Scandalous Former Flings Of The Royals
Despite the pressures and rigidities of official protocol, many royals around the world are known to have some scandalous flings in their closets. Recently, Prince Harry’s longtime ex-girlfriend Chelsea Davy made headlines and even became a meme after attending his wedding and wearing a less-than-excited expression. Chelsea isn’t the only ex in Harry’s bevy of beauties. Check out this list of the royals around the world and their salacious former trysts.
Prince Harry’s Blonde Beauty
Chelsea Davy is one of Prince Harry’s best-known ex-girlfriends. Harry formerly had quite the reputation for being a big partier before settling down with his now-wife, Meghan Markle. Chelsea and Harry dated for seven years before going their separate ways. Chelsea was born in Zimbabwe and grew up on her father’s massive game reserve. She and Harry met in Cape Town, South Africa, and the two hit it off.
Chelsea was later sent to school in England where the two continued their romance. They were said to have a slightly tumultuous relationship before they finally ended the romance. However, despite their split, Chelsea was in attendance at Prince Harry’s wedding to Meghan. She also became an international meme after she was caught sporting a less-than-excited face during the ceremony.
Prince Albert’s Playboy Past
Princess Grace’s son Prince Albert II is another royal who has had the massive reputation of being a playboy over the years. Although Prince Albert has since settled down with Princess Charlene, there are definite memories of his party boy ways. In fact, Prince Albert had two children out of wedlock with two different women over the years. Due to Monaco royal law, neither one of the children are considered royal and have instead been raised as commoners.
Prince Albert’s eldest daughter is Jazmin Grace Grimaldi. Her mother is an American named Tamara Rotolo Albert did not acknowledge his eldest daughter until 2005. His second child, Alexandre Coste, was born in 2006 after Albert had an affair with a flight attendant. He has since had “legitimate” children, who are considered royalty with his wife Princess Charlene. Above, he's pictured with Jazmin.
Prince Harry's Days Of Clubbing
During Prince Harry’s single days, he had a steamy run-in with model Cassie Sumner. Cassie was a “Page 3” model, which is essentially a modern-day pinup girl. The two met while out clubbing and she later sold her story to the tabloids. Cassie said that after a boozy night in the club Prince Harry attempted to get her to go home with him, but she ended up turning him down.
Cassie claimed that Prince Harry was quite drunk, and going home together was probably not the best option at the moment. She said, "Anyway, I can't see myself getting invited home for tea with Prince Charles and Camilla!"
Prince William’s First Love
Before Kate Middleton, Prince William had a first love while away at school. Jecca Craig is the daughter of a conservationist and William was said to often visit the wildlife reserve her father owned. While some royal insiders claim that William and Jecca were only ever close friends, others have said that William was totally smitten with her.
Since their school days, both Prince William and Jecca have both settled down with spouses of their own. There certainly seems to be no ill will between the two as they both attended one another’s weddings.
Prince Harry’s X-Factor
Caroline Flack, who is best known for hosting the UK’s X-Factor, revealed in 2015 that she once dated Prince Harry. The prince wasn’t the only famous Harry the host dated -- she once also dated singer Harry Styles of One Direction fame. Caroline’s affair with Harry Styles was also considered to be quite scandalous as she was fifteen years older than the singer.
Caroline and Prince Harry also dated for a while, according to her. However, they called it quits when news of the affair became public. Caroline was concerned that instead of being known for her work she would only be known for being the girlfriend of Harry or as she put it, “his bit of rough”.
The Women Who Almost Came Between Will And Kate
Prince William and his now-wife Kate Middleton had a very long-term relationship. However, the duo famously split in 2007 before reuniting and ending up happily married. Some royal insiders claim that William’s brief dalliance with Isabella Calthorpe was the cause of the split. Others say that Isabella actually turned William down.
Whatever the truth is, the temporary split of Kate and William obviously made the couple stronger in the long run. Isabella ended up marrying Sam Branson, son of Sir Richard Branson and heir to his billion-dollar fortune. Here we see Isabella and Sam together.
