Prince William's Rumored Affair With Rose Hanbury Resurfaces Amid Kate Middleton's Disappearance

Prince William's rumored affair with Rose Hanbury became the subject of Stephen Colbert's show on Tuesday.

The host addressed the speculations about Kate Middleton's disappearance after the Princess of Wales confirmed her doctored Mother's Day photo. Colbert poked fun at the infidelity rumor that made headlines in 2019.

"As we were talking about this show yesterday, the kingdom has been all fluttered by the seeming disappearance of Kate Middleton. Well now, internet sleuths are guessing that Kate's absence may be related to her husband's and the future king of England, William, having an affair," Colbert said.

The host jokingly said he would spill the tea, and someone promptly delivered him a cup of tea. He then continued talking about the issue and even mentioned Hanbury's title to identify Prince William's rumored mistress.

"So, I think we all know who the alleged other woman is -- say it with me -- The Marchioness of Cholmondeley ... now, there have been rumors of an affair between William and [Hanbury] since 2019," he continued.

"According to tabloids back then, when Kate supposedly confronted him about it, he laughed it off, saying there was nothing to it. 'Haha,' always a good response when your wife accuses you of cheating."

InTouch claimed in a now-deleted report that the Prince of Wales had an affair with Hanbury when Middleton was pregnant with their third child, Prince Louis, now 5 years old, per Style Caster. The future queen of Britain allegedly confronted her husband, and he "just laughed it off saying there was nothing to it."

The Duchess of Cambridge reportedly ordered her husband to stop seeing the Cholmondeleys. InTouch added that the issue "rocked the palace and their marriage."

Giles Coren, a British columnist and food writer for The Times of London, also previously fueled the rumored affair, seemingly confirming it in a deleted tweet. However, he later said that the tweet was a joke.

The heir apparent had already addressed the cheating issue and denied it. Prince William's lawyers served legal warnings to at least one British publication that published details of the rumor.

"In addition to being false and highly damaging, the publication of false speculation in respect of our clients' private life also constitutes a breach of his privacy," one of the letters from Harbottle and Lewis read, per The Daily Beast.

Duncan Larcombe, former royal editor of The Sun, told The Daily Beast that taking legal action was probably Prince Wiliam's "last resort."

"While traditionally, the British royal family would not take specific legal action -- the old saying was 'never complain and never explain' -- William and Harry are willing to do it in their own way," Larcombe explained.