The Truth About William And Kate's Relationship

Prince William and Kate Middleton's love story is one of the most well-known in royal history, and few couples have gone through a more public courtship. From Kate's infamous see-through dress at the St. Andrews fashion show to their lavish royal wedding, the couple has had the world's eyes on them since the very beginning. There was even a Lifetime movie made about their romance! Nevertheless, William and Kate have remained pretty strong through all the attention, with the exception of a few blips early on.

After meeting at university, Kate and William soon developed an intimate friendship before they began dating. Soon, Kate was appearing as William's plus one at royal events. By 2010, they were engaged, and in 2011, they tied the knot. Since then, the pair have had three children and, for the most part, have wowed even the harshest royal critics with their poise, elegance, and tact at each and every public appearance.

But what really goes on between this royal couple? Are they really as perfect as they seem? Here is the truth about Kate and William's relationship.

Many Prince William and Kate Middleton fans will know that the couple first met while studying at the University of St. Andrews. However, as it turns out, this version of events is a little misleading. While their friendship did begin at university, Kate and William actually met many years before their studies began.

According to the royal biographer Kate Nicholls, the pair first crossed paths in 1991, when William was still in prep school. Apparently, William's school had come to Kate's school for a match of hockey. While Kate wasn't interested in William romantically at the time — she was just 9 years old, after all — she reportedly found his visit extremely exciting. Nicholls wrote, "It was the first time Kate had set eyes on the young prince, but certainly not the last" (via The Sun). What a sweet story! We wonder which team won the match.

Most fans of Prince William and Kate Middleton will already know the infamous tale of Kate's see-through dress. As the story goes, Kate was taking part in a fashion show at the university, when she captured the prince's attention while walking the runway in a very revealing dress. As the royal expert Revecca English said, "Urban myth suggests he said to his friend, 'Wow, Kate's hot'" — not exactly the romantic meeting many royal fans would have hoped for (via Express)!

However, as it turns out, there may be a little more to the story. According to royal biographer Katie Nicholl, William first met Kate prior to the fashion show during their first semester, when he introduced himself to her while she was on her morning run (via CheatSheet). Apparently, he invited her to eat with him and his friends, and as they were both in relationships with other people at the time, they became friends. So when the fashion show rolled around, William already knew Kate as a friend; however, it may be true that the notorious see-through dress made William see Kate differently.

Prince William and Kate Middleton — who's undergone a stunning transformation — continued to become closer friends before they eventually started dating. According to royal experts, their relationship really started to blossom when they lived together in their second year. As William said in an interview with Sky News, "We moved in together as friends and then because we were living together... it sort of blossomed from there."

William went on to explain how their relationship developed slowly during this period. "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 fire," he recalled. Oops!

Apparently, Kate was pretty hard to win over and wanted to remain friends at first — she even pulled away when William tried to kiss her at a party. Still, it sounds like their strong foundation of friendship actually ended up being a good thing in the long run. As William said, "I do generally believe now that being friends with one another is a massive advantage."

After graduating from St. Andrews, Prince William and Kate Middleton's relationship changed. As William had to return to his royal duties, Kate had to become a more public girlfriend. And while William began his officer training at Sandhurst, Kate began working at her parents' company as a party planner. By this point, the couple's relationship was public knowledge, as they'd been photographed on a skiing trip together in 2004 (via Grazia). So, it came as no surprise when Kate began appearing at various royal events.

In 2006, Kate was present at William's passing out parade at Sandhurst. It was her first royal appearance and, as the Daily Mail reported, her presence caused quite a stir, fueling rumors of an impending marriage. Kate and William also attended the wedding of William's step-sister, Laura Parker Bowles that same year (via Hola!). It's clear that during this period, Kate and William were going strong, even though their lives had taken such different paths.

