Shady Things You Never Knew About Rose Hanbury 》

If not for her associations with the Royal Family, most people probably wouldn’t know anything about Rose Hanbury. However, she was once very tight with Kate Middleton, making her famous among those who follow royal gossip. When rumors of an affair with Prince William surfaced, she became more infamous than famous.

Still, Hanbury has spent the last few years mostly out of the spotlight, meaning that even most of those who keep up with royal antics haven’t paid much attention to her. However, the truth is that Hanbury has more than a few shady things in her past that might fascinate gossipmongers. Don’t believe us? Keep reading to discover the shadiest secrets Rose Hanbury would love to keep hidden!

That falling out with Kate Middleton

As we noted before, Rose Hanbury was never really a prominent figure until she began hanging with Kate Middleton. That friendship wasn’t destined to last, however, and the two eventually had a major falling out. As is always the case with royal friendships, that falling out ended up being much more public than either woman would have liked.

As reported by Grazia, a source who claimed to be close to both women claimed “It is well known that Kate and Rose have had a terrible falling out. They used to be close but that is not the case anymore.” Interestingly, Hanbury showed up at King Charles’ coronation, prompting speculation about whether the two women had mended their relationship or perhaps that early reports of their falling out were actually exaggerated.

Her husband is besties with a criminal

It’s not always fair to judge someone by who they associate with, but we can’t help do it when it comes to famous spouses. Rose Hanbury is married to David Rocksavage, someone who is generally considered a private person with a reputable background. What most people don’t know, however, is that he is best friends with a criminal.

Rocksavage is reportedly very close with Francois-Marie Banier, a French artist convicted of a pretty wild crime: financially exploiting the ultra-wealthy French heiress Liliana Bettencourt, stealing as much as $174 million from her. Considering that the artist was convicted of taking advantage of an elderly person, we can’t help but wonder about Rocksavage based on the criminal activities of this close friend.

Allegedly possessing stolen Chinese artifacts

When you’re as rich as Rose Hanbury, then you can afford to go to some wild lengths with your interior decorating. As an example, her home (Houghton Hall) has a collection of Chinese artifacts in it. These artifacts received additional scrutiny in March 2024 when photos of the interior were published by multiple media outlets.

This led to speculation on social media platforms like X/Twitter that Hanbury and her husband had collected a wide array of furniture and artifacts that were actually stolen from China during the chaos of the Qing dynasty falling apart. So far, no legal action has been taken, but if such speculation is correct, Hanbury and her husband may have decorated their home with one priceless stolen object after another!

The alleged affair with Prince William

Remember when we talked about Rose Hanbury reportedly having a major falling out with Kate Middleton? This prompted everyone to begin asking just what could have suddenly split up two women who were once so close. The rumor that ended up spreading like wildfire (thanks in large part to a now-deleted X/Twitter post by journalist Giles Coren) was that Hanbury was actually having an affair with Kate’s husband, Prince William.

For the record, there was never anything substantial to these rumors outside of, as InTouch reports, a source alleging that Kate angrily confronted William over the rumor and that he denied it. But continuing that Hanbury has apparently hung out with Kate and William at multiple events since then and attended King Charles’ coronation, the simple fact may be that everyone involved dismissed these rumors of an affair right away.

The scandal when she didn’t sport her wedding ring

From the outside looking in, it certainly seems that Kate isn’t that phased by rumors that Rose Hanbury and Prince William were once having a torrid affair. However, in 2019, rumors of this affair were running all over social media and across various tabloid headlines. And whether they meant to or not, Hanbury and her husband accidentally set the internet on fire when they made a head-turning fashion choice.

In June 2019, Rose Hanbury was seen stepping out of Buckingham Palace for a visit from (of all people) Donald Trump, but what really caused headlines was that she wasn’t wearing her wedding ring. Two years later, in June 2021, her husband was sighted without his own ring, but this is fairly common among married royal men. However, considering how long the affair rumors have lingered (kicking into high gear again early this year amid initial speculation about Kate’s health), the sight of these two without their wedding rings added fuel to speculation of Hanbury’s affair with William.