14 Royal Romances That Ended in Flames

"Happily ever after" really only exists in fairy tales. Real-life romance — even for the royals — is much more complicated than that. There are some storybook couples, like Kate Middleton and Prince William, as long as those allegations of him cheating aren't true. But there are also a lot of royal romances that went down in flames.

Sometimes, cheating was to blame, and other times, it was the nonroyal who simply couldn't handle the demands of public life. Then, there are couples who were just doomed from the start. In any case, for every Meghan Markle and Prince Harry love story, there's a nasty fallout between another couple. Here are 14 of the most bitter ends to royal romances.

Princess Diana & Prince Charles

Prince William as a baby
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This romance was pretty much doomed from the start, with Prince Charles stepping out on Diana with Camilla Parker Bowles. Diana eventually started an affair of her own as well. The two separated a decade after marrying, and Diana went on to air their very dirty laundry in a bombshell telvision interview and a tell-all book.

Princess Margaret & Peter Townsend

Princess Margaret
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After the Queen forbade Margaret from marrying divorcé Peter Townsend, Margaret had no choice but to break off their engagement. If she'd have stayed with him, she would have had to renounce all her royal titles. She chose her position over her love, and the two both went on to marry other people.

Princess Margaret & Antony Armstrong-Jones

Royal Wedding
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Instead of marrying Peter, Margaret settled for Antony, the Earl of Snowdon. That turned out to be a mistake, because they both allegedly cheated on one another and ended up getting the royal family's first divorce since 1901. Maybe the Queen should have just let Maraget marry Peter. That probably would have brought less scandal in the long run.

Prince Andrew & Sarah Ferguson

Fergie and Andrew's marriage shattered after paparazzi caught her cheating on her husband. But things got even messier after that, with Fergie taking a bribe from a journalist in exchange for access to her ex-husband. She apologized after she got caught, but that was in 2010 — so it's not even ancient history between the two.

Princess Madeleine & Jonas Bergstrom

Sweden Princess Madeleine Announces Engagement
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This duo was all set to get married, but the wedding was called off in 2010 because of allegations Jonas was cheating on Madeleine, a Swedish princess. It's unheard of for a royal wedding to get canceled, but it seems it was for the best. Madeleine got married to financier Christopher O'Neill in 2013, and they've been together ever since.

King Henry VIII

505 years later, the Vatican opens its secret archives and presents the amazing document presaging the Anglican schism: the letter asking for the annulment of King Henry VIII's marriage in Rome, Italy on June 23, 2009.
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This is a throwback, but in the 16th century, King Henry VIII created an entirely new church so he could get divorced. Because divorce was frowned upon in the Catholic religion, he invented the Church of England and split from wife Catherine of Aragon — so he could persue his mistress, Anne Boleyn. He later sentenced Anne to death for treason, so that relationship didn't go that well either.

Princess Anne & Andrew Parker Bowles

Royal Ascot 2018 - Day 1
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Once upon a time Princess Anne dated Andrew Parker Bowles, who would go on to marry Camilla — who would cheat on him with Prince Charles. It's quite complicated. Anyway, Anne may have liked Andrew, but their romance was doomed, because Andrew was Catholic and royals can't marry Catholics without giving up their status. Blame King Henry VIII for that.

Princess Anne & Mark Phillips

Princess Anne and ex-husband Mark Phillips are seen at Gatcombe Horse Trials
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Initially, Princess Anne and Mark Phillips had decided to work through their marital issues after it was discovered that Anne was cheating. That changed, however, when it came out that Mark had also allegedly cheated — and fathered a child in that relationship. The two split in 1989, and their divorce was final is 1992.

King Felipe & Eva Sannum

File picture dated 25 August 2001 of Spanish Princ
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Spain was not happy with Felipe's romance with lingerie model Eva Sannum. Even as the two headed down the path to marriage, most people in Spain were opposed to the relationship. That pressure seemed to eventually get the best of Felipe, and he broke off things with Eva in 2001.

Princess Beatrice & Paolo Liuzzo

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Beatrice recently married Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, but she previously had a pretty controversial relationship with a man named Paolo Liuzzo. A year into dating, it was revealed that Paolo had a conviction — for assault and battery in the death of a student. (Yikes.) Safe to say she dumped him after that.

Princess Beatrice & Dave Clark

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After Paolo, Beatrice dated Dave Clark for a decade. Things soured when Beatrice was ready to get married and Dave wouldn't propose. She reportedly gave him an ultimatum — which never goes well for a relationship — and he still refused to marry her. They split in 2016.

Prince William & Isabella Calthorpe

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In his younger days, Prince William reportedly fell hard for Cressida Bonas' sister Isabella. But she wanted a life separate from being a prince's girlfriend, so she turned him down when he reached out to her during his brief break from Kate Middleton. When Kate and Will reconciled, she reportedly told him he could no longer contact Isabella.

Meghan Markle & Her Ex-Husband

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Meghan Markle had been married once before Prince Harry, but her relationship with her ex-husband, Trevor Engelson, ended on bad terms when he allegedly became jealous of how quickly her career was advancing. The tension in their romance grew as he started leaving Meghan out of things — such as not inviting her to be his date to the Oscars. They divorced in 2013.

Prince Harry & Cressida Bonas

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Before Meghan Markle, there was Cressida Bonas, who dated Harry for two years, but things ended quickly when Cressida realized the full scope of the whole married-to-a-royal life.

"Cressida had been 'completely spooked' while watching TV coverage of William, Kate, and George touring New Zealand and Australia that spring," royal expert Katie Nicholl said. "There was no way she wanted that sort of attention and she told Harry so … I think she really broke his heart."

Prince Harry Eventually Mended Things With His Exes

Archive Images - Prince Harry And Meghan Duchess Of Sussex Talk Of The Day Due To Biography Finding Freedom
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Both Chelsy Davy and Cressida Bonas broke Harry's heart when they split over not being able to handle the public attention. They eventually mended any hurt feelings, because Harry invited them both to his wedding to Meghan Markle. Bsed on his history with them, as soon as the pressure started getting to Meghan, Harry bailed on the monarchy. He wasn't about to lose another love because of the demands of being a prince.