The Viral #Princewilliamaffair Hashtag Explained

There's no doubt that Prince William and Kate Middleton are two members of the royal family who certainly make a lot of headlines for the things they do and say. However, if there's one thing that they don't want attention for, it's for the rumors that the Duke of Cambridge might have gotten a little up close and personal with his wife's friend, Rose Hanbury. 

The reports were categorically denied by the Daily Mail, but that didn't stop any of the speculations that William had an affair. Beverly Hills psychiatrist and M.D. Carole Lieberman even told Nicki Swift that Rose might have put a move on William while the Duchess of Cambridge was pregnant. "What seems most likely to have happened is that Rose made a play for William when Kate was pregnant," she said, because during pregnancy "[h]usbands are often quite vulnerable ... there is usually less sex occurring, out of fear of hurting the baby in the womb, and because the husband sees his pregnant wife as a 'mother,'" and therefore, "is stopped by the taboo about a man having sex with his own mother."

While William was probably hoping to put all of the affair rumors to rest and behind him already, the viral #princewilliamaffair began trending on Twitter again. 

It sure hasn't been an easy year for Prince William, especially with the death of his grandfather Prince Philip and all of the drama between him and his brother Prince Harry. However, it seems like things have gotten significantly worse, and right before the new year, too. That's because the internet is once again reminding everyone that William may or may not have had an affair with Kate Middleton's former friend, Rose Hanbury. 

After Daily Mail editor Richard Eden suggested on Twitter that the royals' lives were put at risk because of all the "racist" rumors brought on by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, one Twitter user claimed that the royals have enough leverage in the British media to make such rumors go away, just like they supposedly did with the Rose Hanbury affair reports. Independent journalist Alex Tiffin responded to Eden with, "PS. Injunctions from the High Court in London are worthless in Scotland, my residence and no amount of legal pressure is going to erase the fact Prince William had an affair with Rose Hanbury." In other words, Tiffin is standing by his claim that William was royally unfaithful to his wife.

With that said, the Cambridges might truly be worried about their security — including the emotional kind — or they might have truly taught everyone a master class in royal deflection.