West End actress Ruthie Henshall writes in her memoir that Prince Edward told her he wished he could have “two wives” and that the realities of royal life made marriage between them impractical.
In The Showgirl and the Prince, Henshall, 59, recalls dating Edward from 1988 to 1993 and quotes him saying, “If I could, I would have two wives. One for the job, and one whom I loved, because you would never want to subject the woman you love to the job.”
Henshall says the pair first met in 1988 while she was starring in Cats and Edward was working as a production assistant for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Theatre Company. She writes that as her career rose she realized she could not marry into the royal life and keep her stage career.
Henshall also writes that she sought informal guidance from Sarah Ferguson during the relationship. A Buckingham Palace spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital that the palace does not comment on books, the Fox News report said.
The Fox News article notes that Edward married Sophie in 1999; the couple have two children, Lady Louise, 22, and James, Earl of Wessex, 18. The article quoted commentators who described Sophie as a reliable member of the royal family and referred to her as a “secret weapon” for King Charles.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
