How did Kate Middleton and Prince William really meet?

The seventh episode of The Crown's sixth season features a pivotal moment where Kate Middleton, then just a young girl, encounters Prince William and his mother Princess Diana. They are collecting donations for underprivileged people on a London street. Kate's mother, portrayed by Eve Best, hands her a few pounds and encourages her to join the crowd. Princess Diana approaches the preteen and inquires about her name. Kate's mother steps in and responds, revealing her name as Catherine. Later that day, Kate cuts out pictures of Prince William and decorates her bedroom walls with them.

In the following scenes, there is a time shift of a few years. Prince William is holding a press conference where he declares that he will attend St. Andrews University in Scotland. When a journalist inquires if he considered Edinburgh, he responds that he did but St. Andrews is a better option because it is in proximity to Balmoral. Later on, he reveals that he will take a one-year break to participate in a Raleigh International initiative in Chile. At the same time, Carole Middleton becomes engrossed in watching him speak on her TV from her residence.

When Prince William entered his first St. Andrews class and went to take a seat, the camera shifted its focus to Kate Middleton, also known as Meg Bellamy, who was seated a few rows ahead of him.

In the remaining part of the episode, the two individuals are seen constantly interacting with each other in various settings. For instance, Kate can be seen swimming in the pool lane beside William, and they also jog alongside each other on campus. William is even seen asking his protection officer if Kate smiled at him during one of these interactions. Additionally, Kate has the books that William needs at the library. However, despite these frequent interactions, they do not start dating immediately. Instead, they both go on to date other students for several months.

In the blog, it is mentioned how Kate, a character from Bellamy's story, detects a feeling of disappointment from her mother when she introduces her boyfriend. Kate takes the initiative to confront her mother and reminds her of how she had influenced her choices in the past regarding her education and university. Kate accuses her mother of manipulating her decisions to be with William. Carole, the mother, defends herself saying that Kate had expressed liking for William.

When all is said and done, The Crown is a work of fiction that is based on history. Nevertheless, its storylines frequently bear a striking resemblance to actual events. With regards to the love story of Prince William and Kate Middleton, what is the true story of how they met? Was it as meticulously planned out as depicted in the show? Or is it all simply exaggerated drama for television?

In 2010, when they were engaged, the couple spoke to ITV's Tom Bradby about how they met. They both agreed that they met during their first year at St. Andrews University in Scotland. William couldn't remember the exact moment they met, but Kate told Bradby that she was so embarrassed that she turned red and quickly left when she met the young prince. William noticed Kate as soon as he arrived on campus, and she was considered the most beautiful girl in their class.

As they kept crossing paths in class (since they were both taking art history) and were often seen at Sally's, Kate and William realized they shared a few interests, such as swimming and skiing. Shortly after, they started having breakfast with their university buddies.

In The Crown, Meg Bellamy portrays Kate Middleton, who is seen admiring Ed McVey's representation of Prince William.

It took a while before William and Kate started their romance. At the beginning of the school year, William had two love interests, Carley Massy-Birch and Arabella Musgrave, whom he had feelings for since a long time. Kate, on the other hand, was seeing a very attractive and sought-after fourth-year student called Rupert Finch, who was known as the most desirable catch at St. Andrews, according to Tatler magazine.

The moment that made a difference? There was a charity fashion show organized by students in March 2002, similar to what was shown in The Crown. William bought a ticket worth 200 pounds to sit in the front row. When Kate appeared on the runway wearing a transparent tube dress designed by Charlotte Todd, the young prince was impressed. He whispered to a friend, "Kate looks amazing!"

In a separate book written by Nicholl, titled "Kate: The Future Queen" which was published in 2013, an acquaintance by the name of Andrew Sands recollects witnessing the two individuals in question engaging in intimate behavior at a social gathering. Sands claims to have seen them sharing a kiss at the conclusion of the event. They were at the corner of the living room and it was difficult to properly observe them due to the dim lighting and the loud music. Despite this, it is widely known among the residents of St. Andrew's that something had transpired between them.

There's a big contrast between reality and the show "The Crown." Contrary to the series, Kate was not the one who made the first move on William. As per Nicholl's sources, other attendees at the party disclosed that Kate backed off, potentially due to her concerns about Rupert or the potential rumors that could follow such a public display of affection. This same narrative was shared in Tina Brown's book, "The Palace Papers," which was published in 2022 and centered on the House of Windsor.

Although there was a strong attraction between them, it took a few months before they decided to make their relationship official. In their second year at St. Andrews, they shared an apartment with a couple of classmates. Their playful friendship quickly evolved into a serious romance. According to William's interview with ITV, they initially moved in as friends but ended up spending more time together and doing things together. This eventually led to the blossoming of their relationship.

The question of whether Carole Middleton encouraged her daughter to pursue Prince William is not a simple one. During the mid-2000s, the British newspapers often portrayed the Middletons as social climbers trying to gain an advantage. Carole, who used to work as a flight attendant, was the target of many cruel and classist comments. For example, an anonymous source ridiculed her in the Daily Mail in 2007, saying that she was pushy, rather twee, and incredibly middle-class, and used words such as pleased to meet you, toilet, and pardon. According to the newspapers, Kate and Pippa, who were from a middle-class background, were dubbed the Wisteria Sisters by aristocratic circles. (Wisteria is a beautiful and fast-growing plant.) In her book, Brown talked about how Kate, Carole, and the rest of the Middleton family were treated by the tabloids, stating that "Her family came under scrutiny with barely veiled sneers about her mother's lower-middle-class origins."

Despite what was portrayed in The Crown, it is indeed true that Kate changed universities from the University of Edinburgh to St. Andrews. Jasper Selwyn, the career counselor at Middleton's boarding school, informed Nicholl that she was originally accepted into the former university. It may not have been a well-planned move, as suggested by the show. In 2000, when Prince William decided to attend St. Andrews, a small Scottish university, Kate withdrew from the University of Edinburgh and reapplied to St. Andrews which was located 50 miles away. Andrew Neil, a former rector at St. Andrews, mentioned that it is normal for students to apply to both universities and choose between them at the last minute, usually based on where their friends are going.

Instead, Kate chose to take a break from her studies and travel for a year. She decided to start her journey by studying the history of art in Florence before heading to Chile. Coincidentally, William had also attended the same program in South America just a few weeks before Kate. We can't determine if this was a coincidence or a planned strategy. However, Brown noted that Kate seemed to have a talent for popping up in William's life unexpectedly, much like the character Zelig.

Apart from a short period of time after finishing university where they went their separate ways, the pair were incredibly close for the following ten years. They made a public declaration of their intention to marry in 2010, and the rest, as they say, is history - royal history, that is.

The initial presentation of this piece was on the website Vogue.com.

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