Lady Rose Hanbury’s name has resurfaced amid Princess Catherine’s disappearance from the public eye and ensuing speculation, and her connections with the Prince and Princess of Wales are being questioned once more.

The royal family has been in the media glare in recent weeks — and subject to myriad conspiracy theories — in the wake of the “disappearance” of Kate following planned abdominal surgery, and a poorly Photoshopped family picture that led to news agencies recalling it and questioning the source.

Among all the royal family theories, social media commentators and traditional media are now reviving an old gossip thread around the Prince and Princess of Wales and their relationship with another blueblood: Lady Rose Hanbury.

Acknowledging the speculation this week, her legal team told Business Insider that the rumours of an affair with the prince “are completely false”. Though considering the appetite for this narrative, it may do little to quell the conspiracy theories.

So, who exactly is Hanbury, Marchioness of Cholmondeley?

Sarah Rose Cholmondoley (nee Hanbury) is the wife of David, seventh Marquess of Cholmondeley. Photo / Getty Images

Background

Sarah Rose Cholmondoley (nee Hanbury), born on March 15, 1984, is the first daughter of Timothy Hanbury and Emma Hanbury. She has a younger sister, Marina, who is the third wife of Edward Lambton, the seventh Earl of Durham.

Hanbury grew up on a 1200ha estate in Holfield Grange in Coggeshall, Essex with her family.

Even before her relationship with the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Hanburys were already affiliated with the royal family. Her grandmother, Lady Elizabeth Lambart (1924–2016), was one of the bridesmaids at the 1947 wedding of then Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten — later known as Queen Elizabeth II and Duke of Edinburgh.

Hanbury attended the prestigious Stowe School in Buckinghamshire, then studied at the Open University. After finishing her education, she reportedly worked as a model, signed to Sarah Doukas’ agency Storm in 2007.

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Aside from modeling, she was also a political staffer and researcher for Michael Gove, who is an MP and current secretary of State for Leveling Up, Housing and Communities. Eventually, she had to step down from this position due to morning sickness when she was pregnant with her and David Cholmondeley’s twins.

Lord Oliver Cholmondeley in his role as Page of Honour at the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Westminster Abbey. Photo / Getty Images

Personal life

Rose met her husband David, seventh Marquess of Cholmondeley in Italy in 2003.

The couple got married on June 24, 2009, at Chelsea Town Hall in London, two days after announcing their engagement.

They have three children: Alexander Hugh George Cholmondeley, Earl of Rocksavage (born October 12, 2009), Lord Oliver Timothy George Cholmondeley (born October 12, 2009), and Lady Iris Marina Aline Cholmondeley (born March 2016). Lord Oliver was recently seen as one of King Charles’s pages of honor at the coronation.

The family lives at the Palladian Houghton Hall in Norfolk, close to William and Kate’s home at Anmer Hall.

David Cholmondeley (left), Prince William, Rose Cholmondeley and Princess Catherine at the 2016 gala dinner in support of East Anglia's Children's Hospices' nook appeal at Houghton Hall. Photo / Getty Images

Affiliations with the Prince and Princess of Wales

Reportedly, Lady Rose and Princess Kate’s friendship began after the Cholmondeleys’ marriage, as their home was only a 15-minute drive away from the royals’ residence. The Cholmondeleys were invited to the royal wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales in 2011, and eventually, their bond strengthened after Kate and William moved to Anmer Hall.

The women were seen chatting and friendly on multiple occasions, most notably when they hosted a gala dinner supporting East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices’ nook appeal at Houghton Hall.

However, reports of their fallout surfaced in 2019, and seemed to be based around allegations of an affair with Prince William.

Allegations of affair with William

In 2019, it was rumoured that Kate was planning to cut Rose and her husband David from their inner circle due to an alleged affair between Hanbury and Prince William.

Although this speculation has not been proven, the international press ran with it — UK press tend to shy away from unfounded rumours — as did social media gossip accounts.

Some of the wildest stories that have gained traction over the years include a tabloid story suggesting William had cheated while Kate was pregnant with their third child, Louis, and unfounded theories from internet forums and threads which speculated that Hanbury daughter, Iris, is actually her and William’s love child. The palace has not commented on the rumours.