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10 Biggest Scandals To Have Ever Hit British Royal Family: From King Edward VIII To Princess Diana
The British Royal family has found themselves spiraling into scandals on multiple occasions over the years. From King Edward VIII to Princess Diana, Have a look at the scandals.
Trigger Warning: This article includes references to sexual abuse and harassment
Scandals in the British Royal family have existed ever since its establishment. Over the years, a trail of kings, queens, and princes have found themselves in trouble, be it in love affairs or legal matters. From King Edward VIII’s abdication of the throne to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping down from their public duties as senior royals, have a look at the scandals that caused turbulence in the royal family of Britain.
King Edward VIII’s Abdication Of Throne
In 1936, King Edward VIII was newly crowned to be the head of the state. However, the King fell in love with an American socialite, Wallis Simpson, and proposed to her for marriage. As fate could have it, the monarch of the time was not allowed to marry Simpson, as she was in the process of getting a divorce and her ex-husband was alive. The union of the King was opposed by the laws and the government. Hence, to be with the American native, King Edward VIII left the throne and the powers that came with it. Though the move was highly criticised by the public, government, and family, George VI was named as the new king, who was the father of Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret.
Princess Margaret’s Love Life
Princess Margaret’s love affairs were talk of the town as they were said to be too scandalous. Margaret, as Queen Elizabeth's sister, had freedom of choice in many aspects of her life, including who she loved. The Princess had an affair with Peter Townsend, who was an Air Force officer. When the couple started seeing each other, Townsend was already married but wanted to marry Margaret, so he decided to divorce his former wife. However, the princess and the Air Force officer could never tie the knot; instead, the royal member married Anthony Armstrong Jones. The marriage could not last for long due to the infidelity of both parties.
The Annus Horribilis
The year 1992 has gone down as the worst year in the history of the monarchy. During Queen Elizabeth’s reign, it was the first time that three out of the four children in the monarchy ended their marriage in the same year. Prince Charles, Prince Andrew, and Princess Anne decided to divorce their respective partners at the time. Adding to the dismay of the Queen, Princess Anne went on to remarry the same year, with her ex-husband still alive. The episode was the first in the royal family where a monarch’s kid remarried after divorce.
The Love Triangle
Prince Charles’ strained relationship with Princess Diana was well-known across the globe. The heir to the throne at the time had been charmed by Camilla even before being married to Diana. While the duo tried their best to survive in a marriage, it ended in a divorce because, in Diana’s words, “there were three in the marriage.” The chapter did not close after the separation; instead, it was fueled on multiple occasions, one of which was Princess’ famous interview, where she claimed her marriage to be “a bit crowded.” Both parties spoke about the infidelities faced by each other. In 1992, Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris while escaping from the media.
Prince Harry’s Nazi Costume
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In 2005, Prince Harry’s dress-up at the costume party grabbed eyeballs and caused fury among the public. The Duke of Sussex dressed in a Nazi uniform, which did not go down well with the audience. However, it was not the first time the British royals were linked to the Nazi Party. In 1936, King Edward VIII was said to have connections with the Nazis; moreover, all of Prince Philip’s sisters were married to the Germans. The incident involving Prince Harry concluded with the Queen and himself apologizing, and in the present scenario, none of the royal members have any contact with the party whatsoever.
Prince Andrew’s Step Down
Prince Andrew stepped down from royal duties in 2019 after the Duke of York found himself caught in a scandalous legal matter. Virginia Giuffre filed a lawsuit against the former royal member, claiming that the Prince forced her to have sex with him three times between 1999 and 2002 on a private island in the Caribbean. Prince Andrew also had alleged connections with Jeffrey Epstein. Things took turn for worse after the Duke of York sat down for an interview with BBC regarding his ties with the sex offender. In 2022, Queen Elizabeth stripped the Duke of his medals and patronages after the prince tried to get the case dismissed against him. Later that year, Giuffre and the Duke of York settled the case outside of court for an undisclosed amount.
Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Step Down As Senior Royals
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Meghan Markle married a royal in 2018. Not even two years after her marriage to Prince Harry, the couple decided to step down as the senior royals. After the birth of their first child in 2019, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex released a statement informing the public of their decision. The statement at the time read, "We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages." While the move by the former royals was not well addressed in the palace, it raised concerns as to what had been going on behind the palace doors. In 2021, the Sussexes confirmed that they no longer had been working members of the British royal family.
Incidents Of Racism
The British Royal family has been accused of practicing racial discrimination on multiple occasions. Meghan Markle’s exit from the royal family was followed by her controversial interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2019. At the time, the American native claimed that she faced instances of racial discrimination and discussions surrounding the skin tone of her child inside the palace.
Lady Sussan Hussey, a godmother to Prince Willam and one of the top members of King Charles’ team, resigned from the royal post after facing allegations of racism. Ngozi Fulani, a social activist, accused the member of staff, who worked under Hussey, of asking racially insensitive questions at a royal event. Following the incident, Lady Hussey backed out of her royal role.
Prince Harry’s Memoir
In 2023, Prince Harry released his memoir, Spare. The book held controversial moments of the Duke’s growing up years in the palace and, elsewhere, how Meghan Markle was treated by the royal family. In an excerpt from the book, the prince alleges that Prince William and Kate Middleton asked him to don a Nazi costume for the 2005 party. The Duke has also described the incident where he brutally fought with his brother after Prince Wales called Markle “difficult” and “rude.” The former royal member shared that after the fight, he was left with “scrapes” and “bruises.”
Kate Middleton’s Photoshop Conspiracy
Kate Middleton underwent planned abdominal surgery in January 2024. While the Princess was on the road to recovery, there was no proper communication from Kensington Palace about the severity of the disease. Middleton had been away from the public eye for months, and amidst the conspiracy theories piling up, the Duchess of Cambridge uploaded a picture of herself with the three kids on social media. Soon, the internet was divided after the proof of the photo being manipulated went viral. As a clarification, the princess released a note via the official handle of the palace on X, which read, “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused.” Putting an end to the theories, Kate Middleton informed the public that she had been diagnosed with cancer.
Disclaimer: If you need support or know someone who is struggling with domestic violence or assault or abuse, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist, NGO or speak to someone about it. There are several helplines available for the same.
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