Every royal scandal over the years - Prince Andrew allegations; Harry and Meghan's exit; Kate's Photoshop controversy
Some members of the monarchy have faced scrunityThe royal family has had their fair share of scandals over the years – from an affair, a criminal offence and exits from duties.
All eyes are on the most famous family in Britain, the monarchy. Over the years, some members of the family have faced scandal including Prince Andrew, Prince Harry and Princess Anne.
So, let’s take a dive into the royal family’s most scandalous moments…
1. Royal scandals: Charles, Camilla and Diana’s love triangle – 1980s
Before his marriage to the now Queen Camilla, King Charles III was married to Princess Diana. They tied the knot in 1981 but split in 1992. Their divorce was finalised in 1996 – a year before Diana’s tragic death at 36.
Charles and Diana had two sons – Prince William and Prince Harry.
However, during his marriage to Diana, Charles allegedly had an affair with Camilla Parker Bowles. The pair had romantic history, having dated briefly in 1970.
It was cut off when Charles went into the army for eight months. Camilla moved on with Andrew Parker Bowles, and they married in 1973.
However, according to reports, in 1986 Charles and Camilla rekindled their romance and began a second affair.
Charles admitted being unfaithful in Diana marriage
In a 1994 interview, Charles said he had been faithful to Diana in their marriage “until it became irretrievably broken down”.
Diana reportedly confronted Camilla over the affair in 1989. In Andrew Morton’s book, Diana: Her True Story, Diana recounted her conversation with Camilla.
She said, according to the book: “I said, ‘Camilla, I would just like you to know that I know exactly what is going on between you and Charles, I wasn’t born yesterday.’
“She said to me, ‘You’ve got everything you ever wanted. All the men in the world fall in love with you and you’ve got two beautiful children, what more would you want?’ So I said, ‘I want my husband.
“‘I’m sorry I’m in the way… and it must be hell for both of you. But I do know what’s going on. Don’t treat me like an idiot.'”
Meanwhile, in her now infamous Panorama interview in 1995, Diana said of the love triangle: “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”
Charles and Diana split in 1992. In 1995, Camilla split from her husband Andrew. She and Charles married in 2005.
2. Royal family’s reaction to Diana’s death – 1997
Princess Diana tragically died in a car accident in Paris on August 31, 1997. She was just 36.
Diana died in hospital as a result of injuries following the crash in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris. Her partner at the time, Dodi Fayed, and the driver Henri Paul also died. There have been many investigations and theories into the tragedy, with some blaming the paparazzi allegedly chasing the car.
After Paul lost control of the car, it reportedly struck another vehicle before colliding head-on with a pillar.
However, at the time, the royal family faced backlash over their delayed arrival in London. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were at Balmoral at the time of Diana’s death. They were with her sons Prince William and Prince Harry, who were 15 and 12 at the time.
Their efforts to protect William and Harry in the days after Diana’s death were interpreted by many mourners as a lack of compassion.
They returned to London on September 5, five days after Diana’s death.
Along with William and Harry, the queen and Prince Philip spoke to mourners who had gathered outside Buckingham Palace.
The queen then made a live televised speech to pay tribute to Diana. She called her an “exceptional and gifted human being”.
Years later, William spoke about his grandmother and father Charles’ actions at that time. He said in an interview: “At the time, my grandmother wanted to protect her two grandsons and my father as well. Our grandmother deliberately removed the newspapers and things like that so there was nothing in the house to read.”
3. Princess Anne dog bite – 2002
In 2002, Princess Anne – the only daughter of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip – pleaded guilty to one charge of having a dog dangerously out of control.
Her dog had attacked two children.
She became the first member of the royal family to have been convicted of a criminal offence.
At the time, the Princess Royal was fined £500 and ordered to pay £250 in victim compensation and £148 in costs.
4. Prince Harry’s Nazi costume backlash and Las Vegas scandal
In his 20s, Prince Harry bagged the nickname of the “rebel prince” thanks to his headline-making antics.
In 2005, he issued a public apology over a Nazi costume he wore to a friend’s party. He wore a swastika armband as part of the costume, something which sparked outrage.
He said: “I am very sorry if I caused any offense or embarrassment to anyone. It was a poor choice of costume and I apologise.”
In his 2023 memoir Spare, Harry said the party’s theme was “natives and colonials”. He said in the book: “When I saw those photos, I recognised immediately that my brain had been shut off, that perhaps it had been shut off for some time.”
