Top 20 Biggest Royal Family Scandals
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 20 Scandals That Rocked Royal Families For this list, we’ll be looking at the most noteworthy controversies that have shaken royal families all around the world. Which of these regal clans do you think is the most insufferable? Let us know in the comments.
#20: Princess Diana’s “Panorama” Interview
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The tumultuous marriage between Princess Diana and then-Prince Charles more or less came to an end in 1992 when the two formally announced their separation. Seemingly of the opinion that senior members of the Royal family were conspiring to get rid of her, Diana granted an interview to BBC journalist Martin Bashir in November of 1995. In the 54-minute special, the Princess of Wales revealed explosive details about her marriage, including her own affair and Charles’ relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles. She also spoke candidly about her struggles with bulimia and postnatal depression. The spellbinding program was watched by around 200 million people worldwide and was reportedly so damaging, it severed Diana’s residual ties with Buckingham Palace.
#19: King Henry VIII Creates the Church of England
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Years into his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, King Henry VIII was still without a male heir to his throne. Tired of waiting for a miracle, Henry sought to annul his marriage with Catherine and take Anne Boleyn, one of her ladies-in-waiting, as his new wife. Catharine was not a fan of the idea, and the Pope, who had dominion over then-Catholic England, declined Henry’s request for a divorce. This incensed the King, leading him to officially renounce papal authority, establish the Anglican Church of England, and install himself as its Head. Now free to do his will, Henry divorced Catherine and married Boleyn in 1533. This marriage also did not last long, as the King had Boleyn executed only three years later.
#18: Captain Mark Phillips’ Love Child
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Captain Mark Phillips got married to Princess Anne in a beautiful ceremony on November 14th 1973. But sadly, just like her older brother Charles, Anne’s marriage eventually hit the rocks and the Princess Royal separated from Phillips in 1989. Three years later, Phillips was taken to court by Heather Tonkin, an art teacher from New Zealand, who claimed that he was the father to her then five-year-old daughter Felicity. A DNA test was carried out, which confirmed that Phillips was indeed the young girl’s dad. Phillips and Tonkin allegedly had a one-night stand after meeting in New Zealand while he was still married to Anne. The ensuing scandal possibly contributed to the Princess Royal filing for divorce in April 1992.
#17: Prince Albert II’s Illegitimate Children
Since his ascension to the throne of Monaco in 2005, Prince Albert II has made headlines on multiple occasions following claims that he had fathered children out of wedlock. Mere days before his coronation, the Prince announced that he had fathered a son with a former flight attendant from Togo. Less than a year later, Albert found himself in the news again when a DNA test confirmed that he had a daughter back in the ‘90s with an American woman. In 2011, he got married to Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock, amid rumors of yet another illegitimate child, which the Prince denied. The couple has since welcomed a set of twins.
#16: The Duke of Kent, Prince George’s Wild Lifestyle
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A highly decorated pilot and military officer, Prince George was the uncle of Queen Elizabeth II. But when he wasn’t flying planes for the Royal Air Force, George was leading a pretty scandalous life. Although married to his second cousin, Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, the Duke reportedly had extramarital affairs with both men and women. He was also rumored to have battled serious drug addictions, which were notoriously linked to his relationship with Kiki Preston, a socialite known as “the girl with the silver syringe.” Prince George’s rollercoaster life came to a sad end on August 25th 1942, when he was killed in a plane crash aboard a military aircraft bound for Iceland.
#15: King Albert II’s Love Child
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Back in 1999, an 18-year-old journalist named Mario Danneels released an unauthorized biography of the Belgian Queen Paola. In the book, Danneels suggested the existence of an illegitimate daughter born to Paola’s husband King Albert II. This statement made headlines around the world and resulted in an investigation that revealed the identity of the love child to be Delphine Boël. After Albert abdicated the throne in 2013, Boël filed a paternity lawsuit against him, but the case dragged on for years. It was finally resolved in 2020 when Albert was compelled to produce a DNA sample, which confirmed him as her father. Boël became legally recognized as a member of the Belgian royal family and was granted the title of Princess.
