Kate Middleton had to be subjected to an "audition" before she became the Duchess of Cambridge and a royal expert has claimed Prince William took his sweet time to plunge into marriage because he had to be certain of his partner and future consort.
According to royal expert Robert Lacey, there were talks that Prince William took a while to propose to Kate because he was auditioning his future wife for the role of a lifetime. His marriage to Kate is far from a typical union because William knew that he had to pick well as he will need his wife to be supportive of his future job as the king.
Lacey said that while Kate wanted to be assured of William's commitment to their relationship, he wasn't ready to get engaged. So, the couple decided to split in 2007 after a significant number of years of dating.
However, the couple found themselves back in each other's arms a few months after their break-up. Slowly, Kate embraced her role and was receiving advice from the palace, including Queen Elizabeth. It was the queen who told her to focus on her charity work with children.
But according to a report from Hello, Middleton almost did not get a chance to meet William in college had she chosen a different school. She got in at the University of Edinburgh first but then changed her mind and decided to attend St. Andrew's University, where William has been studying for almost a year. Sources did not say why Kate changed her college plans as her adviser at her previous school was certain she would go to Edinburgh.
Prince William and his future wife would have had a chance to meet earlier as well during their gap years. The Duke of Cambridge had been spending his gap year in Chile by doing volunteer charity work and Kate was also part of a program that brought her to the South American country just weeks after the royal left.
Nevertheless, William and Kate's paths did cross at St. Andrew's in 2001 and they were cordial acquaintances. Things changed, however, when William saw Kate model on stage for a project in school. A friend said that the royal could not help but remark at how "hot" Kate looked. In college, the two also boarded together with some school friends and generally tried to live a very normal life as a student.
Sources said that William fell deeply in love with his future wife because of her sense of humor. The royal also loved how Kate was interested in sports and the outdoors.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will celebrate their 10-year wedding anniversary this April.