Even though Prince William and Kate Middleton had a strong foundation in friendship, their romantic relationship wasn't always smooth sailing. In fact, they broke up briefly during their early years. According to the book Battle of Brothers by Robert Lacey, the 2007 break up actually took place over the phone. Apparently, Kate was at work when he called to discuss their future — and by the end of the phone call, they'd called things off (via Mirror).

While Kate admitted to being upset at the time in her engagement interview with Sky News, she refused to mope around after the breakup. In fact, she set off on holiday just days after (via Express). As Kate told Sky News, the breakup ended up being a pretty good thing. "You find out things about yourself that maybe you hadn't realized," she explained. "I think you can get quite consumed by a relationship when you are younger." Kate even added that she "valued" their time apart.

While the breakup was William's idea, he reportedly changed his mind pretty quickly. According to Lacey's book, the Prince missed Kate and the couple were reunited.

While Prince William and Kate Middleton shared a student house at St. Andrews, they didn't move into their first home together as a couple until 2010. Of course, it was a sign that things were more serious than ever. According to The Guardian, William and Kate chose a cottage in north Wales near the Prince's RAF base. As the Daily Mail reported, the cottage had four bedrooms and a quaint whitewashed exterior. According to the locals, William and Kate enjoyed a relatively normal way of life in the village.

Apparently, William and Kate used to enjoy the garden and gas-fired barbecue in the summer. Additionally, one local recalled seeing William jogging near the farm. "He would wave and say hello," he recalled. The couple even went to a fancy dress party at the local cinema to watch Toy Story 3. It sounds like William and Kate enjoyed a normal, slow-paced rural lifestyle during this period of their lives.

After eight years of dating, Prince William finally proposed to Kate Middleton in 2010 while the couple were on a trip to Kenya. According to The Telegraph, the couple were in a "rustic and ultra-private cabin at the time." In a speech at a 2020 Buckingham Palace Reception, William opened up about the planning that went into the proposal. As he explained, he chose Kenya because it "holds a very special place in my heart," he revealed. "It is the place my father took my brother and me shortly after our mother died." As he explained, it seemed like a meaningful place to pop the question (via Town & Country).

In another meaningful nod to the past, William used his mother's ring for his proposal. As he told ITV, "This is my way of keeping her sort of close to it all." Of course, as Kate's biographer Claudia Joseph noted in the documentary From Student to Royal Princess, their engagement could not have been more different to that of William's parents. After all, Prince Charles and Princess Diana hardly knew each other at the time.

On Friday, April 29, 2011, Kate Middleton walked down the aisle at Westminster Abbey and tied the knot with Prince William. It was a huge affair, with the date being declared a national holiday in the UK. According to The Telegraph, 24 million British people tuned in to watch the televised ceremony — and they certainly got quite the spectacle!

The lavish royal wedding featured a stunning Alexander McQueen wedding dress, a vintage Rolls Royce, and of course, plenty of fascinator-clad royals (via Hello!). To that end, it comes as no surprise that the extravagant wedding wasn't exactly cheap. In fact, according to CBS News, it was one of the most expensive royal weddings of all time, costing around $34 million; the dress alone is said to have cost $434,000! 

Even though the royals splashed out on their big day, Kate reportedly did her own makeup. As her wedding planner Mark Niemierko told People at the time, a makeup artist gave Kate a few lessons in preparation.

Even though royals are expected to be pretty much perfect at all times, they're only human — a fact made evident by Kate Middleton's horrible experience of morning sickness during her pregnancies. In fact, Kate's first pregnancy in 2012 had to be revealed to the public as her illness was so bad (via Express).

In 2020, Kate spoke on the Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast about her experience. "I was really sick," she recalled. "It was definitely a challenge, not just for me but also for your loved ones around you." Kate went on to explain that for Prince William, it was especially difficult. "William didn't feel he could do much to help, and it's hard for everyone to see you suffering without actually being able to do anything about it," she continued (via ABC News). It sounds like the couple both struggled through Kate's pregnancy — but even if William couldn't do much to help, it's clear that he offered emotional support to his wife.