The Most Beautiful Royal’s Scandalous Romances
Charlotte Casiraghi, is the granddaughter of Princess Grace of Monaco and the daughter of Princess Stephanie. Like her famous grandmother, she has striking good looks and is often thought of as one of the most beautiful royals in the world. Having a royal pedigree hasn’t stopped Charlotte from having some scandalous relationship moments.
The first came when she had a son with then-boyfriend, the comedian and actor Gad Elmaleh. The two later split, however, the details remained relatively private. In May of 2018, it was reported that she was expecting a second child with a new boyfriend, Dimitri Rassam.
Prince Harry’s Rocker Romance
Yet another Prince Harry romance to make the list is his brief relationship with Camila Romestrand. Camila is an edgy rocker and the lead singer of the Norwegian band Eddie the Gun. Back in 2010, Camila claimed to friends that had even stayed the night with Harry at the royal residence.
She went further with her story, saying that Harry had even served her breakfast in bed. The romance was said to have taken place after a split with his longtime girlfriend Chelsea Davy. The romance between Harry and Camila was not long, however, as there were other dalliances along the way before he met his future wife Meghan.
Prince William’s Party Dalliances
After his brief split with Kate, Prince William wanted to act like every other young twenty-something. For him, that meant boozing it up at local clubs and cavorting with various women. One woman he was spotted with at a club was a blonde PR girl named Tess Shepherd. Tess later denied that there was anything serious and that it was only harmless flirtation.
Needless to say, the future King was certainly fond of living it up at the time. William has since said of his raucous partying, “It was very much trying to find our own way and we were growing up.” Kate maintains: “I, at the time, wasn’t very happy about it, but actually it made me a stronger person.”
Princess Margaret’s Older Man
Queen Elizabeth’s sister, Princess Margaret, was also known to have quite an interesting love life over the years. Margaret fell in love with Captain Peter Townsend. The only problem was, he was a married man. The two originally met when Margaret was only 14 and their romance began some eight years later. After WWII ended, Captain Townsend divorced his first wife.
It was alleged that he divorced her because she had an affair. However, because divorce was considered quite scandalous at the time, the Church of England and the rest of the royal family were against Princess Margaret marrying Captain Townsend. Eventually, their romance came to an end. We'll read more about Margaret's love life later.
The Camilla Situation
Perhaps one of the most famous royal romance scandals was between Prince Charles and his now-wife, Camilla Parker Bowles. Prince Charles, like his sons, was known to have quite a few romances before marrying his first wife Princess Diana. However, it turns out that Charles actually knew Camilla before Diana. The two first met in 1970 and began dating after feeling an immediate attraction. Charles then went away to the Royal Navy and Camilla met her first husband.
The romance was soon forgotten, or so everyone thought. There were many rumors that swirled around, suggesting Charles continued to see Camilla throughout his marriage to Diana. This was said to highly aggravate Princess Di.
The Crowded Marriage
It has even been alleged that Princess Diana once confronted Camilla about the philandering. Diana later famously said, "There were three of us in the marriage, so it was a bit crowded." Later, in 1994, Charles himself confirmed the rumors to be true and said he had an affair. Charles and Diana split and went their separate ways.
The following year, Camilla and her husband also divorced. Charles reportedly waited one year after Diana’s death to introduce his mistress turned girlfriend to his sons. Years later, Prince Charles made it official with Camilla in a 2005 civil ceremony.
Princess Diana Reveals Affair
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Although, the philandering of Prince Charles and Camilla was highly aggravating to Princess Diana, and likely the catalyst for the demise of the relationship, Di did not remain entirely loyal to Charles. In a famous BBC interview, Diana admitted that she too had an affair with Captain James Hewitt.
Although her affair was spurred by the knowledge of her husband’s dalliances. The revelation of this relationship ended up starting even more rumors, particularly about the paternity of Harry. Because both Hewitt and Harry had similar red hair, it was often alleged in tabloids that Hewitt was the true father of Prince Harry.
