Biggest Royal Family Scandals: Drama Behind the Palace Doors

Events in relation to the British Royal Family always make headlines. Being one of the few remaining and active royal families in the world, the media pays close attention. In fact, the British royal family shared more controversies over the years than any other. In this article, we discuss the biggest royal family scandals that shocked the public.  Queen Elizabeth II, at the age of 94, is a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. The Queen is the UK's longest-serving monarch, having reigned for almost 70 years. Over the course of her reign, countless royal scandals occurred. Having watched Netlix’s Royals, many of us found out a lot about the inner dynamics and problems the family has faced. Of course, we should take note of the series’ fictional additions. However, many of the covered issues rely on actual events. Even today, bets on the royal family are incredibly popular on online sportsbook sites in the US. We take a quick tour back in time and collect all the times the royal family broke headlines, see the biggest royal scandals! Supporting the public’s interest, Bovada offers the latest bets on the royal family members!

Biggest royal family scandals: Love or Throne?

Back in the day, marriage was even more complicated, especially for royals. King Edward VIII probably had the shortest reign. Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January 1936 until his abdication in December of the same year. Only a few months into his royal reign in 1936, Edward proposed to an American divorcée, Wallis Simpson. Now, at the time divorce was even more unpopular in the royal family, but so was stepping down. Still, when King Edward VIII realised that he wouldn't be able to marry the socialite and continue in his role as king, he decided to abdicate the throne. As a result, his successor was his younger brother George VI, the father of He father of Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret. We could rightfully say, that Queen Elizabeth’s way to the throne did start with one of the biggest royal family scandals of the time.

Princess Margaret’s private life

Being a royal, Princess Margaret’s personal life and love life could not exactly stay private. With divorce being a reoccurring issue, Princess Margaret had her share in related scandals. In fact, her relationship with a married and later divorced man shook up the royal family. Captain Peter Townsend was a Royal Air Force officer who served as an equerry – essentially an attendant to the royal family. He spent a great deal of time with Margaret, and before long, the two fell in love. As we could also find out from Netflix’s Royals, Townsend was married. However, later on, he did get divorced, although that had created even more scandal. In 1953, Townsend divorced his wife, but this did not mean a free pass. After all, King Edward had to leave the throne for marrying a divorcée. Townsend did to propose to Princess Margaret, but the Church of England refused to recognize the potential marriage at the time. Members of the government also weren't happy with the proposal. This forced Margaret to choose between love and life as a royal. She ultimately turned Townsend down in 1955 later married Antony Armstrong-Jones. The biggest royal family scandals back in the day were mostly based on traditions and expectation, ultimately creating a lot of unhappiness. In 1976, Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones announced their separation. Two years later, the couple got officially divorced. As a result, Margaret became the first royal to divorce since Henry VIII!

Prince Charles, Diana and Camilla

This trio had its fair share in scandalous events in the royal household. The love story of Prince Charles and Camilla Bowles is anything but conventional. Having been a couple prior to Charles’ marriage to Diana, the couple eventually got back together. However, the road became probably the biggest and longest going scandals in the royal family. After Charles separated from Camilla, he married Princess Diana in 1981. This wedding became the most-watched royal event around the world! After the birth of their two children, William and Harry, the marriage became rockier and rockier. A recording of Diana admitting her love for another man became public. At the same time, Charles’ affair with Camilla also came to light. The ongoing struggle seemed to end in 1992 when Charles and Diana announced their separation. One year after their divorce happened the tragic death of Princess Diana. This shook not only the royal family but the entire country and most part of the world. Followed by the tragic accident, Charles married Camilla in 2005.

Young royals and the big family scandals

From the two sons, William seems to follow quite a traditional and royal-approved lifestyle. In 2019, an alleged rumour came out claiming, that William was having an affair. Although this news created some inconvenience, no confirmation came to light, and the couple still goes strong. On the other hand, Prince Harry had a bigger role in the biggest royal family scandals. In fact, before his marriage to Meghan Markle, Prince Harry had the most unconventional life in the royal family. Having left Eton College, he took a gap year in Australia. Later, he underwent officer training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. In 2007–2008, Harry served for over ten weeks in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. He returned to Afghanistan for a 20-week deployment in 2012–2013 with the Army Air Corps. Eventually, in 2015 he resigned from the army.

Harry and Meghan

In 2005, He was forced to issue a public after photos leaked of him wearing a swastika armband at a party. In 2013, naked pictures emerged from Harry's Las Vegas getaway, reportedly taken during a strip billiards game. Although his wildness started to tone down in recent years, Harry and Meghan have had a hard time navigating in the royal life. After their marriage in 2018, the couple announced their separation from the royal family in 2020. They settled in California with their son, Archie. Meghan Markle’s royal journey created many struggles in her life. British tabloid media heavily exploited her character, and after a recent interview, we have a better understanding of her desire to leave the royal family.  In March 2021, Harry and Meghan opened up about one of the biggest royal family scandals. Discussion occurred before Archie’s birth about his skin tone, allegedly saying that the royal family did not want him to be different from “protocol’”. The eye-opening interview shook the public. However, we hope that the family will be able to lead a happier and quieter life as they desire. We can make predictions on their future happiness since Bovada offers odds on their expected babies, gender and birth month! Find more bets on the royals on online gambling sites in the US! 

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