#14: Prince Ernst August of Hanover Caught Cheating
After divorcing her first husband and losing her second to a speed-boating accident, Princess Caroline of Monaco got married for the third time to Prince Ernst August of Hanover in 1999. Their royal matrimony was plagued by Ernst August’s very public controversies, including a diplomatic mishap at Expo 2000 and an assault conviction in 2004. By 2009, the couple had announced their separation, with Caroline moving back to Monaco. A few months later, the Prince was photographed on a beach in Thailand getting extra cozy with another woman. The pictures received a four-page spread in a French magazine and seemed to worsen Ernst August’s relationship with Caroline, who was set to testify as an eyewitness in his assault appeal.
#13: King Vajiralongkorn Imprisons His Mistress
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In 2019, while married to Queen Suthida, King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand officially recognized his long-time mistress, Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi, as a royal noble consort. This position put her in a polygamous relationship with the King and Queen. However, it didn’t take long for the arrangement to turn sour. She was then rumored to have been thrown in prison. Less than a year later, she was released from custody by the King, with all her titles, ranks and honors duly restored. Yet, it didn’t take long for another controversy to emerge. In December of 2020, hundreds of explicit images of Wongvajirapakdi were stolen and leaked, in an apparent bid to ruin her reputation.
#12: Infanta Cristina of Spain’s Corruption Scandal
A sister to Spanish king Felipe VI, Princess Cristina was at the center of controversy in 2014 when she was charged with tax fraud and money laundering. According to reports, the princess and her husband, Iñaki Urdangarin, had allegedly embezzled millions of dollars in public donations to the Noos Institute, an NGO they both ran. In light of the criminal charges, King Felipe stripped Cristina and her family of their royal titles, and barred them from attending any royal events, including his own coronation. Following a publicized trial, the princess was acquitted of the fraud charges, while her husband was found guilty and handed a six-year prison sentence, which was eventually reduced slightly.
#11: Sarah Ferguson’s Cash-For-Access Controversy
Fondly referred to as Fergie, the Duchess of York was married to Prince Andrew from 1986 until their divorce ten years later. The couple first separated in 1992, the same year in which Ferguson was photographed sunbathing topless while frolicking with another man. After getting a divorce from Andrew in 1996, the Duchess soon fell out of grace with the royal family and her finances struggled. This all led to the May 2010 incident, in which Ferguson was secretly recorded collecting a bribe from an undercover journalist in exchange for unfettered access to her ex-husband. The scandal further worsened Ferguson’s relationship with Buckingham Palace, and damaged her public image, which she has now focused on rebuilding.
#10: Prince Harry & Meghan Markle Step Down
In his young adult years, Prince Harry found himself in hot water multiple times, particularly for his wild partying habits. He was seen wearing a Nazi costume in 2005, and in 2012, was photographed naked in Las Vegas. But all of that seemed to have been forgotten when he wedded former Hollywood actress Meghan Markle in 2018. Their marriage was soon plagued by seemingly racist prejudices against Markle by the British tabloid press. This contributed to the couple’s announcement in January 2020 that they will be stepping back from official royal duties. After moving to California later that year, Harry and Meghan generated further controversy with their highly publicized Oprah Winfrey interview and the release of the Prince’s 2023 memoir “Spare.”
#9: Edward VIII’s Abdication
In the history of the great British monarchy, only once has a Sovereign willingly stepped down from the throne, and that was King Edward VIII. Born in 1894, Edward VIII became the ruling monarch following the death of his father, George V, in 1936. Just a few months later, the new King decided to settle down with American divorcée Wallis Simpson. This was a highly contentious move at the time, as the Church of England forbade divorced people from remarrying, unless their ex-spouse was deceased. Facing overwhelming opposition from the church and the British government, Edward chose to abdicate the throne to be with the woman he loved. The two got married in June 1937 and remained together until his death in 1972.
#8: King Carl XVI Gustaf’s Wild Lifestyle Exposed
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Once a widely beloved 21st century monarch, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden had his entire reputation turned on its head with the release of a controversial book in 2010. Titled “The Reluctant Monarch,” the book claimed that the King frequented underground strip clubs and was involved in an extramarital affair with a Swedish celebrity. To top it all off, the authors also alleged that a secret police force called Sapo had worked to keep these activities under wraps. The book’s release was met with a strongly negative reaction from the Swedish populace, most of whom directed their vitriol at its writers. As a result, one of the co-authors was reportedly fired from her job in public media.