Sarah Ferguson’s Beach Affair
As Prince Charles and Princess Diana had their divorce splashed out across various tabloids, another scandalous royal relationship was taking place. Prince Andrew is Prince Charles' brother and he was married to Sarah Ferguson. The two split in the early 1990s, around the same time as Diana and Charles. Sarah found herself in hot water after some scandalous photos made it into the press.
While separated, but not divorced, from Prince Andrew, Sarah was photographed gallivanting on a beach with an American businessman named John Bryan. However, it was what was going on in the photos that made the whole ordeal particularly salacious. John Bryan was said to have been sucking on Duchess Sarah’s toes while she lounged topless on the beach. The royals were furious, and Prince Andrew and Sarah were later divorced.
Prince Harry's Friendly Ex
Prince Harry definitely seems as though he remains on good terms with his ex-girlfriends. He invited another one of his exes, actress Cressida Bonas, to watch him exchange vows with Meghan Markle. The couple was said to have dated for two years after being introduced through Harry’s cousin Eugenie. Pressure from the public and relentless scrutiny was said to have caused the end of the relationship.
However, there certainly seems to be no ill will on either side. When discussing her attendance at the wedding, Cressida seemed most concerned with whether or not she got the headgear right. She said, “I opted for a minimal feathered number — and can only hope I got it right.”
Prince Andrew’s Erotic Love
Although Prince Andrew’s wife Sarah was the one to face the most public scrutiny, Andrew himself has a history of scandalous relationships. Before his marriage to Sarah, Andrew dated American actress Koo Stark. The problem was that Koo was best known for her work in an erotic film. However, Andrew seemed determined to maintain a true relationship with Koo rather than a minor affair.
The royal family was not happy about the relationship and there was constant media pressure as well. However, the duo continued on for a reported eighteen months together. Although their relationship didn’t last, the two are said to have remained friends.
Squidgygate
Princess Diana was caught in the middle of another romance scandal after British intelligence secretly recorded her phone calls. In the calls, Diana spoke to her secret love, James Gilbey, many times and tapes of the calls were later published in the National Enquirer. James had a very interesting nickname for Diana, “Squidgy,” which he was heard saying over fifty times in the calls.
The press ran with the nickname, calling the affair “Squidgygate”. The calls also revealed numerous other personal ordeals which Diana was dealing with, including a battle with bulimia.
The Unhappy Princess
Princess Anne is the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. However, much like her brothers, it seems as though she was doomed to an unhappy marriage. Princess Anne first married Captain Mark Phillips in 1973. In the mid-1980s, it was revealed that Mark had fathered a love child, a daughter named Felicity, with an art teacher.
The news was revealed after a paternity suit. DNA later confirmed the news. The two remained in a strained marriage until the 1990s when they finally divorced in 1992. Princess Anne has since been married to Timothy Laurence.
The Prince And The Popstar
Perhaps one of Prince Harry’s most famous former loves was pop star Ellie Goulding. Ellie first came to meet the royals after being invited to perform at Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding. Later, she again met with Harry at his Invictus Games and the two were photographed looking quite friendly.
Around 2016, the two were rumored to be in a romance when they both attended a charity polo match. While there, the two were spotted “canoodling” closely. Despite whatever happened between the two, like with most of Harry’s exes, the two have remained friendly. Ellie was another ex who made the guest list at the 2018 nuptials between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
The Princess And The Photographer
After the sad end of the relationship between Princess Margaret and Captain Townsend, Margaret finally moved on. She met and became smitten with photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones. Antony became the first commoner to marry the daughter of a King in hundreds of years. In the beginning, the two had a lovely relationship but it later became quite tumultuous.
At some point, both Margaret and Antony were unfaithful to one another. Margaret had relationships with a friend of Antony’s, Anthony Barton and later a young landscaper named Roddy Llewellyn. Antony became involved with Lady Jacqueline Rufus-Isaacs and Margaret was very upset by the affair. Ultimately, the two divorced in 1976. The two reportedly stayed close friends until Margaret’s death in 2002.