15 Times Royals Got In Serious Trouble

Being part of a royal family is more than just fancy clothes, lavish vacations, and a treasure chest full of family heirlooms. Nowadays, when you're a member of the royal family (especially the British Windsors), you can also expect intense public scrutiny, unceasing paparazzi and media coverage, and the inability to live a life outside of the limelight, especially if you're more of a high-profile royal like a Prince or Princess. With all that pressure, it's no wonder that mistakes are sometimes made, it's just that those mistakes often end up being aired to the public, and get the person involved in SERIOUS trouble.

From photos of royalty caught in compromising positions to scandals that have unearthed some distasteful behavior, from multiple affairs to crazy partying to being sentenced to death (although that last one is more about royals of the past rather than the modern era), there are many instances of royals behaving badly, bringing shame to their family name, and getting themselves into a heap of royal trouble. Most of the 15 people on this list are British, but we definitely have some appearances by Sweden, Spain, and France, because no one is immune to the trials and tribulations of living a royal life!

15 Sarah Ferguson's foot fiasco

Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, has long been one of the members of the royal family to consistently make it into the gossip columns of the papers, and one of those memorable times when Fergie was caught in serious trouble was back in 1992, when she wound up with her foot inside the mouth of a wealthy Texas businessman! Fergie was already separated from her husband, Prince Andrew (who also makes this list), but the photographs that saw her toe being licked and nibbled by John Bryan definitely brought some unwanted attention to the palace residents. Adding further insult to the whole affair was the fact that Fergie was actually sunbathing topless, a bit of history that would repeat itself more than 20 years later with Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge! Although Fergie and Prince Andrew were separated at the time, the photographs definitely spelled the end of their marriage and an eternal black mark alongside the Duchess of York's name - especially in the eyes of the Queen.

14 Princess Margaret's wandering eye

Considered the beauty of the Windsor family, the Queen's younger sister, Princess Margaret, seemed intent on capturing her fairy tale ending, even if it was at the expense of others. First, she fell in love with a divorced man, by the name of Peter Townsend, who was sixteen years her senior, but the church and the royal family let her know that, should she choose to follow her heart, she'd be giving up all claim to a royal life. Of course, that doesn't work too well with a Princess, and so Margaret stayed away from Peter.

Then, she married a photographer, Anthony Armstrong-Jones, but the union quickly collapsed, amid reports of Princess Margaret's affairs with multiple men, including her daughter's godfather and a man seventeen years her junior, which painted Margaret as a “cougar” in a relationship with a boy-toy lover. It was that last affair that caused Anthony, now Earl of Snowdon, to file for divorce, but not before the couple endured much public humiliation at the hands of the media and their own vices.

13 Spencer Matthews' “unhealthy appetite”

He's not royalty quite yet, and only would be by marriage, as his brother, James Matthews, is set to wed Pippa Middleton, the younger sister of Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge. However, he's still well known to the British public - and not in a good way.

A socialite and reality star on the TV show, Made in Chelsea, Spencer has been working his bad-boy image for quite some time, engaging in multiple high-profile relationships with women and boasting to have slept with over 1000 ladies in his lifetime so far. If that sounds like a lot, Spencer agrees, having said that he has an “unhealthy appetite for sex”, although he insists he's not an addict. While royals usually have to answer to the Queen for their bad behavior, it's Duchess Kate who is fuming over Spencer, as reports say she thinks Spencer will tarnish her family name and the name of the royal family, and is refusing to pose for any photos with him at her sister's 2017 wedding!

12 Duchess Kate's Marilyn moments

Speaking of Kate, she's certainly not immune to scandal. As a “commoner” who married Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, Kate has had to prove herself worthy again and again, especially in the eyes of the Queen, who is notorious for being a stickler for tradition.

While Kate is considered a fashion icon for her classic style, sleek silhouettes, and minimal accessorizing, she has earned the ire of the Queen again and again for her repeated “Marilyn moments”, which has seen the skirt of her outfit fly up with a gust of wind during multiple appearances when she and her husband were travelling abroad on royal business. In fact, the wind got so fierce that it blew Kate's skirts up to show her bum cheeks - which were promptly captured in a photo and published in a German magazine! While the Queen reportedly has weights sewn into her own clothes to prevent such a thing from happening - and has ordered Kate to do the same - Kate hasn't complied. Perhaps she should simply invest in heavier material!

