Prince William’s alleged cheating scandal has affected the palace and his marriage with Kate Middleton.

There are speculations that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s marriage are in the rocks due to infidelity issues involving Prince William and the couple’s friend Rose Hanbury. According to In Touch magazine, Middleton confronted her husband and the duke just “laughed it off” because it was not true.

The issue affected Middleton and Rose’s friendship that the duchess cut off the Marchioness of Cholmondeley from their inner circle. A source said that Prince William and Middleton are not splitting but the rumor “has rocked the palace and their marriage.”

In response to the rumors, the royal family has already taken legal action. At least one British publication was served with legal warnings after publishing details of the rumors.

“In addition to being false and highly damaging, the publication of false speculation in respect of our clients’ private life also constitutes a breach of his privacy pursuant to Article 8 of the European Convention to Human Rights,” one of the letters from Harbottle and Lewis read.

Duncan Larcombe, former royal editor of The Sun, described the use of a legal letter by Prince William as “a move of last resort.”

“While traditionally, the British royal family would not take specific legal action—the old saying was ‘never complain and never explain’—William and Harry are willing to do it in their own way,” Larcombe explained to The Daily Beast.

Nicole Cliffe, Canadian writer and journalist based in Utah, commented on the issue and shared her “personal editorializing.” According to her, the alleged infidelity issue could be the reason for Prince William’s frosty relationship with Prince Harry and not Meghan Markle.

Not all are actually convinced by the cheating rumors. According to some netizens, they notice that Prince William is “much happier ” when Middleton is around. They shared a clip of the future king and queen consort smiling and staring at each other.

One Twitter user also defended Prince William from the issue by saying that the second-in-line to the throne is “too intelligent to cheat on Kate.” The user added that the duke is already contented with his marriage and has a normal life with Middleton and their kids.

Kate Middleton and Prince William
Prince William and Kate Middleton attend the 1st Battalion Irish Guards St Patrick's Day Parade at Cavalry Barracks on March 17, 2019 in Hounslow, England. Getty Images/Gareth Fuller