Prince William and Kate Middleton’s love story is legendary. Though they started as pals at St Andrews University, their feelings blossomed till they chose to date.
Prince and Princess of Wales shared many traits, including a keen sense of humor. Recently, a university buddy of the pair recounted the moment after they met, when Kate claimed to be his girlfriend.
Will and Kate will become king and queen. As a child, Kate couldn’t have imagined herself on the throne, but William has always wanted it.
When Jane and William started studying at St Andrews University together in the millennium, things changed. They were friends until a 2002 fashion show altered everything.
William reportedly spent £200 on a front-row ticket to Kate’s charity fashion exhibition. Kate walked the catwalk in the now-famous see-through dress, displaying her panties. She became more than a friend to William, who developed affections for her.
William and Kate moved into 13A Hope Street, an off-campus apartment, with friends Fergus Boyd and Olivia Bleasdale in fall 2002. The prince wasn’t certain to move into the apartment. As William moved in in 2023, landlady Charlotte Smith remembered the apartment’s no-boys restriction.
We were determined not to have young males in the flat again after a bad encounter with lads. Broken furniture, windows, and other damage deterred us. I told this young lady we didn’t want more boys, and she asked, “What if I told you it was Prince William?” Smith informed Daily Mail.
William and Kate Middleton’s romance
Her husband convinced Smith that the future king might move into the flat. William and Kate were “ideal tenants.”
We planned to meet Kate Middleton, Fergus, and Olivia before they moved in, but we didn’t ask to see Prince William because we assumed his credit rating was good. He demanded to meet us, she said.
Hope Street cost the Prince and Princess of Wales about £400 per month. William described their academic years in their engagement video. He stated, “We moved in together as friends because we were living together, we lived with a couple of others, it just sort of blossomed from there really.” “We saw more of each other, hung out more, and did stuff.”
William wanted to be romantic and cooked Kate dinner. She said “he would always come with a bit of angst and a bit of anger if something had gone wrong” and that she “would have to wander in and save something that was going.”
“When I was trying to impress Kate, I was trying to cook these amazing fancy dinners, and what would happen was I would burn something, something would overspill, something would catch on fire, and she would be sitting in the background trying to help, and basically taking control of the whole situation, so I was quite glad she was there,” William recalled
A former friend claims Kate Middleton lied about being Prince William’s girlfriend. The couple began as friends but seemed destined to be together. Laura Warshauer, who met William and Kate when she arrived at the Scottish school in 2001, told Fox News that they had a connection before the fashion show, which has always been seen as the start of their relationship.
Warshauer said the couple’s chemistry was clear before that and that Kate was part of a charity holding a date bid at a castle’s “Harry Potter-themed party”. According to their former buddy, William bid 200 pounds to take Kate out.
Warshauer remembered Kate’s calmness when she learned the future king had won the bidding, but not the date. Other times, Kate helped William avoid unpleasant conversations by pretending to be his girlfriend.
“I recall someone talking to Will… Kate’s former dormmate Laura Warshauer told Fox, “It was this girl at a birthday party.”
“He was polite, but he was clearly trying to escape. Kate walks across the room and embraces him. It allowed him to turn to this girl and say, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, I have a girlfriend.’ And he looks to Kate and says, ‘Thank you!’”
I found Will and Kate really down-to-earth.
She added: “That was so early in the year, I don’t think they were dating. They had just met and became friends. I recall thinking at the time that she did that so naturally.”
Both Laura and Kate studied art history at St Andrews and became friends. She said William and Kate had “instant chemistry” and “known each other forever.”
“My initial impression was that of someone beautiful inside and out,” she said. “I feel like that’s what the world has gotten to experience… I knew Will and Kate as incredibly down-to-earth, relatable folks that you could speak about anything with. The situation was disturbingly commonplace at the moment. All of us shared the dorm. They were extremely warm and compassionate. This was refreshing.”
Kate and Prince William were close friends with Warshauer. Like her female companion, the future king was welcoming, she said Fox.
Kate and I were supposed to take a taxi to the airport. Will gave Kate a ride, so I joined. Will said, “Laura, you can sing with the radio,” while the radio was on. Only one sings. The voice is yours.”
According to a friend, Prince William made individuals feel comfortable by asking about their music. We enjoyed a nice birthday supper. Will handed me this sweet Tesco heart backpack seal. I recall seeing how grounded and normal he was, which impressed me, Warshauer said. “When I returned from the US, I was carrying this huge luggage. I remember his politeness and normalcy in helping me get it to my dorm. He made people feel comfortable. He bought my first Jack and Coke in a tavern!”
William was already famous. So he knew any romance involving him would make the paparazzi drool. He wanted Kate and his relationship to remain private for as long as possible. However, that was more readily said than done.
Not wanting her to become the center of the media’s attention, William tried to help maintain Kate’s privacy for as long as possible. In the end, William was enraged when their connection became public.
William and Kate’s romance was revealed in April 2004. The now-Princess of Wales and her boyfriend were skiing with family when a webcam recorded them cuddling. William was furious when the pair’s photos appeared in British media the next day.
When his romance with Kate became public, Prince William was outraged.
On Channel 5’s William & Kate: Too Good To Be True, royal analyst Rebecca England said: “Unfortunately for them, a paparazzi photographer took pictures of William and Kate clearly very close on the ski lift together. Red top tabloids splashed it on their front pages.”
She added: “William was furious, and he was genuinely worried for Kate and her family about what this would mean for them.”
Prince William and Kate Middleton appeared an ideal match. Naturally, they met each other’s families as their love deepened. Kate went to Buckingham Palace, but William found it refreshing to see Kate’s parents at a smaller residence.
Their relationship appeared to end in 2007 when they parted. Luckily, their relationship resumed quickly. Kate’s mother, Carole, worried that William wouldn’t propose after a long relationship. Royal expert Katie Nicholl’s book Kate: The Future Queen states that Carole met with William secretly to learn his intentions.
“Perhaps the constant references to Waity Katie got to William,” Nicholl wrote. The prince may have heard his soon-to-be mother-in-law’s statements. Carole Middleton eagerly asked him when he would make her daughter an honest woman before Christmas 2009.
Prince William feared asking Kate’s father for her hand.
William proposed to Kate in Kenya as promised to Carole. William believed that a man should ask the bride’s father for her hand, as is customary. He told Michael, Kate’s father, after he proposed.
“Well, I was torn between asking Kate’s dad first and then the realization that he might actually say ‘no’ dawned upon me,” William told ITV News. I figured asking Kate first would make him not say no. I did it that way. I spoke to Mike immediately after it happened, and things kind of happened from there.”
Queen Elizabeth II had to approve William and Kate’s marriage. With that, the future prince urged Michael to keep their proposal a secret until she did. We all know the late queen said yes, and Prince William and Kate Middleton married at Westminster Abbey in 2011.
Over the years, Michael and Carole Middleton had grown close to William and attended their daughter’s wedding. For William, the Middletons weren’t just Kate’s parents. Since Princess Diana’s 1997 Paris automobile accident death, the prince had no mother figure.
William considers Kate Middleton’s mother a “second mother.”
He considered the Middletons family and Carole a second mother.
“Carole relieved William of such burdens by accepting him for who he was,” royal expert Angela Levin told The Sun. “She made him feel secure, comfortable, and protected, and he didn’t have to worry about his words or her emotions.”
William and Kate had Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis after marrying. William and Kate will be the monarchy’s next king and queen.
Their love story has lasted over twenty years, and hopefully there will be many more joyful days.