From Kategate to Megxit: The many controversies of British royal family bahus
Presently, the British monarchy is embroiled in the ‘Middleton Mess’ in which the Princess of Wales has gone ‘missing’, only to reappear in a photo, which was then cancelled by media agencies for being manipulated.
As the controversy drags on, we take a closer look at some of the most infamous British royal scandals, involving the women.
Kate and the case of the ‘missing’ princess
In early 2024, the British royals, who were just coming out of the shadow of Queen Elizabeth II’s death, announced that Kate, Prince William’s wife would be undergoing abdominal surgery and would be absent from public events until at least the end of March.
Further details about her surgery or her health weren’t shared, leading to a whole lot of speculation to what had gone wrong with the mother of three. During this time, Prince William attended a series of high profile events, like the BAFTAs, alone. Then in late February, the prince skipped out on a royal engagement – the memorial service for his godfather, King Constantine of Greece – leading to further speculation and rumours about Kate’s health.
The internet was abuzz with memes discussing Kate’s whereabouts. It was amid this time that Kate’s representative issued a statement on 1 March, “Kensington Palace made it clear in January the timelines of the Princess’ recovery and we’d only be providing significant updates. That guidance stands.”
However, that did little to calm social media and royal watchers.
The image that has caused a storm in the UK for the royals. Image Courtesy: @KensingtonRoyal/X
And that brings us to the present and what is now being dubbed as ‘Kategate’. On the occasion of Mother’s Day, the princess released an image on their official Instagram handle of her with her three kids – George, Charlotte and Louis.
However, not long after the portrait was released, several leading photo agencies issued “kill notices” for the picture because it appeared to be digitally manipulated.
Kate then appeared to personally address the photo editing controversy in a social media post.
But the damage was already done. The image made Kensington Palace less trustworthy and only increased speculation about Kate’s disappearance. It also led to a spur of related controversies, including one of Prince William allegedly cheating on his ailing wife with her friend Lady Rose Hanbury, Marchioness of Cholmondeley.
Megxit and racism allegations
And it seems that scandal has plagued both the British princes and their spouses. Before Kategate happened, there was Megxit. In 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, aka The Sussexes, announced that they were stepping away from their royal duties.
Following their announcement, the couple moved to California in the US and began pursuing independent projects, including a deal with Netflix for a documentary on their lives.
The decision to step away while controversial on its own, became even more scandalous when the couple sat down with American talkshow queen Oprah Winfrey and made stunning allegations of racism not just against the British press but also the Royal Family.
Prince Harry and Meghan in an interview with Oprah Winfrey. In this chat, the couple accused the royal family of having a racist bias. File image/AP
One such incident that cast the other royals in a particularly bad light was an unnamed member of the family asking about their son Archie’s skin tone. Harry and Meghan also revealed in the sit-down that the family hadn’t provided Meghan with access to mental health care as she dealt with suicidal ideation.
Following the Winfrey interview, Buckingham Palace had released a brief statement addressing the claims. “The issues raised, particularly of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.”
The biggest scandals during Queen Elizabeth II’s reign
Love triangle of Charles, Diana and Camilla
But before Kate and Meghan, the biggest royal scandal came in the 1990s when the then Prince Charles and Princess Diana announced their separation.
When the two married in 1981, Charles and Diana became the couple to watch. They welcomed two children together – William and Harry. But it wasn’t a royal love story for them, as they announced their separation in 1992.
It was in 1993 that ‘tampongate’ scandal broke out. For the unaware, ‘tampongate’ refers to the full transcript of a telephone call between Charles and Camilla (that took place in 1989) which was printed in the press. During the six-minute call, the long-time lovers – who were both married to other people at the time – discussed being intimate with each other, but the most notable comments came from Charles, who talked of being reincarnated as Camilla’s tampon.
Princess Diana and Prince Charles look in different directions. After a much-celebrated wedding in 1981, the two separated in 1992. File image/Reuters
Two years later, Princess Diana sat down for the now most infamous interview with journalist Martin Bashir in which she said that she was aware of her husband’s affair from its beginning and she uttered those famous lines – “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”
She also spoke of the lack of support she received from the royal family when she was experiencing postpartum depression and openly discussed her bulimia.
She went on to admit her own affair with former army officer James Hewitt, who had served as her and her sons’ riding instructor. She told Bashir she was “very let down” when Hewitt contributed to a tell-all book about their affair, Princess in Love.
Sarah Ferguson’s many controversies
Now disgraced Prince Andrew’s former wife, Sarah Ferguson, is also no stranger to controversy. The two had married in 1986 after only a three-month engagement. But it seems the love faded soon and they separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996.
It was after her separation that images of a vacationing Ferguson became a scandal. She had gone on a holiday with her financial advisor John Bryan and the media caught photos of Bryan sucking on Ferguson’s toes. There were also other images from the vacation, but it’s the toes that are still remembered.
Sarah Ferguson married Prince Andrew in 1986 after only a three-month engagement. But it seems the love faded soon and they separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996. File image/Reuters
Years later in 2010, Ferguson found herself in hot water when an undercover reporter for News of the World posed as a businessman and recorded Ferguson accepting money in exchange for a promise of access to her ex-husband.
It seems that the women of the royal family are magnets of scandal and controversy for a long, long time. What happens next in Kategate is unknown, but one thing’s for certain: the royals continue to make headlines and pique people’s interests.
With inputs from agencies