In his 2022 Netflix documentary with wife Meghan Markle, Harry called the costume “one of the biggest mistakes of my life”.
Royal scandals – what happened with Prince Harry in Las Vegas?
In 2012, Prince Harry hit headlines again when he was pictured naked in a Las Vegas hotel room.
He was pictured with a woman, reportedly playing a game of strip billiards. The images emerged in the press in August 2012.
Speaking about the images emerging in the press, Harry said in early 2013: “At the end of the day I probably let myself down, I let my family down, I let other people down.
“But at the end of the day I was in a private area and there should have been a certain amount of privacy that one should expect.
“It was probably a classic example of me probably being too much Army and not enough prince. It’s a simple case of that.”
5. Harry and Meghan’s exit from royal life – 2020
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shocked the world when they announced they were stepping back from their senior royal roles in 2020.
At the time, they said they wanted to become “financially independent” while still supporting Queen Elizabeth II.
They have since moved to the United States, and have set up life in Montecito, California.
However, since their royal exit, they have made a string of damning comments and claims about the royal family. In 2021, they sat down with Oprah Winfrey for a tell-all interview.
In the chat, they made several bombshells including a shock allegation that there had been ‘concerns and conversations’ within the royal family about the colour of their son Archie’s skin before he was born.
They insisted the comment wasn’t made by the queen or Prince Philip.
At the time, the palace issued a statement saying the race claims were “concerning”. They added: “Whilst some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.”
During the interview, Meghan also said she had suicidal thoughts when she married into the family but claimed her request to go somewhere to get help was denied.
Since then, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have continued with making comments about the family. They launched a four-part Netflix series about their time within the monarchy.
Harry also released a tell-all memoir Spare in early 2023, in which he alleged that William once physically attacked him during a confrontation at Nottingham Cottage in 2019.
The couple’s relationship with the royals has therefore become strained, with royal experts suggesting it may never be mended.
6. Prince Andrew’s Jeffrey Epstein scandal and exit from royal life
Prince Andrew, Duke of York, stepped back from his royal duties in 2019 due to his association with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Virginia Giuffre, an alleged victim of Epstein, accused the royal of sexually assaulting her three times when she was 17. The Duke of York has always denied the allegations.
In 2019, Andrew sat down for an interview with BBC’s Newsnight as he addressed the allegations with presenter Emily Maitlis. On his relationship with Epstein, Andrew insisted that it would be a “stretch to say that as it were we were close friends”.
Again, he denied Giuffre’s allegations against him. He also suggested that a 2001 photo appearing to show him with his arm around Giuffre could have been ‘fake’ as he had “no memory” of it being taken. He also insisted he had never met her.
The interview didn’t go down well with the public and it was branded a “car crash”.
Days later, Buckingham Palace announced that the Duke of York would suspend royal duties “for the foreseeable future”.
Then in May 2020, it was announced that the royal would permanently step down from duties.
Giuffre launched a civil court case against the royal in 2021. In February 2022, the case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.
Andrew hasn’t returned to duties and he was stripped of his military titles and patronages by his late mother, the queen, in 2022.
7. Princess of Wales’ Photoshop editing controversy
Most recently, the Princess of Wales became caught up in controversy over an edited photo shared in early 2024.
Kate Middleton underwent abdominal surgery in January. She hadn’t been seen publicly since Christmas Day 2023. This sparked much concern among royal fans and many conspiracy theories were swirling around online.
Then, to mark Mother’s Day on March 10, the Prince and Princess of Wales released a family picture of Kate with their three children – Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six.
However, the image sparked worldwide scrutiny after some people noticed inconsistencies and claimed the photo had been altered. It resulted in Instagram placing a red “altered” banner over the photo.
Many top picture agencies also pulled the image from their libraries. This only escalated theories on Kate’s whereabouts.
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Read more: Inside King Charles’ cancer battle – Palace health updates to how royals reacted to the news
However, the Princess of Wales issued an apology statement on March 11. She said: “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.
“I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day.”
Many fans then urged the couple to release the original image.
Later in March, Kate shared a personal video message as she confirmed her cancer diagnosis. She then took a break from royal duties to undergo “preventive chemotherapy” treatment.
In September 2024, Kate announced that she had completed her treatment and would get back to duties slowly.
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