Rose Hanbury responds to Prince William rumours

'KateGate', or so it's been dubbed online, has had social media in a chokehold in recent weeks. Some have created wild conspiracies, while others urge people to leave Kate Middleton alone.

Despite Kensington Palace announcing in a statement that the princess will be recovering from a "planned abdominal surgery," online users weren't buying it.

One of the theories swirling online is that Prince William is having an affair with Rose Hanbury as Middleton "was missing". Rumours that Hanbury's team have since shut down.

The conspiracy was publicly addressed during an episode of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.

"The kingdom has been all aflutter by the seeming disappearance of Kate Middleton. Well now, internet sleuths are guessing that Kate’s absence may be related to her husband and the future king of England, William, having an affair," Colbert said.

He went on to say "I think we all know who the alleged other woman is."

"The Marchioness of Cholmondeley," Colbert continued, adding that there have been rumours of an affair between William and Hanbury "since 2019."

"According to tabloids back then, when Kate supposedly confronted him about it, he laughed it off, saying there was nothing to it," Colbert said, jokingly adding, "Always a good response when you're wife accuses you of cheating."

Hanbury's lawyers have since broken their silence to Business Insider, calling the rumours "completely false."

During his monologue, Colbert cited an article by The Independent, titled: "Lady Rose Hanbury: Who is the Marchioness of Cholmondeley?"

The former model, 39, once worked as a researcher for Conservative MP Michael Gove, but now spends her time managing the estate of her husband, David Rocksavage, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley.

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