No Amount Of Money & Influence Could Cover These Up

The British monarch is all about the "stiff upper lip" and their pomp, prim, and proper public image, but they're human nonetheless. They slip up like any other; the only difference is they're under intense public scrutiny, and every time they sneeze, it's published in the tabloids. From illicit affairs to constitutional crises, here are the biggest royal controversies ever to captivate the public and send shockwaves through the British monarchy.

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1. King Edward IV's Secret Marriage 

In 1464, King Edward secretly married Elizabeth Woodville, a commoner, when he was supposed to be negotiating a marriage with a French princess. The marriage created tensions in court and even contributed to the War of the Roses, a series of battles fought over control of the throne. 

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2. Henry VIII's Divorces

Henry VIII went down in history not for his leadership prowess, but for his six wives. His initial infatuation with Anne Boleyn drove him to reform the church so he could get a divorce, which was unprecedented at the time. He had six wives throughout his life and beheaded two of them. 

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3. William IV's Illegitimate Children 

Before becoming king in 1830, William IV fathered ten illegitimate children with an actress, Dorothea Jordan. He married Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen in 1818, but they had no surviving children, adding to the scandal. 

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4. The Abdication of Edward VIII

Would you give up the throne for love? That's precisely what King Edward VIII did when he chose to abdicate in 1936 so he could marry American socialite divorcee, Wallis Simpson, sparking a constitutional crisis.

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5. Duke and Duchess of Windsor's Nazi Sympathies

A 1937 visit to Germany by the Duke and Duchess of Windsor sparked criticisms and speculation that they were Nazi sympathizers. The two received royal treatment on their visit and bowed and curtsied to Germany's aristocracy, and the Duke expressed admiration for Hitler's success in reducing unemployment. 

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6. Princess Margaret & Peter Townsend's Relationship

Princess Margaret and British Royal Air Force officer Peter Townsend had a passionate but brief relationship in the 1950s that made the tabloids giddy. It was considered a controversial union because the two had a considerable age gap, Townsend was divorced, and Margaret was in line for the throne. She ultimately chose her royal duties over her romantic feelings. 

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7. Princess Diana's "Panorama" Interview

In 1995, Princess Diana sat down with host Martin Bashir to give the most jaw-dropping interview, exposing the realities of living as a royal. She spoke candidly about her mental health, the collapse of her marriage, and the constant media pressure she faced.

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8. Sarah Ferguson's "Toe-Sucking" Photos

Five months after separating from her husband, Prince Andrew, Sarah Ferguson found herself on the front page of every tabloid paper when a telephoto lens captured a photo of her and her financial advisor, a millionaire from Texas, on vacation in St. Tropez. The image showed the man appearing to kiss and suck her toes while they were relaxing by a pool, sparking all sorts of controversy as Ferguson and Prince Andrew were not yet officially divorced. 

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9. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Oprah Interview

In 2021, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle did a two-hour-long interview with Oprah that sent shockwaves through the royal family and made global headlines. They detailed the royal family's concern over their son's skin color, Meghan's mental health, the palace's decision to cut them off from royal protection, their secret wedding, and being financially cut off. 

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10. Prince Andrew's Association with Jeffrey Epstein

Prince Andrew became embroiled in a scandal when it came to light that he had associations with Jeffrey Epstein, an American financier and convicted sex offender. Andrew maintained a friendship with Epstein even after he pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor. 

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11. Prince Harry's Nazi Costume

In 2005, a 20-year-old Prince Harry made the baffling decision to wear a Nazi uniform to a costume party, sparking international outrage. He quickly apologized for the incident, but that didn't stop the photos from following him for life. 

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12. Sarah Ferguson "Cash For Access" Scandal

To add to her long list of horrible misjudgments and gaffes, the former wife of Prince Andrew, Sarah Ferguson, was caught on camera offering a reporter access to the prince for the sum of £500,000 (around $665,000). She didn't know she was actually talking to Sunday newspaper's undercover reporter, Mazher Mahmood, an expert in exposés.

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13. The “Princess Diana Tapes” 

The "Princess Diana Tapes" were a series of secret recordings that Diana recorded and snuck out of Kensington Palace to biographer Andrew Morton. The tapes were her unfiltered life story and were the primary source for the bombshell biography Diana: Her True Story, which shattered the image of her fairytale royal marriage.

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14. Prince Charles’ Camillagate Scandal

A highly intimate and sexual phone conversation between Prince Charles (now King Charles III) and Camilla Parker Bowles (now Queen Camilla) was secretly recorded. The transcripts were then sold to the press and published in British media while the two were both married to other people. 

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15. Princess Margaret's Party Animal Days

While Queen Elizabeth II was being primed for the throne, cultivating her prim and proper image, her sister Margaret was gaining a reputation as the "rebel royal." To the delight of the press, she adopted a bohemian and hedonistic lifestyle, took to drinking, smoking, and late-night partying, causing embarrassment for the royal family.

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16. Prince Harry’s Vegas Photos

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, unless you're royalty, of course. Prince Harry's bachelor trip on the strip was well documented with nude photos of him playing strip billiards, which were published online by TMZ. 

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17. Prince Philip’s Cringey Remarks

Every time Prince Philip opened his mouth, it was tabloid gold and a royal PR headache. He became infamous for his repeated, racially insensitive, sexist, out of out-of-touch remarks. 

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18. King George III’s Meltdown

Known as "Mad King George," King George III's reign was characterized by a total loss of his mental capacities in his later years. He exhibited erratic behavior, was delusional, disoriented, and hyperactive, sometimes even foaming at the mouth. His madness led to a constitutional crisis.

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19. King Charles III's "Black Spider Memos"

The "Black Spider Memos" refer to a series of private, handwritten letters King Charles III sent to various British politicians over the years, attempting to persuade them to take action on certain issues. They sparked controversy because the monarchy is supposed to be neutral and not interfere with government affairs.

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20. Diana’s “Squidgygate”

"Squidgeygate" refers to a 23-minute-long intimate phone conversation between Princess Diana and her close friend James Gibley, who affectionately called Diana "Squidgy." The conversation revealed Diana's unhappiness, her strained marriage, and her fears. The fact that it was recorded was a massive invasion of privacy and a huge source of humiliation and frustration for Diana. 

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