Prince Edward's ex-girlfriend breaks silence on romance
- By Maria Lopez -
- Jul 04, 2026

Buckingham Palace ‘On Edge’ as West End star Ruthie Henshall Prepares to Release Intimate memoir on Five-Year Romance with Prince Edward Palace insider The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh – long renowned for a quiet, drama-free approach to royal life – are said to be enduring “real and raw anxiety” as Henshall’s tome is poised to land on shelves.
While Prince Edward has reportedly reassured family members that there’s “nothing for them to worry about,” news of the planned memoir has nevertheless sent ripples of consternation through palace circles.
Inside the Romance: Prince Edward and Ruthie Henshall The unlikely lovers met in 1987, with the now 55-year-old singer, a five-time Olivier Award winner, then aged just 20, and the now 59-year-old prince then 23. Bonding over their shared passion for all things theatre, the royal and the stage performer – whose last show before this book announcement was Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club in May of this year – began an on-off romance which lasted approximately six years.
Hensall Edward has on more than one occasion spoke fondly about her experience dating royalty, remembering an evening at Balmoral where Princesses Diana and Margaret urged her to sing to the late Queen Elizabeth II, with an excerpt read from her own memoir, A Sing for you, the five-time Olivier Award winner wrote: “They all knew I would have to be leaving for my acting commitments but all encouraged me to do a number for them that night.
The three sisters and brother all had lovely voices, the Queen Mother too, and even the Princess of Wales sang and would not have dreamed of keeping that to herself and nor did my own wonderful family,”” Edward and Sophie have built their entire lives around being discreet and drama-free…
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The idea of intimate details being dragged into the public domain is mortifying.” – A Palace insider, via Closer Magazine Despite their separation, Edward and Henshall have remained on excellent terms over the decades, so much so that Henshall attended the Prince’s wedding to Sophie Rhys-Jones in 1999.
