There have been an untold number of well-publicized royal scandals over the years, many points in history where the ongoings of the British monarchy have dominated newspaper headlines and whipped the general public into a frenzy.

The current state of affairs must surely rank among the most tantalizing.

Not only has the whole saga regarding Kate Middleton’s recovery from a mysterious abdominal procedure captivated all and sundry since January, but King Charles also received a shock cancer diagnosis. That’s not to mention the ever-present controversy where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are concerned.

In most other decades the reigning monarch’s fight against cancer would be the focal point of the media attention. It speaks volumes, then, that the maelstrom of speculation surrounding Kate has virtually pushed all other topics into the shadows.

It could be argued that the royals only have themselves to blame for the intense scrutiny placed upon Kate’s recovery. Aside from confirming that the Princess of Wales was undergoing a “planned abdominal procedure” in January, adding that she would be out of action until around Easter time, the Palace has been thrifty to the point of arousing suspicion with its updates.

Just what Kate was suffering from that required surgery remains unknown to the public. Compounding the sense of confusion was the fact that Kate – until last week – hadn’t been seen since Christmas.

And if the vacuum of concrete information brought the pot of speculation to boiling point, the debacle surrounding the image of Kate and her children released to mark Mother’s Day in the UK blew the lid off with such force that the various conspiracy theories suddenly became of interest worldwide.

Among the mostly hotly debated possibilities was that Kate and Prince William were experiencing marital troubles, the likes of which had left Kate with no option but to withdraw from the spotlight until a solution could be found.

At this stage we’d be remiss in our duties if we didn’t point out that any and all reports of William and Kate’s romance being in crisis remain unconfirmed. That said, the topic has generated enough attention to make it an undeniable fact that the public are at the very least extremely intrigued.

The crux of the aforementioned marital bother William and Kate are purported to have found themselves in centers around the rumor that William had engaged in an affair with Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley.

According to reports, Rose and her husband David Rocksavage, the 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley, have been in William and Kate’s social circle for some time. Once upon a time, the ever-reliable Sun newspaper tried to flog speculation that Kate and Rose had a falling out (leading to a not-insignificant amount of people claiming the cause was an affair between Rose and William).

And it seems as though that candle of scandal continues to burn even today, some five years since The Sun published the aforesaid information.

Last week there were multiple articles written about Rose – in the midst of the media throng to find out where Kate Middleton was – with some news outlets even being accused of ‘soft-launching’ the Marchioness in preparation for a time wherein her alleged affair with William became official news.

Of course, the outlandish rumors appear to be just that… outlandish. Even so, Rose Hanbury herself was bothered enough to break her silence and firmly deny that any affair had ever taken place.

As per reports, Business Insider reached out to Rose’s lawyers this weekend for comment. The reply they got read: “The rumors are completely false.”

So there you have it… case closed, perhaps, maybe, for now.

What do you think to the incessant speculation about Kate Middleton and Prince William? Let us know in the comments.