The year was 1979, and the girl in question was 24-year-old brewery heiress Sabrina Guinness. At the time she and King Charles III were together, the monarch was said to be “besotted” with her, and Princess Margaret even described their relationship as “serious,” according to Hello! Despite the fact that the king took her to the family’s ancestral Scottish home at Balmoral, things cooled off because the late Queen Elizabeth II apparently wasn’t a fan. Plus, Guinness herself wasn’t ready to settle down, nor was Charles. “I love being with him, but please don’t try to marry us off — he’s not ready for marriage yet,” Guinness reportedly said (via the Daily Mail). Meanwhile, one of her friends dished that Guinness had “never displayed any real need to get married or a desire to do so,” despite a long line of hopeful suitors.
It was just as well. Despite being “Charles’ liveliest girlfriend,” Charles and Guinness split after a 9-month courtship. According to the Daily Mail, Guinness went on to find love with actor Jack Nicholson. The two met when Guinness relocated to Los Angeles for a year, working as a Montessori-trained nursery teacher. One of the children under her care was actor Ryan O’Neal’s daughter, so it’s safe to say it was a little more glamorous than your average teaching gig.
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Of note, Nicholson hasn’t spoken publicly about the romance, but there are still pictures of him and Guinness floating around the Internet.
