Why You Don't Hear Much About Prince William's Rumored Mistress Rose Hanbury Anymore

Rumors are simply a part of the contract when signing up to be a royal, but one British noblewoman has been around the mill a few times. Rose Hanbury, Marchioness of Cholmondeley, has stayed fairly private despite tabloids pointing fingers and whispering about her like mean girls in the school cafeteria. Still, people are curious to know what Hanbury is up to when off-duty from denying rumors about herself.

The biggest rumor in question is that Hanbury, a friend of Catherine, Princess of Wales, is secretly having an affair with her husband, William, Prince of Wales. Speculations came to a head in 2019, but recirculated in March 2024 when Stephen Colbert poked fun at them on his late-night talk show, "Late Night with Stephen Colbert." The host made jabs at William and Hanbury, alleging that Kate's absence from the public eye had something to do with the affair. Later that month, Hanbury's legal team confirmed to Business Insider that the rumors were untrue. Kate's whereabouts were eventually explained when she announced the news of her heartbreaking cancer diagnosis on social media.

With answers to Kate's disappearance, the flames of Hanbury's media attention slowly extinguished. Though, with all the factors that kept the rumors ignited for years, people often wonder if there is some truth about William and Hanbury's relationship allegations. All this to say that Hanbury — a scorching topic of 2024 headlines — has seemingly disappeared, which has us wondering, what happened?

Rose Hanbury has never quite focused on her internet fame, but rather spends most of her energy on work. A look at Hanbury through the years will tell you that she began her ascent into public notoriety as a model in her 20s. She dabbled in politics, but resigned from her position when pregnant with her twins. As of this writing, Hanbury is mostly devoted to creative projects, including interior design.

The marchioness is a part of The Houghton Collection, a furniture company, which, according to their website, aims to recreate ornate, 18th-century pieces original to Houghton Hall — the estate where Hanbury and her family reside. In 2022, Hanbury was credited with designing a table set, which decorated Houghton Hall's dining terrace — a collaboration between the collection and Cabana Magazine, per an Instagram post about the tableware. In 2025, we have been privy to more of her involvement and responsibilities in the company. In the original Instagram post announcing a new wallpaper in The Houghton Collection, Cabana Magazine's Martina Mondadori, who worked with Hanbury on previous designs, commented on the post to praise the royal (via SheKnows) — a sign that Hanbury is busy as the mastermind behind the collection's new design.

Aside from her interior design work, Rose Hanbury adheres to the social expectations of high-society personnel — this includes a heap of philanthropy. She frequently attends charity events, as all royals do, including a 2018 London soiree in honor of Elton John's AIDS Foundation and a 2022 fundraiser for the National Gallery. She's notably a patron of East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH), a care facility that provides support for children and young people who have life-limiting illnesses, of which Kate Middleton is a part (and singer Ed Sheeran is an ambassador for). Her patronage was announced in 2018, after successfully hosting the Taste of Norfolk fundraising event that raised £400,000.

"I feel honoured to become a Patron of EACH, that provides incredible care and support for children and families in our region," Hanbury said, per the Cambridge Network. "It's vital to raise funds every year to continue this, and to build the much-needed new hospice, and I look forward to helping in any way I can."

There's one factor in Rose Hanbury's story that leans into the conspiracy side of her absence from headlines. In July 2024, Vulture published an exposé uncovering all of the rumor-fueled stories that have been deleted by a slew of high-profile British publications. It's safe to say that Hanbury and Prince William will not go down without a fight. Their retaliation has involved taking legal action against media outlets that reported the gossip dating back to the first whispers in 2019, per The Daily Beast.

When Stephen Colbert's on-air jokes reignited speculation of the Hanbury-William affair in 2024, Hanbury went into internet image rehab mode, sending CBS a legal notice to reiterate the rumors as false, per In Touch — a warning that they could take further legal action. Her fervent dismissal of the rumors has likely scared media sources back into their shell, which could be a reason why her name isn't mentioned much in headlines these days — that, or she has simply been busy with her projects detailed above. Either way, she's prepared to karate chop any future royal scandal that comes her way.