Prince William and Kate Middleton had been married for almost a decade now. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge share three young children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis after tying the knot in 2011.
Although Prince William and Kate Middleton may be celebrating their ninth wedding anniversary this month, they have known each other much longer than that. The older son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana met commoner Kate at school when they both attended St. Andrews University.
Prince William and Kate Middleton struck up a friendship, but romance was not on their minds because the latter was in a relationship with Rupert Finch. But when the gorgeous brunette and her boyfriend broke up, the Prince was willing to take their friendship to the next level.
“William and Kate were no more than friends and it was in that capacity that they started living together in 2002, with two others, away from the university's own student accommodation,” journalist Oliver Marre said. “Kate was going out with a bloke called Rupert Finch. Soon afterward, though, they split up and I remember William saying that he thought he might ‘have a go.’”
Although Prince William and Kate Middleton only saw each other as pals at the beginning of their friendship, one particular moment made the Duke of Cambridge realize that this tall, beautiful brunette could be the one for him.
Kate Middleton was one of the models in a charity fashion show called “Don’t Walk.” Prince William, along with his friends, attended the event without any expectation, not knowing that this day will change his life forever.
“[Kate Middleton] did the walk, she caught William’s eye and it was like something had just got off in his brain,” royal expert Katie Nicholl said. “He suddenly noticed that this rather cute and charming girl who he’d got to know over lectures and breakfast was actually a real hotty.”
Prince William and Kate Middleton then began dating in 2003 and got married in 2011. While their romance appeared to be straight out of a fairytale, the pair did have their share of misunderstandings, which led them to break things off in 2007. Although their relationship ended up in a positive note, reports revealed that Kate was very upset during their break up.
Kate Middleton admitted that the break up was hard for her, but revealed that she learned a lot from it. "At the time, I wasn't very happy about it, but it made me a stronger person. I valued that time, for me as well, although I didn't think it at the time,” she said.
