West End star Ruthie Henshall has disclosed new insights into her former relationship with the Duke of Edinburgh in her forthcoming memoir, set for release in July. The book, titled The Showgirl And The Prince, recounts her initial encounter with Edward at a theatre in 1988, the denim dungarees she wore to her first Buckingham Palace visit, and her embarrassment after forgetting to curtsey to the late Queen Elizabeth II.
First Meeting and Early Relationship
Henshall, now 59, first met Edward at the New London Theatre when she was 20 and starring in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats. Edward, then 23, was working as a production assistant for the musical's production company, a role he took on after leaving the Royal Marines in January 1987. In excerpts published in the Daily Mail, Henshall recalls being "pleasantly surprised by how attractive I found him" and quickly feeling a connection due to his reaction to her "cheeky, slightly irreverent sense of humour."
The actress explained that they began spending more time together as she started a new project with Lloyd Webber. Edward would take her to rehearsals and "kiss me goodbye on the cheek." Two months into rehearsals, in May 1988, he invited her to Buckingham Palace for dinner and a film, where they shared their first kiss.
Royal Residences and Anecdotes
Henshall's memoir includes a series of anecdotes about her visits to Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, and the Frogmore estate, where the couple spent many Sundays. She expressed a "pang of envy and sadness" upon learning that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were moving into Frogmore in 2019, as it remained her and Edward's "romantic place."
The book also details her first "spontaneous" meeting with Queen Elizabeth II. Henshall recalls "forgetting to curtsey" and instead grabbing the late Queen's hand and shaking it "wildly," leaving her "mortified for a while afterwards." During a visit to Balmoral, she was asked to sing I Dreamed A Dream from Les Miserables, after which Edward told her the Queen remarked, "Now, that's a pair of lungs!"
Personal Life and Reflections
Henshall, who has performed in numerous West End shows including Les Miserables, also offers details on her intimate life with the duke. She writes: "I remember he looked at me like I was gorgeous – something I never really felt inside. It felt like such a natural thing to happen because it was coming out of love."
The memoir addresses the sexual abuse she suffered as a child, which she has openly discussed in interviews, and her experience seeing a psychiatrist. Henshall reveals she still lives with trichotillomania, an impulse control disorder involving hair pulling.
Life After the Relationship
Henshall and the duke separated in 1993 but remained friends for many years. She attended his wedding to Sophie Rhys-Jones, now the Duchess of Edinburgh, at Windsor Castle in 1999. A five-time Olivier Award nominee, Henshall won Best Actress in a Musical in 1995 for her role in She Loves Me. She married actor and singer Tim Howar in 2004, with whom she had two children, before divorcing in 2010. The memoir is scheduled for publication on July 16.
