss nightclub and, interestingly, her boyfriend at the time, Aaron Goodfellow, confirmed to The Sun that Taylor had indeed hung out with the prince. 

However, according to The West Australian, Goodfellow added a key detail: He was also present, and found the Prince of Wales to be "very down to earth," suggesting it was purely innocent fun. Despite this, the press went over every aspect of Taylor's life with a fine-tooth comb, even interviewing her mother, who fervently defended the Aussie native. Meanwhile, royal expert Katie Nicholl warned The Sun, "It's safe to assume that Kate [Middleton] will be far from happy about this."

A month later, when much of the fuss had died down, William briefly spoke about the scandal during a BBC1 radio interview alongside his wife. When asked whether he planned to attend the upcoming Glastonbury music festival, the prince had a cheeky response: "I've got into enough trouble with my dancing recently. So it's probably best to stay away from that one," (via Grazia).