Kings can do anything: The loudest scandals in the British royal family

A life full of scandals in the royal family, a difficult relationship with his brother and father, the tragic death of his mother and his decision to leave the palace forever with his wife and young son – this is what Prince Harry described in his memoirs “Substitute” (original “Substitute”), January 10 Published in .

And while royal experts have no doubt that the publication of the Duke of Sussex’s autobiography will irrevocably change his relationship with the British family, we are somehow sure that even this time the monarchy will turn a blind eye to high profile figures. the antics of the former heir to the throne. Moreover, the conflict after the release of the Harry and Megan documentary series resolved on its own and still King III from England to America. A valuable letter has arrived with an invitation to Charles’ official coronation. True, after some details of the plot of the published book, the name of the scandalous prince was erased from the script of the coronation.

Well, if it seems to you that it was only Prince Harry and Meghan Markle who undermined the reputation of the royal family, we hasten to refute this fact. After all, in the history of the British monarchy there have already been scandalous interviews, public debates and abdication.

On the day the memoirs of the Duke of Sussex were published, we recall the most controversial events in the history of the royal family.

abdication of the throne of Edward VIII for the sake of an American

The scandal about Elizabeth II’s uncle forever changed the course of history – if it had not been, it is now unknown who would occupy the royal throne. After George V’s death, the throne would pass to Queen Elizabeth’s father’s older brother, Edward VIII. However, the duke had to abdicate in favor of his beloved woman, the American Wallis Simpson.

The girl at that time was in her second marriage and did not have a very positive reputation. However, the prince still intended to make her his wife. After the death of George V, a condition was put forward for him – either the throne or love. On December 11, 1936, he gave a speech that he considered impossible to fulfill the duties of the king without the support of the woman he loved. Edward VIII, who abdicated in favor of his younger brother Albert before his official coronation, was reunited with Wallis, who by then had finalized the divorce proceedings with her second husband.

Meanwhile, Albert became King George VI and ruled the country until 1952, and after his death, he handed over the throne to his daughter Elizabeth. And Edward and Wallis lived together all their lives.

Princess Margaret’s Forbidden Romance

Princess Margaret has always been different from her hardworking and responsible older sister Elizabeth. And she got worse with age. Loud parties, endless romances, and expensive clothes were far more interesting to Princess Margaret than formal receptions. And such antics were not in vain.

First, the princess had an affair with a married man who was 15 years older than her. At Elizabeth II’s coronation, Princess Margaret removed the thread from the uniform of Captain Peter Townsend, who once served as her father’s chief cavalryman. So the press learned about their love, she.

Later, Peter divorced his wife to marry Margaret, but Her Majesty issued an ultimatum. According to her, when Margaret turns 25, she must decide for herself whether she wants to become the captain’s wife and renounce all royal privileges and care, or enter into this marriage and remain at court.

Two years later, Margaret officially announced that she had decided not to marry Peter Townsend.

Princess Diana, Prince Charles and Camilla Shand’s love triangle

Everyone knows about this love triangle. Charles and Camilla’s romance began before they married Diana and continued throughout their relationship. And believe me, not a single scandal has cost the royal family such losses, like the current king’s divorce from the mother of his children, Diana Spencer.

In 1992, Prime Minister John Major officially announced in parliament that the couple had separated. The divorce was finalized only four years later. Subsequently, transcripts of Diana’s personal phone conversations with her lovers and Charles with Camilla were published on the front pages of the British press, the couple gave interviews, accusing each other of treason.

“We were three people in this marriage. And I don’t like crowds,” Princess Diana said in an interview with the BBC in 1995. She didn’t coordinate her televised appearance with Buckingham Palace and told she what to keep quiet. Later infidelity accusations, bulimia confessions, and suicide attempts were used.

Diana said that no one in the royal family loved her except her sons, and she laughed when he suggested that Charles could be king.

Prince Andrew’s divorce and sexual harassment allegations

Queen Elizabeth’s second son, Prince Andrew, married writer Sarah Ferguson in 1986. And although they have two daughters married, the couple decided not to live together. They broke up a few years later but did not get divorced. And if it weren’t for the case, it’s unknown how long Andrew and Sarah would have been in the status of official spouses.

The truth is, the paparazzi managed to capture the moment when Sarah Ferguson was lying on the chaise lounge and licking the toes of John Bryan, the royal financial adviser at the time. The scandal deeply affected Prince Andrew’s reputation, and the palace promptly decided to divorce. However, the former spouses managed to maintain warm and friendly relations.

This was far from the only scandalous situation in which the name of Prince Andrew appeared. In 2001, II. Elizabeth’s son distinguished himself when he had sex with a little Virginia Giuffre. In 2014, the girl first filed charges against the Duke of York, and this year the scandal between them flashed in new colors.

Queen of England II. Elizabeth’s second son, Andrew, Duke of York, was forced to renounce the patronage of a number of public institutions on the backdrop of rape charges against him, and also lost honorary military ranks. The conflict ended with a peace agreement worth $16 million.