Royally peeved Kate Middleton has banished one of her closest girlfriends from her inner circle over her too-close-for-comfort friendship with Prince William!
The Duchess of Cambridge is feuding with gorgeous former model Rose Hanbury, because she believes her husband, William, is crushing on the 35-year-old knockout!
“Kate’s extremely jealous of Rose!” a well-placed Buckingham Palace insider told RadarOnline.com. “She’s been told William has carried a steaming torch for Rose for years — and he even confided to pals she was the ‘one that got away.’”
Before her marriage, willowy brunette Hanbury was besieged by admirers, according to sources.
“Rose has an aristocratic pedigree that made them an ideal match — and William has raised eyebrows with his comments about her grace and beauty,” said the insider.
Whispers only recently reached Kate, 37, of her husband’s rumored hots for Hanbury, who’s been wed for nearly ten years to wealthy filmmaker David Rocksavage and holds the lofty title Marchioness of Cholmondeley, sources told Radar.
The couples have been close since Kate and William moved to Anmer Hall, their country home in Norfolk, in 2015 — with the royal kiddies, Princes George, 5, and Louis, almost 1, and Princess Charlotte, 3, even playing with Hanbury’s three children, insiders said.
“They were best friends. They attended the same events, raised money for the same hospital, went on hunts together,” added a source. “And then came this bombshell! Kate and Rose had a ‘terrible’ falling out.”
Kate sees the friendship in an entirely different light now,” said the source. “She thinks about William flirting with Rose, and she’s jealous and suspicious. Kate confronted William, demanding to know the truth about his relationship with Rose, but he just laughed it off, saying there was nothing to it.”
“Still, Kate will never forget it was reports of William’s brazen cheating that broke them up in 2007 after four years together,” continued the source. “She feels she’s being taken for a fool and demanded her ‘rural rival’ be ‘phased out’ of their lives!
Palace sources believe that Kate’s trust in William was shattered by his reported wandering eye.
The playboy prince was caught on camera during his single days groping a raven-haired beauty during a boozed-up nightclub rampage before reportedly cozying up to a sexy blonde and taking her back to his army barracks.
“That was certainly a time when Wills went wild,” said the insider.
“He was spotted often drinking, dancing and ‘being flirty’ with women around London. William has changed his ways since then, but he has remained close with Rose, which has fueled Kate’s jealousy,” according to a royal insider.
Upper-crust Hanbury’s ties to the royal family go back decades. Her grandmother Lady Elizabeth Longman was a childhood playmate of Queen Elizabeth and a bridesmaid at the monarch’s wedding to Prince Philip in 1947.
Hanbury even attended William and Kate’s nuptials in 2011 with her 23-years-older husband — and was hailed as the best-dressed guest.
She also stole the show at Prince Harry’s first-ever state banquet in 2017 and drew alarmed stares from the royals when she sat next to him wearing a dazzling tiara.
Rose and her husband live in a stunning 106-room mansion that’s barely four miles from the Cambridges’ place in Norfolk,” noted an insider. “It seemed natural for the couples to become friends, and things worked well — for a while. Now that friendship is in tatters.”
“William is shocked. He’s never seen Kate’s jealous side before,” noted the insider. “He wanted to play peacemaker since the couples share many mutual friends. But Kate’s not having it. She wants to cut all ties with them!
