In a move that has already sent ripples through royal circles, West End star Ruthie Henshall is set to publish a memoir this July detailing her five-year, on-and-off romance with Prince Edward, the youngest son of the late Queen Elizabeth II. The book, titled The Showgirl and the Prince, draws heavily on a trove of love letters and diaries recently unearthed by Henshall, promising to offer an intimate glimpse into a relationship that, until now, had largely played out behind closed palace doors.
According to The Telegraph and Express, the memoir is expected to stir fresh anxiety among Palace staff and the wider Royal Family, who are already navigating the fallout from the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. While it remains unclear whether the royal household has had a chance to preview the book, insiders suggest its publication will add another layer of complexity to an already turbulent period for the monarchy.
Henshall, a five-time Olivier Award nominee and a fixture on the London stage, has described The Showgirl and the Prince as a candid account of “the bittersweet joy of first love.” The book chronicles her romance with Prince Edward from its clandestine beginnings in 1988, when she was a chorus girl in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats and he was a 23-year-old royal working for the famed impresario. Their relationship, which lasted until 1993, included secret meetings, phone calls during rehearsals, and visits to Buckingham Palace and Windsor for tea with Queen Elizabeth II.
“I found old diaries which I began writing in the 1980s and then found all my letters from Prince Edward, and I was struck by how precious this time in my life was,” Henshall told The Telegraph. “I was on the West End stage – my dream since I was a girl – and shared a love with a man very few people even know. If this was someone else’s story, I would think they had made it up. So here it is – a look behind the curtain of a crazy life in musical theatre and what happens next when a showgirl falls in love with a prince.”
She discovered the memorabilia about five years ago while clearing out her garage, an experience she said prompted her to finally share the story. The memoir promises to document not just their romance, but also the unique challenges of dating a royal. Henshall recalls being invited to royal family events, including a summer barbecue at Balmoral where, at the urging of the late Diana, Princess of Wales—and with a little help from a couple of Martinis courtesy of King Charles—she sang “I Dreamed A Dream” in front of the Queen and other royal luminaries. “I wasn’t nervous because Charles had just made me a couple of Martinis, which is why I ended up singing in front of the Queen,” she said in a 2023 interview. “I was feeling no pain, because I was three sheets to the wind! It will always be one of my greatest honours.”
Henshall’s recollections paint a picture of a relationship that was both heartfelt and, at times, surreal. She described Prince Edward as “kind and thoughtful,” noting that she was “not like anyone he’s dated before.” According to Express, Henshall insisted, “I genuinely fell in love with him,” and added, “I have nothing but nice things to say about them all. The Queen, in particular, was lovely. Here I was, this chorus girl dating her son – it must have been her worst nightmare!”
Their romance, though kept largely under wraps in its early days, did eventually become public. The Evening Standard famously headlined their relationship “Prince and the Showgirl,” a nod to the unlikely pairing of the royal and the rising musical theatre star. Despite the eventual breakup in 1993—prompted by Henshall’s decision to focus on her burgeoning career—the two are understood to have remained on good terms. Henshall later married, had two daughters, and continued to make her mark in theatre and television, including stints as a judge on Dancing on Ice and a role on Coronation Street in 2024.
Publisher Pan Macmillan has billed the memoir as “a funny, intimate and touching memoir” and “a real-life Cinderella story – if Cinders is a lycra-clad chorus girl from Bromley who drinks and smokes too much.” The publisher’s description hints at the book’s blend of glamour, candor, and humor—qualities that have long defined Henshall’s public persona. Yet, the book’s release comes at a time of heightened scrutiny for the Royal Family, raising questions about how much behind-the-scenes detail it will reveal and how it might be received by those closest to the throne.
Henshall has not always shied away from sharing personal anecdotes about her royal romance. During a stint on I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! in 2020, she famously revealed, “I shagged in the bedrooms of Buckingham Palace,” a remark that was picked up by microphones and broadcast to the nation. While some royal watchers viewed the comment as indiscreet, Henshall has maintained that her intentions have always been affectionate and respectful toward the family.
The timing of the memoir’s announcement is notable. As the Prince and Princess of Wales recently sought to shift the spotlight with a successful visit to Llanidloes, where they were greeted by hundreds of cheering fans, the Royal Family continues to grapple with the repercussions of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest. Meanwhile, King Charles has been seen carrying out his duties with aplomb, even handling a rocket launcher during a visit to Baker Barracks in Hampshire—an image that stands in stark contrast to the more personal revelations set to emerge from Henshall’s book.
For Henshall, the memoir appears to be both a personal catharsis and a celebration of a formative chapter in her life. Last year, she admitted to feeling increasingly overlooked in both her professional and private life, noting that she had not had a relationship since the breakup of her marriage 16 years earlier. The discovery of her old diaries and letters, she said, reminded her of a time when she was “living the dream” on the West End and sharing a secret love affair with a prince.
As the publication date for The Showgirl and the Prince approaches, anticipation—and perhaps anxiety—continues to build among royal watchers and palace insiders alike. Will the memoir offer new insights into the private lives of Britain’s royals, or will it simply confirm what many have long suspected about the complexities of love, fame, and duty within the House of Windsor? Either way, Henshall’s story is poised to capture the public’s imagination, offering a rare window into a world few outsiders ever glimpse.
With its blend of romance, royal intrigue, and theatrical flair, The Showgirl and the Prince promises to be one of the summer’s most talked-about releases—one that, for better or worse, will bring the spotlight back to a royal love story that has remained in the shadows for far too long.