In recent weeks, everything has been said about Rose Hanbury. That she is Prince William’s mistress, that they have met several times, that she divorced her husband David Cholmondeley to that she used her title and influence to give her son Lord Oliver a prominent role in the coronation of King Charles.
However, what few know about Prince William’s alleged mistress is that she has a past closely linked to the royal family that goes beyond the alleged affair she has with King Charles’ son. We are talking about Rose’s grandmother, who played an important role in the reign of the late monarch Elizabeth II.
Who is Rose Hanbury’s grandmother and what role did she play in royalty?
The relationship of Rose Hanbury’s relatives to those of the future king dates back to the early 20th century. Rose’s grandmother, was known as Lady Elizabeth Lambart, she was one of Elizabeth II’s great childhood friends.
Lady Elizabeth was the daughter of the 10th Earl of Cavan, commander of the First World War, and friend of King George V. In addition to being friends since childhood, Lady Elizabeth shared dancing lessons with the queen at Madame Vacani’s well-known studio in London and they also regularly attended the traditional Royal Military Tournament.
Their relationship was so close that she was even one of the bridesmaids at the wedding of the then Princess Elizabeth to Philip of Edinburgh. When in 1949 Lady Elizabeth married publisher Mark Longman, Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret, and their mother were among the guests. Three daughters were born in their marriage.
The first-born, Caroline Longman, is one of Elizabeth II’s goddaughters and was, curiously, one of the first brides of the then Prince Charles in the 1970s. Both were photographed with an affectionate attitude in a polo match and in the Aston Martin that the Prince of Wales drove regularly.
The second of her daughters, Emma Longman was dedicated to fashion design, she married Timothy Hanbury, a renowned web designer.
Lady Elizabeth Longman died on December 11, 2016, at the age of 92 after a brief illness. Queen Elizabeth at the time deeply mourned the death of her friend.
“Her Majesty the Queen is deeply saddened,” a close source told the Daily Mail. In addition, two weeks earlier another dear friend of the Queen’s, writer Margaret Rhodes, had also died. “To lose two friends in such a short space of time is terrible,” the source concluded.
#OTD 5 years ago. Lady Elizabeth Longman died on December 8, 2016, aged 92.
It just TWO weeks after the death of The Honourable Margaret Rhodes, both of them were bridesmaids and friends of The Queen in 1947.
Born as Elizabeth Mary Lambart, she was goddaughter of Queen Mary. pic.twitter.com/ACdtiRrnLZ
— 🌻Sarahsecret (@sarahdiaryz) December 8, 2021