After the birth of their first child, Prince William and Kate Middleton set off on a royal tour of Australia and New Zealand. As the BBC reported, the tour was quite the success, with the couple spending time at a play center, at a wine tasting, and on a speed boat tour, and meeting with victims of wildfires. Apparently, Prince George frequently stole the spotlight. He even gave his first royal wave as he arrived in New Zealand (via Sky News)!

Interestingly, the tour marked a moment of symmetry. The trip marked George's first royal tour — and when William was a baby, he'd also travelled to Australia with his parents on his first royal tour. In fact, Kate and William followed in Prince Charles and Princess Diana's footsteps, traveling to famous sites like Ayer's Rock (via Harper's Bazaar).

More than fulfilling the royal requirement to produce "an heir and a spare," Kate Middleton went on to have two more children with Prince William: Princess Charlotte was born in 2015, and Prince Louis was born in 2018.

By the looks of things, the royal couple have an excellent relationship with their kids, and couldn't be happier. As William said in a documentary, (via Today), "Having children is the biggest life changing moment, it really is." He went on to explain that having children was also overwhelming, as he didn't have his mother there to help him, even though he and Kate "support each other" through parenthood.

For Kate, motherhood is all about using personal experiences as inspiration. "I have an amazing Granny who devoted a lot of time for us," she said on the Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast (via ITV News). She explained that she also tries to devote a lot of time to her children, just as her grandmother had done for her. It's clear that Kate is passionate about promoting good parenting. Apparently, she even started a survey to get people talking about parenting more.

Unlike royals of the past, Prince William and Kate Middleton were keen to give their children a relatively normal life. As the Express reported, traditionally, royals sent their children away for school and rarely showed them affection in public. However, as parenting expert Mariyah Hafesji told the publication, Kate and William have a different approach. "Despite Kate coming from a privileged background, it is important to her and William to give their children as much of a 'normal life' as possible," she said.

Hafesji also explained that Kate and William encourage laughter and other forms of emotional expression, even at public appearances. Kate is even known to kneel by her children in public to comfort them. "Hugs are very important," she once told a fan. "That's what I tell my children" (via Hello! magazine). It sounds like she and William is committed to raising their children without too much royal protocol — and we couldn't be more impressed!

Not only do Prince William and Kate Middleton make an effort to treat their children like normal kids, they also make an effort to be more relatable than their royal predecessors. For instance, after the birth of their first child, Prince George, William was seen dealing with the car seat – not a job that most royals would stoop to!

In another instance, William and Kate admitted to enjoying a good takeout meal. Speaking to BBC Radio 1, the royals revealed that "when the kiddies are in bed," the couple will settle down to a box set. And yes, they are "absolutely" allowed to indulge in take-out. William even confessed, "It's a real conundrum when it comes to a pizza, curry, or Chinese." Kate then chimed in, "You do struggle for choice sometimes." Of course, Kate and William need to pick up their food rather than have it delivered to the palace. Talk about a relatable couple!

The coronavirus pandemic of 2020 had an impact on just about everyone — even Prince William and Kate Middleton. In fact, William actually contracted the virus in April; his father, Prince Charles, was also diagnosed with coronavirus. Fortunately, Kate and the children didn't test positive. However, the experience was tough for the whole family. "William was hit pretty hard by the virus," a source told The Sun. "It really knocked him for six." Apparently, William even struggled for breath at one point. 

However, William kept his COVID diagnosis secret, and even continued with his virtual engagements. As the New Zealand Herald pointed out, this would have been an incredibly difficult time for Kate, too, who was shouldering the responsibility of representing the royal family.

Later in the year, as the Daily Mail reported, William and Kate began to recommence their in-person engagements, thanking the country's key workers for their response to the virus. As one source said, they were "itching to get out and about." It's clear that the couple take their royal duties incredibly seriously, even in a pandemic!