Prince Edward known as himself ‘runt of litter’ throughout secret six yr romance says Ruthie Henshaw

‘I’m the runt’ of the litter Prince Edward once told theatre performer Ruthie Henshaw sparking a secret six year romance, but he warned her to get out of the royal family

The late Queen Elizabeth II’s youngest son Prince Edward once introduced himself as “the runt of the litter”.

Being fifth in line to the throne allowed Edward more anonymity than his siblings and he even enjoyed a secret six year romance with West End theatre performer Ruthie Henshaw.

The pair met backstage at Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, Cats and Henshaw revealed. to the Radio Times: “I gave him my best smile and said, ‘Welcome to the litter.’ ‘I’m the runt,’ he said, making me laugh. And I thought, you are not what I expected.”

There were rumours about Prince Edward’s sexuality after he quit the Royal Marines to work in theatre during the 1980s.

However, Henshaw was never in doubt about his love for women and reveals all about the romance in her book, The Showgirl And The Prince.

She writes: “He undressed me and took me to his bed and we made love for the first time. He was romantic and gentle and definitely NOT GAY!” And he definitely had experience.”

Henshaw enjoyed tea with the Queen and Prince Philip at Balmoral during their relationship, but Edward warned the actress life as a royal was difficult and told her “get out while you can.”

She recalled: “I come from a dysfunctional family, and I’m sure they are a dysfunctional family. My respect for them is huge because of the way they treated me, and also because they were a family behind closed doors.”

They split in the mid-1990s but Edward gave his approval to be included in her memoir, out now. “He was very generous and said, ‘You have a right to tell your story.”

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