Henshall Lifts Lid on Royal Romance???

Ruthie Henshall has revealed for the first time details of her five-year relationship with Prince Edward. Speaking on BBC Radio Four’s Desert Island Discs programme, she confirmed that the “on and off” liaison began when she was starring in the West End run of Cats during the late 1980s, and broke up due to her career commitments.

Henshall, who is currently starring in the world premiere production of Marguerite at the Theatre Royal Haymarket (See 1st Night Photos, 21 May 2008), told presenter Kirsty Young that "it was very exciting … I genuinely fell in love with him”. She also described her experiences of being “smuggled” into Buckingham Palace, and of attending “cook-outs” with senior members of the Royal family, including the Queen. She added that on occasion she’d even witnessed her lover’s elder brother Prince Charles “turning the sausages”.

Henshall, who has starred in musicals including Miss Saigon, Les Miserables and Chicago and is now married to actor Tim Howar, said that it was her career, not her heart, that tore her away from Edward. "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 … there was nothing - at that stage - that was more important than what I did."

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