Actress Ruthie Henshall is set to release her memoir, The Showgirl and the Prince, in July. The book recounts her on-and-off relationship with Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, during the late 1980s and early 1990s, before he met Sophie Rhys-Jones, now Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh.
Now 58, Henshall said the idea for the memoir came after she discovered old diaries and letters while cleaning out her garage five years ago.
“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,” she explained. The letters, written when Edward was in his early 20s, form the emotional core of the book.
When they met in 1988, Henshall was making her West End debut in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats. Edward was working within theatrical circles at the time, and their worlds connected backstage before their relationship deepened.
“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 recalled.
Behind palace doors
In the beginning, their romance was largely private. Henshall has said Edward would call her during rehearsals and invite her to Buckingham Palace for dinner or to see musicals together.
When the relationship became public, the Evening Standard famously summed it up with the headline, “Prince and the Showgirl.”
Despite tabloid portrayals, Henshall has insisted the romance was meaningful. “I genuinely fell in love with him,” she has said, rejecting suggestions it was simply a brief youthful affair.
According to publisher Pan Macmillan, the memoir follows the relationship from its discreet start to more formal occasions, including visits to Buckingham Palace and tea at Windsor Castle with Queen Elizabeth II. It has been described as “a funny, intimate, and touching memoir” and even “a real-life Cinderella story — if Cinders is a lycra-clad chorus girl from Bromley who drinks and smokes too much.”
The couple parted ways in 1993, with Henshall choosing to focus on her career.
Royal memories and candid reflections
Henshall has long spoken kindly about the Royal Family. “I have nothing but nice things to say about them all,” she once remarked. “The Queen, in particular, was lovely. Here I was, this chorus girl dating her son — it must have been her worst nightmare!”
Still, her openness has occasionally caused surprise. During a 2020 appearance on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, she reportedly did not realize that microphones had picked up her comment about intimate encounters at Buckingham Palace.
She has also shared memories of attending a Royal Family barbecue at Balmoral, where Diana, Princess of Wales, encouraged her to sing I Dreamed A Dream from Les Misérables in front of senior royals.
Reflecting on the moment in 2023, she said, “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,” adding, “I was feeling no pain, because I was three sheets to the wind! It will always be one of my greatest honours. Diana was there, Princess Margaret, the Queen Mum, Edward, and Charles.”
Life after the romance
After their split, Henshall went on to marry, have two daughters, and build a successful stage career, appearing in productions such as Chicago, Billy Elliot, and Oliver!. She later served as a judge on Dancing on Ice and took a role in Coronation Street in 2024.
Despite their breakup, she is believed to have remained on friendly terms with Edward and Sophie, even attending their 1999 wedding.
However, a memoir built around royal love letters may still raise eyebrows within palace circles — particularly at a time when the Royal Household is facing heightened scrutiny following Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest.
It is unclear whether Buckingham Palace has reviewed the manuscript in advance, though the palace has been contacted for comment. Online reactions have been mixed.
One person wrote, “Sounds like blackmail,” while another commented, “Skeletons in cupboards making a $$.” A third added, “Jumping on the bandwagon,” and another echoed, “Boy! The Royal accusers are going to have to get a bigger bandwagon.”
Others were less concerned. One netizen remarked, “I believe it includes tea at the Palace with the Queen ….. how can he survive the scandal …. [sic]?” Another concluded, “A bit more won’t hurt.”
Whether viewed as nostalgia, revelation, or theatrical storytelling, the memoir revisits a relationship that once unfolded between stage lights and royal drawing rooms.
In July, Henshall will share her version of what she still describes as first love — told through diaries, memories, and the letters she chose to keep.
