Ruthie Henshall has spoken candidly about her long-term relationship with Prince Edward, admitting on Sunday Brunch that their romance was never destined to last.
Before Edward married Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, he and the West End star were together for around five years. They first met in 1988, when Henshall was playing Jemima in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats and Edward, then 23, was working as a production assistant after leaving the Royal Marines.
Kept out of the public eye
What began as a friendship developed into a romance, although the couple kept it out of the public eye. In her memoir, Henshall recalls that Edward asked her to wait before they became intimate and later requested that they keep the relationship private.
Describing one event at Kensington Roof Gardens attended by performers from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group, she admitted she deliberately dressed provocatively to catch Edward's attention and persuade him to spend the night with her. She added that when they became intimate in January 1989, it happened naturally as their relationship continued to grow and they spent most weekends together.
Never going to work
Despite their happiness, Henshall has acknowledged that their contrasting lives meant the relationship always faced an uphill battle. Appearing on Sunday Brunch with hosts Tim Lovejoy and Simon Rimmer to promote her musical theatre career and her new book, she revealed she is still in touch with Edward and made sure he knew about the memoir before it was published.
During the interview, Lovejoy suggested their romance had always seemed destined to face challenges because of Edward's royal role and Henshall's career in the spotlight, asking whether it could ever really have lasted. Agreeing, Henshall said: "No. It was never going to work."
Lovejoy then joked that he had given away the ending by pointing out that the pair never married or had children, prompting laughter in the studio. Sunday Brunch airs Sundays from 10am on Channel 4.
