Before romance blossomed for Prince William and Kate Middleton at St Andrews University in Scotland, the pair were good friends – and during this time Kate had a technique she used when looking out for William while in the student bars
Prince William gives Kate a peck on the cheek
It was more than 20 years ago that the Prince and Princess of Wales first laid eyes on each other as they studied together at university.
The pair both went to St Andrews University in Scotland and they quickly became firm friends as they threw themselves into student life. As part of being typical students, they started visiting some of the town’s famous haunts, where Kate reportedly often saw Prince William getting hit on by other girls while they were out partying together. Although they weren’t an item at the time, Kate was close to the prince – and she even came up with a clever trick to help him out when things got a bit awkward with members of the opposite sex.
Speaking to royal expert Katie Nicholl for her book Kate: The Future Queen, their friend Laura Warshauer said: “Will was getting really hit on by this girl at a party and it was getting quite uncomfortable because he couldn’t shake her off. He was being really polite, but this girl just didn’t get the hint. All of a sudden Kate came up behind him and put her arms around him. He said ‘Oh, sorry, but I’ve got a girlfriend’, and he and Kate went off giggling.”
William was very grateful for her help, and according to Laura, he mouthed “thanks so much” to her afterwards. She said: “Kate was the only girl in the room who could have done that. And that was just a month after we started university.” However, Kate and William didn’t stay friends for very long – that’s because their close bond eventually blossomed into romance.
The pair began dating – staying together throughout their university days and after their graduation. In 2007, Kate and William briefly split and sources later said the late Queen was disappointed by the break-up. But the split seemed to be short-lived as weeks later, William and Kate were seen kissing at an army party at barracks in Bovington, Dorset.
And in July 2007, Kate and her brother James were seen at the Concert for Diana, held at Wembley to mark 10 years since William’s mother Princess Diana’s death. It wasn’t long before their romance was confirmed to be back on, and Kate moved into William’s Clarence House flat, where he would return from military duties on Friday nights for cosy weekends together – and the rest they say is history. They’ve now been married for over 12 years and have three children – Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.