From rumors about Prince Charles’ sexuality to speculation about Prince Harry’s “real father,” tabloids have engaged in endless rumor-mongering about the Duke of Cornwall. Gossip Cop looked back at our collection of busts featuring some of the most bizarre conspiracy theories we’ve ever come across.
Prince Charles Had Princess Diana Killed?
As the heir apparent to the throne of England, Prince Charles has been the target of many cruel, unusual, and altogether false accusations from the tabloids. The Globe has insinuated for years that Prince Charles was somehow behind his ex-wife Princess Diana’s tragic 1997 death.
Wisely, the tabloid usually only mentions this fascinating theory in passing, like in the outlet’s report that claimed Prince Charles was letting his wife, Camila Parker Bowles, die of liver cancer as a way to avoid an expensive divorce. Bowles was allegedly threatening to divorce her husband over the fact that he was being replaced as the next king of England by his son, Prince William.
The reason for the replacement? Prince William supposedly presented his grandmother with concrete evidence that proved his father was responsible for his mother’s death. Obviously, this story was false. Prince Charles will be the next king of England, and Queen Elizabeth has no say whatsoever in the matter. There was also no proof that Bowles had liver cancer in the first place, meaning the tabloid likely made it all up.
That was far from the first time these sort of allegations were leveled at Prince Charles. That same outlet also published an article claiming Princess Diana and Prince Charles’ “secret daughter” came out of hiding to warn Prince Harry’s new wife, Meghan Markle, about Prince Charles. This “secret daughter” was apparently conceived from a bizarre experimental fertility test to ensure Princess Diana could produce a viable heir. Though the embryo produced from the fertility test was supposed to be destroyed, the embryo was smuggled out of the lab by a doctor who used it to impregnate his own wife.
Now this baby, a girl who was supposedly Princess Diana’s spitting image, was all grown up and constantly on the run from Prince Charles’ assassins because she knows too much about the royal family, and Prince Charles’ secret connection to Princess Diana’s death, to be left alive. Utter nonsense. If this sounds like the plot of an overly dramatic mystery novel, that would be because it is. This plotline was lifted directly from Nancy E. Ryan’s novel, The Disappearance of Olivia.
Truth About Prince Charles’ Sexuality
Prince Charles’ sexuality has also been speculated about, with the Globe claiming the Duke of Cornwall had come out as gay. In the documentary Paxman on the Queen’s Children, the prince’s friend, Broderick Munro-Wilson, told the documentary makers that Prince Charles, frustrated from the long search for his bride, once joked, “shall I go gay?” This statement, the outlet insisted, was not jokingly said, but very sincere.
The publication then referenced its own “reporting,” which is never a good idea when a tabloid has as poor a track record as the Globe has, and claimed that this was only one of several instances that Prince Charles had supposedly been caught having “homosexual trysts” and that his wife, Bowles, had always been aware of his “gay life.” None of this was true, just another shocking claim made by a tabloid that has zero proof to back it up.
Prince Harry Not Prince Charles’ Son?
It has also long been rumored that Prince Harry, Prince Charles’ youngest son, was not truly Prince Charles’ child. Rumor mongers, as well as unscrupulous tabloids, have claimed Prince Harry looks nothing like his royal father and some point to Prince Harry’s red hair as proof that Prince Charles couldn’t be his real dad.
The Globe, naturally, has been behind many of these rumors with its far-fetched claims of “DNA shockers.” There is also no shortage of “palace insiders” who claimed to have witnessed Prince Charles deny he was Prince Harry’s father. The truth of the matter is that Prince Harry is actually Prince Charles’ son. Red hair is extremely common on Princess Diana’s side of the family, the Spencers.
There’s also no denying that Prince Harry closely resembles his paternal grandfather, Prince Philip, especially when looking at old photos of the queen’s consort. That may seem boring compared to the rich tapestry of lies some tabloids have woven over the years, but at least it’s the truth.
Who Will Be King?
There has also been a lot of speculation about whether or not Prince Charles will assume the throne after his mother, Queen Elizabeth. Some tabloids have posited that Prince Charles will be passed over in the line of succession in order for his eldest son, Prince William, to take the throne instead. Some tabloids have even claimed that Queen Elizabeth is actively rooting for that situation to take place. When Prince Charles isn’t supposedly fighting Prince William for the throne, he’s battling with his sister, Princess Anne, to see who will rule England after their mother.
The line of succession for the British throne is set in stone, which none of these tabloids bother to divulge to their readers. The rules for succession were put in place by the UK Parliament and only parliament, not the queen, can change the laws. Unless he decides to abdicate the throne for whatever reason, Prince Charles will be the next king of England.
The tabloids have been just as cruel to Prince Charles’ children as they have been to the prince himself. Prince William faced allegations of cheating on his wife, Kate Middleton, throughout much of 2019. Outlet after outlet claimed that divorce was imminent for the royal spouses, but the marriage never ended up falling apart over Prince William’s alleged dalliance with family friend Rose Hanbury.
That’s because such an affair never took place. There is literally zero evidence, just tabloid speculation that an affair happened in the first place. Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, have of course been subjected to vile rumors concerning their marriage. The Globe even went as far as to claim that the couple’s son, Prince Archie, wasn’t truly Prince Harry’s son. This incredibly hurtful article had no proof and relied solely on the word of untrustworthy, anonymous sources.