Actress Ruthie Henshall revealed her secret relationship with Prince Edward, which included surprise meetings with the late Queen, intimate moments behind the Palace walls, and handwritten love letters
A West End legend has finally lifted the lid on a claimed secret romance with Prince Edward.
Ruthie Henshall, 59, has revealed everything from discovering “HRH Edward” stitched into the prince’s underwear to leaving him “bleary-eyed” the next morning.
The actress shared intimate details of their five-year relationship in her new book, “The Showgirl and the Prince”, where she reveals how the pair met after the then-23-year-old prince left the Royal Marines to work as a production assistant at Andrew Lloyd Webber’s theatre company.
At the time, his decision to leave military training made headlines. One report read: “His father, the handsome Honorary Captain General whose face now stared down from a nearby wall, had reportedly reacted to the possibility with such anger that he had reduced his son to prolonged tears. His Royal Highness Prince Edward was letting down the side: By resigning, he would become the first member of Britain’s Royal Family in memory to quit military training.”
Edward moved into theatre, and as they spent more time together, the pair’s friendship turned into a romance, she said. Ruthie said she would make a “beeline” for Edward whenever he was around, admitting it was partly down to his royal title.
One of their early dates took place at Buckingham Palace, where she made an unexpected discovery. She wrote: “As I discovered later, Edward had nametags in all his underwear. Yes, ‘HRH Edward’ adorned every piece.”
But Ruthie claims it had made sense as the washing is done by Palace staff, and it had to be obvious whose underwear was whose.
The book, serialised in the Mail, also claimed Edward wanted to take their relationship slowly. After their first passionate kiss, he wrote Ruthie an unexpected letter.
She added: “He sent me a letter asking me if I’d be patient about sleeping together, as however much he fancied me he didn’t want to go too fast and spoil something so special.”
That wasn’t the only letter the Prince had sent, Ruthie claimed Edward regularly sent her handwritten letters on Buckingham Palace headed paper, signing them with kisses instead of his name, and surprised her with flowers, usually freesias because they were her favourite.
When the couple eventually slept together in January 1989, Ruthie described Edward as “romantic and gentle”. She also joked she often left the prince “bleary-eyed” when he had to get up for work the following morning.
The relationship also introduced Ruthie to royal life, with Edward later taking her to Windsor Castle, where he unexpectedly introduced her to Queen Elizabeth II. She recalled suddenly realising the woman walking towards them was the late monarch. She remembered thinking: “Oh f***, it IS the Queen!” Edward introduced them by saying: “Mama, this is Ruth.”
Ruthie admitted she completely forgot the royal etiquette her father had taught her and instinctively shook the Queen’s hand instead of curtsying. The actress later joined the rest of the Royal Family for tea, including Prince Philip, Princess Margaret, the Queen Mother and Sarah Ferguson where the monarch chatted to her about horse riding after learning she had been nervous during a lesson earlier that day.
Ruthie claims it was just one of many memorable moments from their five-year relationship, which remained largely out of the public eye.
The memoir will be released July 16, 2026.
The Mirror approached Buckingham Palace for comment.
