I’m A Celebrity’s Ruthie Henshall On Her ‘On And Off’ Relationship With Prince Edward

From being 'smuggled into the Palace' to why they broke up for good, Ruthie's dating history makes for quite the campfire story.

Ruthie Henshall

by Georgia Aspinall |
Updated on

On tonight’s I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here, we got to hear a few more salacious celebrity stories from the new campmates. From things they've stolen from Buckingham Palace to workouts with Arnold Schwarzenegger, the best came from West End actor Ruthie Henshall who joked that the others might have stolen hangers from the Queen's residence, but she 'shagged in the bedrooms'.

That's right. Ruthie Henshall has quite the history with our royal family and she opened up to Shane Ritchie (who, since everyones googling it, is currently married to Christie Goddard) telling him all about her time with them.

Ruthie Henshall was in a relationship with Prince Edward - who is the Duke of Edinburgh and youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip - for two years ‘solidly’ but was subsequently on and off with the Earl of Wessex for five years before becoming engaged to someone else. She’s since been married and divorced, entering the castle with an unclear relationship status. Prince Edward is also now married to Sophie, Countess of Wessex and has been since 1999.

'The Prince and the Show Girl'

The relationship with Prince Edward was kept secret at the time, but she opened up about on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs it in 2008 saying she was often ‘smuggled’ into the Royal palace. ‘It always make me laugh, I'd sort of say “I'm going to my boyfriend's tonight”. Nobody knew who he was,’ she said.

Ultimately, their relationship came to an end because she didn’t want to be a part of the Royal family knowing she could never continue her stage career. ‘I think I had hopes that we could walk on in our relationship but really and truthfully I think I was very aware that I wouldn't be able to do what I do for a living if I'd have stayed with him,’ she explained.

While their relationship was a secret to the press and Henshall’s family, she met the Royals often and has spoken fondly of them ever since. ‘When they are behind closed doors they are a family, and they have cook-outs like a family and they talk like a family,’ Henshall said. ‘I never saw the Queen turning sausages (on the barbeque) but I did see Charles.’

Having spent so much time in close quarters with the Royal Family all those years ago, perhaps we’ll be privy to even more inside scoops as she bonds with campmates. The way they’re all already name-dropping their most famous acquaintances, we can hope Henshall will get in on the action too.

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