#7: Nepalese Royal Massacre
On the 1st of June 2001, members of the Nepalese royal clan gathered at the Narayanhiti Palace for a family event. What started out as a night of celebration turned into a national tragedy when Crown Prince Dipendra reportedly killed nine of his relatives including his parents, King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya. Dipendra then turned the gun on himself, eventually slipping into a coma and dying three days later. The massacre shook the entire nation of Nepal, with many still in doubt over the Prince’s involvement in the murders. To date, the motive is still unclear, although a popular theory suggests a family dispute over his choice of bride. Dipendra’s uncle Gyanendra ascended the throne, ruling until the monarchy was abolished in 2008.
#6: Princess Margaret & Peter Townsend’s Forbidden Romance
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The short-lived romance between Princess Margaret and Captain Peter Townsend captured the public’s attention in the 1950s. The two first met when Margaret was still a teenager and Townsend was an equerry for her father King George VI. They developed a romantic relationship later on, which was confirmed in the public by a subtle interaction at Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation. Although the public loved them together, Townsend was however a divorcée, forbidden by the Church of England from remarrying. Thus, the Princess Royal was left with two options: either marry Townsend and forfeit her right to succession, or call off her engagement to the man she loved. Ultimately, she chose the latter.
#5: Prince Jefri’s Extravagant Criminal Lifestyle
The younger brother of the Sultan of Brunei, Prince Jefri is well-known for his extravagant lifestyle, which has put him in trouble on multiple occasions. Jefri first made international headlines in 1997 after he was sued by Shannon Marketic, a former Miss USA, who alleged that he and the Sultan forced her to become their “sex slave” and assaulted her. The case was eventually dismissed on the grounds of diplomatic immunity. In 2000, Jefri was charged by his brother with embezzlement of billions of dollars from his time as the country’s finance minister. Although he denied the crime, he eventually signed an agreement to turn over his assets including over 500 properties, 2,000 cars, 100 paintings, five boats, and nine aircraft.
#4: Edward VIII’s Ties to the Nazis
After his abdication from the throne in 1936, Edward VIII was conferred the title Duke of Windsor, eventually moving to Paris with his new wife. The next year, the couple went on a highly publicized tour of Nazi Germany, during which they met with Adolf Hitler. Edward was even photographed giving the Nazi salute. The controversial pictures, and the Duke’s relationship with the Führer, were largely suppressed by the British government and only emerged in the public space decades later. After World War II broke out in 1939, Edward became the subject of a foiled plot by the Germans, who planned to kidnap and reinstate him as Sovereign, following their intended conquest of the UK.
#3: Camillagate
Today, they’re the King and Queen Consort of the United Kingdom, but back in the ‘90s, the relationship between Charles III and Camilla Parker-Bowles was highly scrutinized. While still married to their respective partners, their illicit affair became public knowledge after an intimate call between the two was secretly recorded and leaked to the British tabloid press. In the transcripts, which were widely published in both national and international newspapers, Charles joked about wanting to become Camilla’s tampon. Referred to by Princess Diana as “sick,” the graphic conversation became a source of embarrassment for the royal family, and called into question Charles’ fitness to lead. Eventually, after divorcing their spouses, the couple got married in 2005.
#2: Juan Carlos I’s Multiple Scandals
Throughout his rule, Juan Carlos I was rumored to have had multiple affairs while married to Queen Sofía. However, the Spanish King was widely beloved and his reputation remained largely untarnished until 2012. That year, while Spain was in a recession, the King went on a lavish hunting trip to Botswana, during which he sustained a serious hip injury. Even worse, he traveled with Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, a Danish businesswoman who was rumored to be his mistress. The resulting backlash was so severe, it played a part in Carlos’ decision to abdicate the throne just two years later. In 2020, the former King went on a self-imposed exile to Abu Dhabi, after corruption investigations were opened into his involvement in a Saudi rail deal.
#1: Prince Andrew’s Felonious Friendship
Perhaps the most catastrophic scandal for the British monarchy in recent history came with the revelation of the ties between Prince Andrew and disgraced billionaire Jeffrey Epstein. In 2011, the Duke of York was forced to quit his role as Britain’s trade envoy once his friendship with Epstein came to light. Andrew was also alleged to have had intimate relationships with minors, notably Virginia Giuffre, who later filed a lawsuit against the Prince. In the wake of Epstein’s death in 2019, Andrew sat for a disastrous interview with Emily Maitlis, in which he addressed the allegations. The Duke eventually resigned from all public duties and was more or less banished from Buckingham Palace by his brother, King Charles III.
