The Nickname Kate Middleton Was Saddled With Before Prince William Proposed

William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales' unusually long courtship inspired some harsh words from the media. The royal couple's paths first crossed all the way back in 2001 while they were both studying at St. Andrews University. During Prince William and Kate Middleton's ITV engagement interview, in 2011, the royal couple shared that it didn't take them long to become pals, and their platonic connection grew into love after about a year. In 2002, William and Kate went on to have a cringey first date that proved that even royals struggle with romance. 

About a year later, the happy couple decided to take the next step in their relationship and move out of the home they were living in with their friends and into their first place together. William and Kate managed to keep their romance under wraps until April 2004, when The Sun posted pictures of them on a ski trip in Switzerland. In the subsequent years, royal watchers and the media alike eagerly awaited the engagement announcement, but it was all to no avail. The press then branded the future princess "Waity Katie" to poke fun at her steady relationship status, per InStyle. 

Kate was only freed from that nickname in 2010, as William popped the question with his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales', engagement ring, which was a perfect fit for Kate. Speaking to ITV about their engagement, the prince offered some insight into his proposal, noting, "We'd been talking about marriage for a while, so it wasn't a massively big surprise, but I took her up somewhere nice in Kenya, and I proposed."

Prince William had plenty of reasons to wait nearly a decade before proposing to his girlfriend, Kate Middleton, both romantic and practical. In British photographer Arthur Edwards' article for The Sun, he recalled how the Prince of Wales informed him that he wanted to be absolutely certain that their marriage would stand the test of time before he got down on one knee. Meanwhile, in their ITV chat, William explained that he also wanted to give the Middleton family ample time to fully understand what life as a royal would be like and to give Kate enough room to call things off before the pressure mounted too. 

The prince also seemingly admitted that his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales', struggles with the spotlight factored into the decision to a certain extent by confirming, "I'm trying to learn from lessons done in the past." Although increased public scrutiny was reportedly one of the many reasons for Kate and William's brief split in 2007, the Princess of Wales still laughed off the idea of her wanting to end their relationship because of it. As she clarified, "I'm also glad that I've had the time to [...] grow and understand myself more as well." 

As the years went by, Kate learned to protect her peace from the media better. Speaking to Elle in 2023, royal biographer Omid Scobie asserted, "I'm told that [Kate] doesn't even read the news. She just stays out of the loop. That's clearly the way it works for her."