5 Rumors That Prince William Couldn't Escape From

William, Prince of Wales is no stranger to rumors. As the future king of Britain and the eldest son of King Charles III and Princess Diana, he grew up in the spotlight, with Prince William's parents' divorce, his mother's death, his hard partying days, and his love life ensuring his name was always in the papers. After shedding his "party prince" ways and eligible bachelor status, the beloved royal built a positive image for himself and became known as a family man, environmental and mental health advocate, and staid working member of The Firm. A 2024 Statista survey confirmed that a whopping 75% of Brits viewed him favorably. In a 2023 poll by Gallup, William also emerged as the most popular royal in the U.S. among 15 newsmakers, beating the likes of Joe Biden and even his father Charles. 

However, with this popularity came many rumors that Prince William just couldn't shake off. Under the leadership of the late Queen Elizabeth II, the British royal family followed the mantra "never complain, never explain" when it came to negative press. Due to this, the family, including Prince William and his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales, rarely addressed speculation about them or their relationship. However, William has gradually moved away from this approach and become more open about personal matters and even his feelings. 

For instance, in 2024, he admitted to reporters that it had "probably been the hardest year in my life" following the back-to-back cancer diagnoses of his father and wife, according to the BBC. This seemingly more open approach could mean that the Prince of Wales may finally address some of the most longstanding rumors about him.

One persistent rumor about Prince William claims that he allegedly had an affair with his and Kate Middleton's pal and neighbor, Rose Hanbury, Marchioness of Cholmondeley. The story dates back to March 2019 when The Sun reported that Kate was feuding with Hanbury, and The Times of London writer Giles Coren published a now-deleted tweet suggesting that the reason was the married marchioness' secret fling with William (Coren later clarified that he was kidding and had zero insider information on the situation). In Touch Weekly further fueled the speculation by adding that William may have cheated on his wife while she was pregnant with their third child, Prince Louis, whom the happy couple welcomed in April 2018. A source informed the outlet that William simply "laughed it off" when Kate allegedly asked him if the rumor was true (via Page Six). 

In a rare move, the Prince of Wales' lawyers reportedly threatened legal action against any British outlets that published stories about the affair. While it never truly went away, the rumor eventually did stop being the talk of the town and even apparently made William and Kate's marriage stronger. However, William and Hanbury's affair rumors returned to the spotlight in early 2024 when the Princess of Wales disappeared from the public eye for months, only to post an edited picture sans her wedding ring on Mother's Day when she finally resurfaced. A conspiracy theory blamed William's alleged ongoing relationship with Hanbury and his plans to divorce Kate for the prince's wife's disappearance and bizarre photo. Though Hanbury did publicly deny the speculation, it took Kate's video message announcing her cancer diagnosis for the reignited firestorm to finally die down.

Prince William is almost never photographed with a less-than-perfectly-appropriate facial expression. He's somber when the occasion calls for it and never shies away from grinning or laughing when greeting well-wishers. But even the arguably most famous prince in the world has his flaws, and one of them is William's allegedly hot temper. This rumor comes from palace insiders to whom royal biographers have spoken over the years. One such Kensington Palace insider described the Prince of Wales as "prone to tantrums," as royal expert Tom Quinn told Express (via the New York Post). Robert Jobson's "The Making of a Modern Monarch" backed this idea up, adding that William has a "notably short fuse" and "can be a bit of a shouter when he loses it." This has allegedly led to shouting matches with Kate Middleton and even King Charles III. 

"He can be difficult. He is a driven person and that can make him impatient. That can make William short-tempered when dealing with Charles," a palace staffer dished to Jobson for his book, "Our King: Charles III." Robert Lacey similarly penned in "Battle of Brothers" that Queen Camilla was so shocked the first time she witnessed this side of William's personality that she told family and friends, "The boy's got a temper!" Prince Harry further fueled this rumor when he asserted in his own memoir "Spare" that his angry older brother allegedly got physical during a heated confrontation back in 2019. Likewise, Jobson suggested that William may have inherited his alleged tendency to display "extreme mood swings" from his parents, especially his late mother Princess Diana.

