Scandals That Rocked Royal Families: Top 10

When Princess Marie, the former wife of Prince Norodom Ranariddh, filed a complaint with the court regarding her ex-husband’s infidelity in December 2006, he would become the first person charged with Cambodia’s Monogamy Law. And if he were found guilty, he would face a custodial sentence.

A former prime minister, Ranariddh was the leader of FUNCINPEC, one of Cambodia’s political parties. He was also a man with powerful enemies. Some Cambodian activists believe this adultery law was passed solely with prosecuting the prince in mind. Of course, this wasn’t the first scandal Ranariddh had faced. In November 2006, FUNCINPEC’s secretary-general, Nhiek Bun Chhay, filed a lawsuit against Ranariddh, accusing him of selling the party’s headquarters and pocketing the resulting $3.6 million from the sale.

There’s no doubt that Prince George, the Duke of Kent, led a scandalous life. He conducted numerous affairs with both men and women, all behind the back of his wife, Princess Marina of Greece. Interestingly, his death in 1942 has also sparked a few conspiracy theories.

George’s bisexuality did not sit well with the royal family, and although it was kept out of the press, it was one of London’s worst-kept secrets. Similarly, everyone in high society circles knew that George enjoyed drugs like morphine and cocaine.

When Swaziland’s Queen Nothando Dube, one of the 14 wives of King Mswati III, was caught having sex with the king’s justice minister, Ndumiso Mamba, it was just the latest in a long line of scandals. Both were arrested in 2010, and they were kept in jail as officials feared they might attempt to flee the country. After all, it had happened before.

In 2004, two of Mswati’s wives fled Swaziland after news of their respective affairs started to spread. Delisa Magwaza fled to London, while Putsoana Hwala sought sanctuary in Johannesburg.

Sweden is a country that’s particularly proud of its royal family. So in 2010, when the book The Reluctant Monarch laid bare King Carl Gustaf’s appetite for sex at strip clubs, it made international headlines. It also didn’t help his image when readers discovered the king was using well-known “gangsters” in an effort to cover his activities.

Even the secret Swedish police force, Sapo, was accused of working to conceal Gustaf’s questionable activities. They allegedly “pressured” women into handing over any material that might’ve been compromising to the king.

Further allegations noted that “regular suburban girls” were often brought to Gustaf. He’d then promise them anything they wanted in an effort to have sex with them. The king also regularly used prostitutes. For example, during the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996, he was said to have spent two hours with a stripper in a private room at Atlanta’s Gold Club.

Prince Laurent always had a reputation as a “bad boy,” but by the time he wastried for fraud in 2007, he’d become something of an embarrassment to the people of Belgium.

It all started when a group of Belgian veterans were accused of misusing public money. Prince Laurent was called to testify as a witness, and strangely, King Albert II allowed the prince to appear in court. But once the king did away with Laurent’s royal immunity, the “bad boy” was accused of using navy funding to pay for extensive renovations on his holiday villa. He was ultimately acquitted of the charges, but he was banned from both royal functions and the palace for quite some time.

Several years later, however, King Albert II was involved in his own scandal. Allegations arose that Albert had an illegitimate child that he refused to acknowledge. His alleged daughter, Delphine Boel, released the book Cutting the Umbilical Cord in 2014, in which she angrily accused the king of ignoring her existence.

Princess Stephanie of Monaco is essentially the Kim Kardashian or Paris Hilton of the royal world. With her wild antics and rash decisions—including three children out of wedlock, with two different fathers (one of whom she refuses to name)—she makes the aforementioned socialites look like perfect angels.

Ever since the 1980s, Stephanie’s life has been a magazine writer’s dream. In 1982, she was riding with her mother, Grace Kelly, when the actress-turned-princess lost control of the car, sending the vehicle plunging down the mountainside. While Stephanie survived the crash, her mother died from her injuries. The shock and trauma of the accident arguably contributed to Stephanie’s behavior over the coming years.

In 1992, the British paparazzi discovered a topless Sarah Ferguson lounging with an American financial manager named John Bryan. The photos even showed Bryan sucking her toes. This was all made worse by the fact that Sarah Ferguson—known as “Fergie”—was the Duchess of York and married to Prince Andrew. With her picture in the papers, it appeared as though Fergie had hit her low spot. Perhaps the media storm had blown over.

Four years later, Fergie and Prince Andrew divorced, although she retained her title. Over a decade later, however, she offered access to her former husband, as well as other members of the royal family, in return for £500,000 (about $700,000).

In the weeks leading up to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, people were whispering about Elizabeth’s sister, Princess Margaret. There were rumors going around about her love life, and Margaret all but confirmed them during the coronation ceremony. The only problem was the man she loved was very much her senior . . . and had already been married and recently divorced.

Captain Peter Townsend was a longtime friend and associate of the royal family. He had also recently been made “Controller of the House of the Queen Mother.” Around this time, people began commenting on how he appeared to be in a relationship with Princess Margaret. After all, they were certainly spending a lot of time together.

When Edward VIII voluntarily renounced his throne in order to marry Wallis Simpson in 1936, it was a surprise to no one but the British public. While the world press reported freely on Edward’s relationship with the twice-divorced Simpson, the British press declined to do so. It was basically self-censorship.

In 1959, the Dutch government was looking to build a new fleet of jet fighters. Needless to say, this contract would be worth millions. One company in particular, the Lockheed Corporation, began to pull out in front, and Lockheed officials looked to Prince Bernhard and his “business expertise” to encourage the Dutch government in their direction. Naturally, Bernhard charged a fee for this endorsement, and he was paid $1 million, which was discreetly sent to a Swiss bank account.