Rose Hanbury linked to controversy over stolen Chinese artefacts
Rose Hanbury, Prince William.
Getty Images(2)Rose Hanbury could be a main character in a dominant conspiracy surrounding the British royal family – and this time it’s not rooted in rumors of infidelity.
Hanbury, 40, is making headlines for her connection with Prince William if questions about Princess Kate Middleton‘s whereabouts continue to rise, but now some of her home furnishings appear to be in question.
Internet sleuths have unearthed several photo shoots of Hanbury and her husband. David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley, posing in various rooms of their home in Norfolk, England, Houghton Hall. The images – mainly from May 2013 Vanity fair profile and May 2023 Financial times The piece shows the couple posing next to what appears to be several oriental set pieces reportedly looted from China during the Qing dynasty.
“So, because of the #KateGate / #WhereIsKate drama about Kate Middleton / Princess of Wales #Katespiracy, many people around the world have increased interest in Rose Hanbury and her mysterious connection to Prince William,” wrote an X user earlier this week she shared the photos of Hanbury and her husband. “Unfortunately, people in China looked a little too closely at this photo shoot of the Marquis and Marchioness of Cholmondeley in their beautiful stately home, and noticed that it is full of authentic Chinese furniture and artefacts. [sic] stolen from China during the fall of the Qing dynasty, and they are angry.”
Rose Hanbury isn’t the only member of her family with ties to the British royal family. Rose, full name Sarah Rose Hanbury, is one of two daughters born to her parents Timothy and Emma Hanbury, along with her older sister Marina. She took the title of The Marchioness of Cholmondeley after tying the knot with her […]
The message continued: “Apparently the Marquis of Cholmondeley inherited these controversial pieces from his Sassoon side of the family, and the Sassoons acquired them by plundering Qing China while trading opium there,” the same X-thread read. “Now Chinese netizens spotted them in the background of their photo shoot at Houghton Hall.”
The Sassoon family reportedly ran a trading empire in the 19th century, trading goods in several countries, including China. It is unclear how the Sassons – and now the Marquis and Marchioness of Cholmondeley – acquired the items in question. However, Sybil Sassoon is Cholmondeley’s grandmother, so it seems there is a connection.
Former royal reporter for BuzzFeed Ellie Hall even weighed in on the new controversy, calling it a “favorite unexpected side-plot” of the ongoing royal family drama.
Hanbury’s connection to the royal family actually dates back many years. She even attended Kate and William’s wedding in 2011. Eight years later, affair rumors began swirling between Hanbury and William. (In 2019, multiple media outlets reported that Kate and Hanbury had a falling out over alleged infidelity.)
Royal Watchers recently raised the affair rumors when Kate’s whereabouts were questioned after she underwent abdominal surgery in January. Social media users went rogue with theories about the Princess of Wales’s well-being, with some claiming William and Hanbury’s affair was the reason she has not stepped out of the public eye.
The British Royal Family may seem neat and tidy to the public, but they have faced their fair share of controversies over the years. One of the biggest royal scandals in recent history came when King Charles III and the late Princess Diana announced their divorce in 1992 after ten years of marriage. At the time, […]
“The rumors are completely false,” Hanbury’s lawyers reportedly said Business insider denied the affair earlier this week.
Editor-in-chief of True Royalty TV Nick Bullen told exclusively We weekly on Tuesday, March 19, that Hanbury is “very upset” by the infidelity rumors resurfacing.
“I know people who know the Marchioness of Cholmondeley very, very well, and she absolutely did not have an affair with the Prince of Wales,” Bullen added.