11 Sarah Ferguson's shady dealings

Back to the Royal Redhead (before Prince Harry)! In 2010, the Duchess of York was caught in the act of trying to bribe a businessman with exclusive access to information on the royal family - and her ex-husband, Prince Andrew, in particular - for the amount of half a million pounds. Too bad that the purported businessman was actually an undercover reporter in disguise! Fergie couldn't even attempt to cover up her major gaffe, since the reporter had video footage of her accepting a briefcase filled with $40k.

Once the evidence was out there, Fergie's reputation among the royals tanked even more than it already had, and she tried to explain her poor decision as a result of having money troubles, including the loss of millions in business ventures in the years that led up to the scandal. It was just one of many missteps taken by the Duchess of York, which has definitely resulted in her falling out of favor with Her Royal Highness.

10 Princess Cristina's embezzlement “oops”

Royal families can catch a lot of flak for being irresponsible with their money, and the fact that royal families still exist in the modern era has actually been a point of contention for many countries who fail to see their purpose beyond that of a cultural figurehead. Well, spending came up to bite one royal in the butt - Princess Cristina of Spain.

In 2014, the Princess was charged with tax fraud and money laundering, in relation to her husband, a former Olympic handball player, who was charged with embezzling $8 million through his charity. Definitely not a good thing to have happen when the rest of the royal family has been steadily falling out of favor among their country's citizens! While Princess Cristina was found not guilty as of February 2017, her husband was convicted and sentenced to six years and three months in prison. The couple certainly aren't the image you think of when it comes to Spanish royalty!

9 Mary, Queen of Scots' family problems

If you're a regular viewer of the CW, you might know a romanticized version of the story of Mary, Queen of Scots, from the TV show Reign (shown in the above photo), but the real story is just as juicy. After her husband, Frances II, died from an ear infection, Mary decided to marry her beloved cousin, Henry Stuart. The problem was, Henry had Tudor blood, which made her other cousin, Queen Elizabeth I, simmer with anger.

Then, while married to Mary, Henry's ambition came out to play, which resulted in the murder of Mary's secretary. Despite giving birth to Henry's son, James (who would later become James I of England after Elizabeth died with no successors), Mary wanted out. Her out came in the form of an explosion that killed Henry, and she married his suspected murderer! Her people, once so devoted to her, rose up in rebellion to this union, imprisoned her new husband, and ordered Mary to abdicate for her son.

8 Prince Andrew's personal history

Just like his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, Prince Andrew is not immune to scandal. Known as “Randy Andy”, Prince Andrew has been involved with numerous women, and rock star Courtney Love even claimed that she and the Prince would party together sometimes! He's also been confirmed as having dated a former softcore actress, Koo Stark, so you know how he earned his nickname! Add to that the extensive partying, and gaggle of women at his beck and call, and you can understand why Prince Andrew was making headlines way before his nephew, Prince Harry. But all of that is nothing compared to his most recent scandal, which puts him in the company of convicted pedophile, billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, and having inappropriate relations with a 17-year-old in 2001!

The royal family has stood by the Prince, and even Epstein spoke out in his friend's defence, but the smear that's happened to Prince Andrew's public image and reputation are too drastic and dramatic to be ignored.

7 Prince Charles' interesting desire

Back when all the drama between Prince Charles and Princess Diana was unfolding, there were multiple phone tappings that revealed recorded conversations between the royals and their intimate companions. The most bombastic, scandalous reveal of them all: When Prince Charles said he wished to be nothing more than Camilla Parker Bowles' tampon!

Charles and Camilla were involved before Diana's death, but the recorded phone call happened while the two were still legally wed. It goes as such:

Charles: Oh, God. I'll just live inside your trousers or something. It would be much easier!

Camilla: What are you going to turn into, a pair of knickers? Oh, you're going to come back as a pair of knickers!

Charles: Or, God forbid, a Tampax. Just my luck!

Camilla: You are a complete idiot! Oh, what a wonderful idea!

As you can imagine, the leaked call was humiliating for Princess Diana and the rest of the royal family. Although Camilla and Charles were able to move past it: they married in 2005.

6 Queen Marie Antoinette's poor choice of words

It is a misquote, but one that has plagued Marie Antoinette's memory for centuries after her death. In 1789 France, famine was plaguing the people, who were starving in the streets with no bread to eat while the royal and aristocratic ranks were dining on luxury foods and ornamenting themselves in elaborate, fanciful fashions that made it impossible to do anything remotely resembling real work. Naturally, all of this made the poorer classes angry, but it was the misquote attributed to their Queen, Marie Antoinette, of “Let them eat cake” after being told that her people could not afford bread that really ruptured things. Although Marie Antoinette actually was quite charitable and felt deeply for the poor French citizens, her family was the last to sit on the royal throne in what became the French Revolution, which saw poor Marie Antoinette lose her head to the guillotine. We'd say that qualifies as serious trouble!

