West End star Ruthie Henshall has revealed she is penning a memoir about her relationship with Prince Edward during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The book, titled The Showgirl and the Prince, will chronicle their romance from its clandestine origins through to visits at Buckingham Palace and afternoon tea with Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor.
Publisher Pan Macmillan has described the forthcoming work 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 five-time Olivier Award nominee dated the Duke of Edinburgh on and off for several years before he met his future wife, then Sophie Rhys-Jones.
Prince Edward's ex-girlfriend confirms upcoming 'intimate and touching' bombshell memoir
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The memoir is scheduled for release in July.
Ms Henshall, 58, has said she was moved to write the book after unearthing boxes of memorabilia whilst clearing out her garage five years ago.
"I found old diaries which I began writing in the 80s and then found all my letters from Prince Edward, and I was struck by how precious this time in my life was," she told the Telegraph.
The actress reflected on the extraordinary nature of her experiences, stating: "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."
Ruthie Henshall attending Prince Edward's wedding in 1999
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She promised readers "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."
The pair's romance blossomed in 1988 when Ms Henshall was performing as a chorus girl in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats, whilst the 23-year-old prince worked as a production assistant for the impresario.
Edward would telephone her during rehearsals and invite her to the Palace to watch films and dine together, she has previously revealed.
The couple initially managed to keep their relationship hidden from public view, though when it eventually emerged, the Evening Standard ran the headline "Prince and the Showgirl".
Ruthie Henshall pictured in October last year
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Ms Henshall has spoken of attending a summer barbecue at Balmoral, where Diana, Princess of Wales, encouraged her to perform I Dreamed A Dream from Les Misérables.
"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 recalled in 2023.
Ms Henshall has maintained warm relations with both Prince Edward and his wife, the Duchess of Edinburgh, and is reported to have attended their wedding.
Ruthie Henshall and John Gordon Sinclair arriving at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle for the wedding of Prince Edward
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"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!" she said.
The couple parted ways in 1993 when Ms Henshall opted to prioritise her theatrical career, subsequently starring in productions including Chicago, Billy Elliot, Oliver! and Miss Saigon.
She later married Canadian singer Timothy Howard and had two daughters.