Prince William cheating rumor resurrected by Stephen Colbert amid Kate’s photo scandal

Kate Middleton’s self-proclaimed “amateur” editing job on a family photo has erupted into such a global PR nightmare for the British royal family that American late-night host Stephen Colbert turned the crisis into a comedy bit Tuesday night, humorously leaning into an old rumor that Prince William cheated on his wife with a socialite friend.

On “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” the host brought up one of the conspiracy theories that has been circulating on social media to explain Kate’s mysteriously long absence from public view since December. The theory is that the Princess of Wales has retreated from royal duties because of trouble in her marriage, which in turn stems from an old, unsubstantiated rumor that William supposedly had an affair with the couple’s country neighbor, Rose Hanbury, who also carries the hard-to-pronounced title, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley.

In his opening monologue, Colbert had fun with the pronunciation of Hanbury’s title. He also noted that his “heart goes out to poor Kate,” but joked he’s “ready to spill the tea, literally,” as a “Late Show” employee wheeled out a cart with a china cup filled with tea.

“Now there have been rumors of an affair between William and (Rose) since 2019,” said Colbert, adopting something approaching a clipped upper-class British intonation. “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.”

Colbert also explained that Hanbury is “an old friend of the royals” and is married to “a close friend of William’s.” This friend would be an older aristocrat named David Rocksavage, who served as King Charles III’s “lord-in-waiting” at his coronation.

“Really? Rocksavage?” Colbert quipped. “That sounds less like a British noble and more like a musician from the Flintstones.”

There’s never been any evidence that William cheated, but the rumor resurfaced this week, apparently because people on both sides of the Atlantic have become intrigued by Kate’s absence and frustrated by the dearth of official information about her whereabouts.

Back in January, Kensington Palace said the seemingly healthy 42-year-old mother of three  underwent a “planned” abdominal surgery that would require a lengthy hospital stay and recuperation. But the palace wouldn’t specify her condition or say much else, except that she wouldn’t return to royal duties until at least after Easter. Kate’s disappearance coincided with news that Charles had cancer and would also withdraw from public-facing duties as he undergoes treatment.

This information vacuum about Kate’s condition, along with other recent family crises and royal issues, has sparked a proliferation of rumors, all of which grew more feverish after Kate and William made the botched attempt this past weekend to allay concerns about her health and whereabouts. On Sunday, they released a photo of her, embracing their three children, George, Charlotte and Louis, and looking relaxed, happy and healthy as she sat on an outdoor patio. The photo also was released to celebrate Mother’s Day in the U.K., but it quickly became apparent to many social media users that it had been doctored. Four international news agencies soon agreed, telling clients later Sunday that it should be “killed” from distribution because it appeared to have been manipulated.

Royal observers said it was “unprecedented” for news agencies to raise concerns about the authenticity of an image provided by the British royal family. The result is that this “Photoshop fail” has left the monarchy “more exposed than it has been in years,” wrote Hannah Furness, the royal editor for The Telegraph.

Kate, William and the rest of the monarchy have been inundated with questions about secrecy and a lack of transparency, even from pro-monarchy U.K. news sites like The Telegraph and the Daily Mail. Kensington Palace has refused to release the original photo, which it insisted was taken by William last week at the couple’s home near Windsor Castle.

But, as Colbert noted, people online, including professional photographers, have been analyzing the photo to figure out how it’s been manipulated. These internet sleuths hope to answer many burning questions, some which sound pretty far-fetched. The palace’s mishandling of the photo “has left the unfortunate impression that the conspiracy theorists may have had a point after all,” Furness also wrote.

Is that really a new photo of Kate, people have asked. Or was an older photo of her face Photo-shopped into an image with her children? Is Kate really on the mend after her surgery, or is she afraid to be seen because something has happened to her looks, perhaps due to a botched cosmetic procedure? There are even people asking if she’s been “disappeared” by the royal family.

The rumors that the Wales’ marriage is in trouble became especially acute when the photo released Sunday showed Kate not wearing any rings on either of her hands, meaning that her wedding ring and her sapphire engagement ring were not present. (That is, if those were Kate’s hands in the photo). It now appears that Colbert’s brief bit about their marital troubles could add to renewed speculation about the cheating rumor, even if the late-show host was making a joke about the rumor and didn’t seem to take it that seriously.

Still, it’s notable that Colbert even mentioned the rumor. Since it first emerged, mainstream U.S. publications have avoided mentioning it, even to comment on how outlandish it could be. So, too, have Britain’s scandal-mongering tabloids, likely out of concern over U.K.’s more punitive libel laws.

Colbert’s willingness to entertain this rumor, even for comedy, shows the extent to which the gloves have come off this week with regard to people criticizing the generally popular William and Kate. Even William and Kate fans in the U.K. media have expressed disappointment and even anger over how the situation has been handled.

“There are precious commodities at stake here: trust and integrity,” wrote Richard Kay, a columnist the Daily Mail. “If pictures can be digitally altered, what else can be twisted? The British public adore the royal family but that adoration rests on them being told the truth.”

Kay said the palace should have expected people to notice that Kate wasn’t wearing her rings. He pointed out that the engagement ring, which was Princess Diana’s, is one of the most famous pieces of jewelry in world. “The fact that it wasn’t there was bound to arouse curiosity,” Kay said.

He and other royal observers also blamed the couple’s obsession with secrecy and privacy for getting them into this mess. In their effort to fiercely guard the images of their children, they have resorted to mostly taking the photos themselves of their children that will be disseminated to the public, instead of calling in a professional photographer who would know how to uphold standards of digital integrity.

Richard Eden, the Daily Mail’s diary editor, had especially harsh words for William, which would no doubt resonate with those who cling to the idea of the future king being the villain in the Marchioness of Cholmondeley narrative. Eden said William let the palace throw his wife “under the bus,” especially when she’s trying to recover from major surgery.

During his appearance on the Daily Mail’s Palace Confidential YouTube show, Eden said he suspects that Kate was compelled to publicly apologize for the photo, and to take the blame for the  “confusion” caused by her “amateur” editing. He said it was “disgraceful” and “very ungentlemanly of Prince William to put the onus on her.”

“For goodness sake, he’s the one who took the photograph,” Eden added.