Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
The real scandals of the House of Windsor
A BEAUTIFUL American woman charming a beloved royal to turn his back on the Crown in the name of love. The result is alienation, retribution and damnation – ah, it’s the War of the Windsors, the sequel.
Master schemer Dicky Mountbatten must be turning in his grave watching the drama unfold between Buckingham Palace and its nemeses across the pond, the now freewheeling Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, who are set to “tell all” tomorrow in an explosive two-hour interview with the queen of getting celebs to tell it all, Oprah Winfrey.
In a teaser for the exclusive a visibly pregnant Meghan, wearing a $4 700 black Armani dress and $18 000 bracelet belonging to Princess Diana, says nothing, and is only shown looking emotional or nodding while either cradling her baby bump or holding on to her husband’s hand on location in Santa Barbara, California.
But in a hint that Meghan will not hold back about Harry’s family, Oprah reveals the former Suits actress calls her 20 months as a royal ‘almost unsurvivable’ and the interviewer brands her account “shocking”.
Oprah then tells Meghan: ‘It sounds like there was a breaking point,’ before asking the duchess: “Were you silent or were you silenced?” Cue dramatic music.
Oprah also says to the camera: “Just to make it clear to everybody, there is no subject that is off-limits.”
Now while privacy-seeking, publicity-craving pair, Meghan and Harry may be telling the world their deepest, darkest secrets tomorrow, the House of Windsor has fared more than a few scandalous storms in its time.
To whet your appetite ahead of the H&M show, we did a jaunt through history to recall some royal rumbles that caused memorable scandals.
The (real) abdication
Edward VIII took the throne in 1936, but renounced it a year later so that he could marry Wallis Simpson. The American socialite was a two-time divorcee and when Edward proposed, there was social and political uproar. The Church of England forbade him from marrying a divorced woman, and
he was forced to abdicate the throne. This massive scandal changed the line of succession entirely, ultimately predetermining that 10-year-old Princess Elizabeth would become the future Queen of England.
When Prince Charles popped his cherry (brandy)
At the age of 14, Prince Charles ordered a cherry brandy at a pub in the village of Stornoway Harbor. Little did the petit prince know, there was a tabloid reporter in the pub who overheard him order. A seemingly innocent prince recalled in an interview for Vanity Fair: “I said the first drink that came into my head, because I’d drunk it before, when it was cold, out shooting.” The incident became a royal scandal, appearing in headlines on almost every tabloid.
When Princess Margaret fell for a married man
The princess spent a lot of time with Captain Peter Townsend of the Royal Air Force, and the pair eventually fell in love. Trouble was Townsend was already married. The scandal broke in 1953 when Townsend divorced his
wife and immediately proposed to Princess Margaret. Sadly, the couple ended their royal engagement two years later, knowing they’d never get the fairytale ending of their dreams.
When Princess Diana revealed she self-harmed
The “People’s Princess” said in an interview that she purposely threw herself down the stairs while four months pregnant with William, in an attempt to get Prince Charles’ attention. She had said he’d just rekindled his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, who we now know (and Diana knew) he was having an affair with. She said this happened in front of the queen and had had no effect on Charles. He left her at the bottom of the stairs and went riding.
Captain Mark Phillips’ love child
While married to Princess Anne, Captain Mark Phillips had a one-night stand with an art teacher from New Zealand named Heather Tonkin. She became pregnant and had the baby, who is half-sister to Zara Tindall and
Peter Phillips. It was reported Phillips asked the woman to get an abortion.
Squidgygate of 92
In 1992, British tabloid, The Sun, released the transcript of a recorded phone call between the married Princess of Wales and her alleged lover, James Gilbey. In the conversation, Gilbey called Diana by the pet name “Squidgy”, 53 times to be exact, and told her he loved her. The affair was dubbed Squidgygate.
Not to be outdone, Camillagate followed...
Soon after, an Australian magazine released a transcript of a conversation between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles. The phone call confirmed the rumors that the Prince of Wales was romantically involved with his lifelong friend. The incident was called “Camillagate.” It also revealed many dirty jokes that were exchanged between the two, including one about Charles wanting to turn into a tampon in order to “live inside” Camilla’s trousers.
The parting of Wales
In 1995, Princess Diana did an interview with Martin Bashir. While she spoke about her issues with bulimia and postpartum depression, the princess also revealed she was aware of the affair between her husband and Camilla Parker Bowles and even talked about her own affair with her riding instructor, James Hewitt. The shocking interview led to their divorce in 1996.
Diana’s death
Two big scandals broke from the death of the princess. It was rumored that Princess Diana’s death was a “planned accident” and that Charles himself was behind it.
Harry in a Nazi costume... and showing off his crown jewels
Prince Harry was spotted at a costume party wearing a Nazi armband. Clarence House was double quick with a statement that read, “Prince Harry has apologised for any offence or embarrassment he has caused. He realises it was a poor choice of costume.”
More trouble followed. On a break before he was set to serve in Afghanistan for the British Army, the prince was snapped stark naked playing a game of strip billi rds in Las Vegas. After, he said: “At the end of the day I probably let myself down, I let my family down, I let other people down. But it was probably a classic example of me probably being too much army, and not enough prince. It’s a simple case of that.” Nowdays, Haz is a devoted father and husband extolling the virtues of eating waffles made from Meghan’s organic mix, saving the planet and staying off social media.
Randy Andy accused of sexual assault
Virginia Roberts claimed she “was forced to have sexual relations with Prince Andrew when she was a minor in three separate geographical locations. She accused the prince and his billionaire friend, Jeffrey Epstein, of keeping her as a “sex slave.” Andrew has been fighting testifying in the case and gave a regrettable interview to the BBC about allegations relating to his friendship with the late convicted paedophile Epstein.
Referring to him as a “toad”, Roberts said: “This man is not a prince but a facet of insidiousness who has proven to get away with it all.”
The case is ongoing.
• Viewers in South Africa will be able to watch the much-anticipated Oprah interview on MNet on Monday.