Twelve years ago today, Prince William and Kate Middleton walked down the aisle at Westminster Abbey and walked out as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Now, as Prince and Princess of Wales, the couple marked their wedding anniversary with a casual photo to social media.
Some people, however, took the opportunity to discuss the rumors that continue to heat up about a potential mistress in William’s life.
Prince William and Kate Middleton marked their 12th anniversary.
On Saturday, April 29, the royal couple shared a new photo to their social media accounts to honor and mark the 12 years (and counting) that they have been married.
The image was shared on their joint Instagram and Twitter accounts, with a very simple caption: “12 years,” with one red heart emoji.
The photo was taken last year.
The image, according to People, was taken last year by photographer Matt Porteous.
In the image, William and Kate are standing beside each other with Kate’s arm around William’s waist and his around her shoulders. They’re each straddled over a bike, as if they’ve taken a pause from riding for a photo opportunity, and they are dressed casually in jeans and button shirts.
According to People, the image was taken in a series of photographs last year that Porteous took of the royal family.
Other images from the same photo shoot have also been shared, including Christmas 2022 and Mother’s Day last month in the UK.
The comment section filled with well-wishes for the royal couple.
On both Instagram and Twitter, commenters left well-wishes for the royal couple’s wedding anniversary and commented on the casual photo.
But there were some others who picked out a few issues they had with the images — mainly that it didn’t seem safe to ride without a helmet and jeans and cycling not mixing well.
“Riding a bike with a purse?” one person questioned.
“And jeans!” someone else replied.
“Put some helmets on pls,” another person commented.
“What no helmets?” asked another person.
But there was one comment that sparked a huge discussion hundreds of comments deep: “Rose is about 6 years?”
The Rose the commenter is talking about is Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley and the wife of David Rocksavage, the 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley.
Rose and her husband, David, have been a part of the Wales’ “high-society friend group,” for a long time, but rumors that William and Rose were having an affair have been swirling for a while as well.
In April 2019, a few reports indicated William might have had an affair with Rose, and comparisons were made between Rose and Camilla, the current queen consort who was having a long-time affair with now King Charles while he was still married to William’s mom, Princess Diana.
There’s nothing that’s ever been confirmed about William's alleged affair.
The story about William and Rose having an affair haven’t been confirmed (or denied really) and there are not a lot of facts that point to the validity of the rumors that the two have ever been romantically involved.
And now, Rose and her husband will be in the spotlight again with the king’s coronation just around the corner. David has been named King Charles III’s lord-in-waiting, and their son, Oliver, also will be playing a role at the ceremony.
Chances are even if something was going on behind closed doors between Rose and William, the palace isn’t going to say anything. But even if there isn’t anything happening, the rumors can’t be easy for the prince and princess’s marriage.
