Stephen Colbert is putting on his detective hat when it comes to speculation surrounding Prince William and Princess Kate’s marriage.
“I’m afraid I’ve got some troubling news about England’s royal family,” Colbert, 59, said on the Tuesday, March 12, episode of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. “Internet sleuths are guessing that Kate’s absence may be related to her husband, and the future King of England, William, having an affair.”
After noting his “heart goes out to poor Kate,” Colbert joked he’s “ready to spill the tea, literally” as an employee handed him a china cup filled with the English drink.
“I think we all know who the alleged other woman is, say it with me, The Marchioness of Cholmondeley,” Colbert said, referring to Sarah Rose Hanbury, who goes by Rose. “Now there have been rumors of an affair between William and [Rose] since 2019. According to tabloids, back then, when Kate supposedly confronted him about it, he ‘laughed it off, saying there was nothing to it.’ Aha, always a good response when your wife accuses you of cheating.”
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Colbert explained that Hanbury, 39, is “an old friend of the royals” and is married to “a close friend of William’s” David Rocksavage. “Really? Rocksavage? That sounds less like a British noble and more like a musician from the Flintstones,” Colbert quipped.
Rumors of an affair between William, 41, and Hanbury began in 2019 after multiple outlets reported that Kate, 42, and Hanbury had a falling out over the alleged scandal. Kensington Palace never commented on the speculation.
“Kate finds the rumors hurtful, obviously, and hates the thought that one day her children will be able to read about them online,” a Middleton family friend exclusively told Us Weekly in June 2019, referring to William and Kate’s kids: Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5.
The rumors were also briefly mentioned in Omid Scobie’s November 2023 tell-all book, Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival, where Scobie alleged that William and Kate have since distanced themselves from Hanbury after the affair speculation.
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Scobie, 42, told Entertainment Tonight the same month that because William and Kate “never addressed it” themselves, the rumors would likely “never go away.” He added, “There’s no truth to suggest that they are true.”
The theory started recirculating on the internet since Kate’s recent absence from the spotlight. In January, Kensington Palace announced she had undergone a “planned” abdominal surgery and would not return to any royal engagements until after Easter.
The social media conversation regarding Kate’s wellbeing has only been heightened by her two public sightings — first with mom Carole Middleton earlier this month and for the second time with William on Monday, March 11, — as well as her recent Mother’s Day portrait being digitally altered.
Without hours of the the photo being posted on Sunday, March 10, via Kensington Palace’s social media, several news agencies reportedly sent out a “kill notification” to remove the photo.
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In a statement the following day, Kate addressed the photo in a post via X, writing, “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day.” (While the message was posted by the official Prince and Princess of Wales account, it was signed “C” for Catherine.)
It’s been a difficult couple months for the couple, who wed in 2011. “She’s trying not to pay attention to all the rumors and gossip, and William is doing his best to shield her, but it’s distressing,” a source exclusively told Us in the latest issue of Us Weekly. “This has been a stressful time for William and Kate, but they’re made of tough stuff and are weathering through.”
