Kate Middleton Isn't The Only Woman William And Her Ex Henry Ropner Both Dated

Catherine, Princess of Wales has a lot in common with Prince William's ex Jecca Craig. That's mostly because they've dated two of the same men: the future king of England and a man named Henry Ropner. Prince William met Craig, an environmental conservationist, during his gap year back in 2000, according to Vanity Fair. Apparently, William was so serious about Craig at one point that they even had a "pretend engagement" at her family's Kenyan estate, per the Telegraph. It certainly was only a pretend one because everyone knows the real engagement happened with Kate Middleton.

That said, Prince William and Kate's relationship timeline is long enough to have a few episodes dedicated to it on "The Crown." But William and Kate did date a lot of different people before making sure that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives with one another. It's not very often that you end up dating a man your husband's ex-girlfriend also dated, but that's exactly what happened to Kate and Craig. If this sounds like a royal dating version of six degrees of separation, it's because it is.

Prince William had plenty of ex-girlfriends during his college years, and one of them happened to be Jecca Craig. She and Kate Middleton were never close, but they apparently dated within the same circle of friends back in the early 2000s. The two women both dated shipping heir Henry Ropner, who also happened to be one of Prince William's schoolmates at Eton. The Princess of Wales and Henry were spotted having some wild date nights only two months after she and William had pulled the plug on their relationship for a time in 2007. Interestingly enough, Jecca ended up spending some time with William after she split up with Henry, according to the Daily Mail.

How Prince William felt about Kate moving on with Henry no one knows, but royal expert Richard Compton Miller said at the time that despite their ups and downs, the future king still had his ex on his mind while he was dating other women. "I have no doubt William found it very difficult to replace Kate," Miller told the Mirror in 2010. "He inhabits a world where women are very impressed by his status — and they often throw themselves at him. It's quite hard to find a girl who is as beautiful as Kate and who has also got her feet on the ground."

While Kate certainly proved herself to be "the one" for William, Jecca wasn't left completely out of the royal picture. In fact, she's still very close with William.

Prince William and Jecca Craig's relationship might not have worked out, but that doesn't mean they didn't remain friends — this is where the prince's exes are now. In 2016, William traveled to Kenya to see Craig marry her Prince Charming, Jonathan Baillie. However, Kate Middleton did not attend the wedding as she stayed behind at home with the couple's two children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte. There was even some speculation at the time that William still had some sort of feelings for his ex, although that has never been proven to be true.

That said, Jecca also attended Prince William and Kate Middleton's royal wedding in 2011. As far as Henry Ropner is concerned, he married Natasha Sinclair the same year the Prince and Princess of Wales said their vows. One can only wonder what the conversation would look like if the royal couple and their exes all ended up in the same room together today. We bet the tea would be so hot that there wouldn't be time to scarf down the crumpets.