5 Prince Harry's costume choice

Prince Harry has long had a reputation for being one of the most scandalous members of the royal family, since he is without the constraints and duties of his older brother and heir to the throne, Prince William. However, he still got in a LOT of trouble back in 2005, when for some reason he decided an appropriate costume to a “colonials and natives” party would be to dress up as a Nazi, complete with swastika armband!

Only 20 years old at the time, Prince Harry faced immediate public backlash over his decision (which was made even worse by the fact that it took place two weeks before Holocaust Memorial Day) from politicians, pressure groups, and religious leaders. People even called for him to be stripped of his place at the Royal Military Academy! Prince Harry was forced to issue a public apology, but this definitely wasn't the last time the rowdy prince got into serious trouble!

4 Duchess Kate's sunbathing scandal

Duchess Catherine (aka Kate Middleton) hasn't always found her way into the Queen's good graces, but she definitely faced a major setback in their relationship when photos of her sunbathing topless hit the press!

While on their honeymoon in France in 2012, Prince William and Kate were staying at a private French chateau, and Kate took to the freespiritedness with which the French celebrate their bodies and chose to sunbathe topless, assuming that she was well-protected from paparazzi. Unfortunately, she forgot about long-lens cameras, and paps were able to snap away at the half-naked Duchess, eventually publishing the images in the French magazine Closer. Fortunately for Kate, the royal family did come to her defence, angry at the invasion of privacy the royal couple suffered, which was reminiscent of the intense scrutiny Prince William's mother, Princess Diana, had suffered throughout her life and after her death. France came to their aid as well, with French officials pursuing the magazine's publisher and photographer on criminal charges.

3 Prince Harry's Vegas escapade

Prince Harry is at it again! Another royal who was caught au naturel, Prince Harry was the subject of mockery and humiliation when photos were printed of him stark naked, engaging in a game of strip pool while out with friends in Vegas, also in 2012. In the pictures, Harry does cover his royal jewels, either with a hand or with the body of another female partygoer, whom he seems to be hugging from behind.

Once the photos were leaked, the palace begged the British media to refrain from running them, due to the implied privacy violation that led to them being snapped in the first place (Prince Harry allegedly had a no cell phone policy). It was a while before Harry spoke out about the whole situation, probably because he got quite a scolding from his father and grandmother, but when he did address the matter, he stated, hat in hand, “I let myself down, I let my family down, I let other people down.”

2 Queen Catherine Howard's bad judgment

King Henry VIII is not without his fair share of scandal, especially considering that the man went through six wives in his lifetime, and even separated from the Catholic Church to form the Church of England in order to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.

It seems that Henry had a thing for Catherines, however, as he married Catherine Howard, his fifth wife, who was only 17 to Henry's 49. A vivacious and beautiful - if somewhat air-headed - girl, Catherine soon grew tired of the King's moods, and pinned her heart to one of his courtiers, which was not lost on everyone else at court, who saw the young wife's indiscretions as flagrant disrespect for her King. In the end, Catherine's relatives were imprisoned, except for her uncle, her lovers and previous relations were beheaded, their heads placed on pikes, and Catherine herself was imprisoned and sentenced to death. She was later beheaded and buried in an unmarked grave, at only 18 or 19, after 16 months of being the Queen of England.

1 King Carl Gustaf's bombshell book

Sure, it may be an unofficial biography, but The Reluctant Monarch, published in 2010, made international headlines for its account of the lewd behaviour of its subject, King Carl Gustaf of Sweden. The book detailed the King's appetite for strip clubs and his regular use of prostitutes, despite being married with children. It also discussed a year-long affair that the King allegedly had with Camilla Henemark, a model and singer, in between his crazy parties and regular strip club attendance.

However, King Carl Gustaf's choice to not issue a public denial of the book or press charges spoke volumes about the truth that its pages might contain, although he did make a statement, saying that he and his family wished to move past the events the book described, as they “happened a long time ago”. Another quote that left the Swedish public with more questions than answers, the King dodged the validity of the claims by saying, “It depends on what you mean by sex and strip clubs. It is a rather broad definition.” Okay, then…