Before Prince Harry's royal exit, it seemed, to the public at least, that he had an unbreakable bond with Prince William and would remain by his side as the fun, popular, and charming support act when his older brother finally ascended the throne. However, cracks in their relationship started to show after Harry and Meghan Markle's 2018 wedding. The couple's subsequent departure from royal life and raft of tell-all projects further contributed to a reported rift with William that hasn't shown signs of healing in the years since. While much of the blame for the breakdown of the brothers' relationship was placed on Meghan, rumors have since surfaced that Harry and William were at odds long before she officially joined their family. In particular, multiple royal authors and insiders asserted that the Prince of Wales got green-eyed over his younger brother's popularity. 

In 2022, Ken Wharfe, Princess Diana's former bodyguard, dished to GB News, "I know for a fact that William was rather envious and jealous of Harry because he was very popular as a kid." These feelings didn't go away as they grew older either. Robert Jobson alleged in his biography on Kate Middleton that "there were whispers of pettiness, even jealousy" on William and his wife's part after Harry and Meghan seemingly overshadowed them in the months immediately following their lavish wedding. 

Katie Nicholl's "The New Royals" also included a shocking claim that William was jealous when Queen Elizabeth II appointed Harry as Commonwealth Youth Ambassador, a role that the older royal reportedly had been eyeing. However, it wasn't just Harry's popularity that William resented; it was also his freedom. The Duke of Sussex touched on the subject in "Spare," writing: "Willy always thought Granny had a soft spot for me, that she indulged me while holding him to an impossibly high standard." 

Royal fans will be well aware that Prince William and Kate Middleton went through a lot of drama before they finally tied the knot in a fan-favorite fairytale royal wedding in 2011. They split five years into their relationship, in 2007, but got back together a few months later. The Prince of Wales then proceeded to delay his proposal long enough that British tabloids rudely dubbed their future queen "Waity Katie." However, rumor has it that he also allegedly two-timed Kate when they were dating. That's right, Rose Hanbury isn't the first woman William is rumored to have cheated on Kate with; there was also Jessica "Jecca" Craig. William and Craig, who share a passion for wildlife and conservation, started seeing each other after meeting in Kenya in 1998. They reportedly called it quits before William started studying at St. Andrews, where he met and began dating Kate in 2001. 

However, royal author Christopher Andersen claimed in his book, "Brothers and Wives," that William and Craig remained close and hung out multiple times without the Princess of Wales, fueling speculation that William wasn't over his ex. Biographer Katie Nicholl also alleged in "Kate: The Future Queen" that William had Jecca by his side during his 21st birthday party even though Kate, his then-girlfriend of two years, was also present. In fact, according to Andersen, it got to a point where King Charles III actually had to step in and tell his son to stop stringing Kate and Craig along. It is unclear if there was indeed any cheating going on, but it appears there's no bad blood between them now. Craig's family's safari reserve served as the backdrop for William's proposal to Kate in 2010. Likewise, his ex was also notably in attendance at their wedding the following year.

Just when Prince William thought the rumor of his alleged affair with Rose Hanbury was finally dead, it was brought back to public attention in 2022 alongside an even more salacious story about the bedroom proclivities of the heir to the British throne. Celebrity gossip account DeuxMoi published a baseless and unverified blind item that claimed an unnamed British royal was having an affair because he was into pegging, but his wife was not (for the uninitiated, we'll leave you to Google the term at your own risk). His wife was apparently aware of his infidelity and sexual preference but didn't mind, "as long as things don't become emotional, which was the case with the last woman," (via Rolling Stone).

While Prince William wasn't specifically named, social media users were convinced it was about him, considering he was rumored to have cheated on Kate Middleton with Hanbury, and journalist Giles Coren (falsely) claimed that the affair was an open secret. William was dubbed the "prince of pegging" and even became a trending topic on X, formerly known as Twitter, for his alleged kink. 

In addition, the rumor served as many a royal fan's introduction to pegging as Google searches for the term saw a 400% increase around the same time. That a May 2011 "South Park" episode parodying William and Kate's wedding seemingly predicted these wild allegations only ensured that he will likely never be able to live it down, regardless of whether the story is true or not.