The shocking scandals of the British royal family

King Edward VIII abdicated the throne for a woman - He was King from January 1936 until December of the same year. He gave up the throne in order to marry Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee. Although Prince Harry is now doing the same, in the 1930s it was considered scandalous for a royal to marry a divorcee.

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Princess Margaret fell for a married man - Princess Margaret and Royal Air Force Officer Captain Peter Townsend fell head over heals for each other. Townsend divorced his wife soon after the news broke in 1953, and proposed to the Princess. However the Church of England refused to give their blessing and the duo never had their happy ending.

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Princess Margaret's very public divorce - Princess Margaret married photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones in 1960. Their marital disputes and divorce made huge headlines when they went their separate ways in 1976.

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Prince Charles ordered a brandy at age 14 - In the village of Stornoway Harbour, Prince Charles ordered himself a cherry brandy at the age of 14. There so happened to be a tabloid reporter in the pub who overheard the young royal, and the story made headlines the next day.

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Prince Charles dated Princess Diana's sister - Before marrying Princess Diana, Prince Charles briefly dated her sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale. Lady Sarah was responsible for introducing the royal couple and when Charles and Diana announced their engagement the story made headlines all over the world.

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Princess Diana's phone call leak - The Sun published a transcript of the princess's phone call to James Gilbey, her supposed lover, in 1992. This scandal later became known as "Squidgygate", after the nickname Gilbey gave the princess.

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Prince Charles's graphic phone calls - In 1989, Prince Charles's saucy phone call with Camilla Parker Bowles was leaked to the press, proving long-standing rumours of an affair.

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Princess Diana's cry for help - The princess went into a turmoil when she found out that Prince Charles had once again rekindled his romance with Camilla Parker Bowles. To get his attention, she threw herself down the stairs while pregnant with Prince William.

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Prince Charles and Princess Diana's divorce - Princess Diana's 1995 interview with Martin Bashir for 'Panorama' included details of Prince Charles's affair. The interview severely damaged the reputation of the royal family and was the final straw to cause the couple's divorce.

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Princess Diana's death - Princess Diana and her boyfriend Dodi Al Fayed died in a car crash in 1997. Conspiracy theories emerged and the royal family lost popularity for the way it handled the event.

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Princess Anne's divorce - After almost 20 years together, Princess Anne divorced her Olympic equestrian husband, Mark Phillips, to marry a royal member of staff.

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Princess Anne's saucy letters - In 1989, the tabloids got their hands on personal and "extremely intimate" letters between Princess Anne and British naval officer Timothy Laurence. The actual letters were never published but the saucy exchanges still made headlines.

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Mark Phillips' love child - Whilst married to Princess Anne, Mark Phillips had an affair with Heather Tonkin, a teacher from New Zealand. She gave birth to his daughter in 1985.

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Mark Phillips cheated, again - When he was married to American equestrian Sandy Pflueger, Phillips began dating American Olympic show jumper Lauren Hough. He then divorced his second wife and moved in with Hough.

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Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are cousins - In 2017, Business Insider reminded the public that the royal couple are both related to Queen Victoria and are actually distant cousins.

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Queen Elizabeth II was accused of tax fraud - The Paradise Papers scandal showed that about £10 million of the Queen's private money was invested offshore.

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Prince Harry's rehab day - After being caught smoking and drinking at the age of 17, Prince Harry was sent to a day in a rehab centre "to learn about the possible consequences of starting to take cannabis”.

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Prince Harry's Nazi costume - Princess Diana's youngest son was caught wearing a Nazi costume to a party in 2005. The occurrence made headlines worldwide.

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Prince Harry's naked scandal - When the Prince was 27-years-old he was pictured playing pool completely naked in Las Vegas. Prince Harry commented on the photos saying "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".

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Rumours circulate that James Hewitt was Prince Harry's real father - The rumour that James Hewitt is Prince Harry's real father is long-running and still pops up today.

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Sarah Ferguson's “toe-licking” photo - Two years into her marriage with Prince Andrew, Ferguson took a holiday with American financial adviser John Bryan. Bryan was caught licking Ferguson's toes and the press went wild for it.

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When Sarah Ferguson took a bribe - In 2010, Sarah Ferguson accepted a bribe of £500,000 from an undercover journalist for information on her ex-husband, Prince Andrew.

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Kate Middleton's topless photo scandal - The Duchess of Cambridge was pictured sunbathing topless in a private property while holidaying in France. The French version of Closer magazine published the photos, to which Buckingham Palace responded to with great disappointment.

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When the Duchess of Cambridge had a Marilyn Monroe moment - In 2014, German tabloid Bild published photos of Kate Middleton accidentally flashing her undergarments in a windy Marilyn Monroe moment.

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When Prince William danced with a model - In March last year, the heir to the throne was caught dancing closely with Australian model Sophie Taylor on a skiing trip.

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Sophie Rhys-Jones nude picture scandal - In 1999, The Sun published a topless photo of Sophie, Countess of Wessex, on their front cover. This happened a month before the countess was set to marry Prince Edward.

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When Prince Andrew was accused of sexual assault - 17-year-old Virginia Roberts accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault in 2014. The prince denied the allegations.

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