Kate William Love Story

[Verona Garrott]

Intheir first interview together with The Telegraph after their engagement in 2010, Kate said she "went bright red" and "scuttled off, feeling very shy" when she met the young prince for the first time.

"William wasn't there for quite a bit of the time initially, he wasn't there from Freshers' Week, so it did take a bit of time for us to get to know each other, but we did become very close friends from quite early on," she said.

"A switch had been flicked, he suddenly saw her in a different light, and I really believe that was the turning point in their relationship," Katie Nicholl, Vanity Fair's royal correspondent, said in the documentary.

"We were friends for over a year first and it just sort of blossomed from then on," William told The Telegraph. "We just spent more time with each other and had a good giggle [...] and realized we shared the same interests."

"He broke up with Kate because he's met someone else who's turned his head," an anonymous source told The Observer at the time. "She's from a decent background but is very naughty and he finds her much more exciting."

"I, at the time, wasn't very happy about it, but actually it made me a stronger person," Kate added. "You find out things about yourself that maybe you hadn't realized. I think you can get quite consumed by a relationship when you're younger."

"They are rarely bothered," an anonymous local source told Vanity Fair in 2016. "We are used to having royals in this part of the world. We often see them out with George and Charlotte, but no one takes pictures or tries to talk to them. That's why they love it here."

However, they still knew how to relax. In April 2017, William and Kate revealed they watch "Homeland" and "Game of Thrones" once the kids are asleep. They also order takeout when they watch TV, especially curry, Kate told Radio 1.

It was revealed in Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's 2021 Oprah interview that there was drama between Kate and Meghan leading up to the big day. Meghan claimed in the interview that Kate made her cry over a dispute over Princess Charlotte's flower girl dress.

"My grandfather was an extraordinary man and part of an extraordinary generation," he continued. "Catherine and I will continue to do what he would have wanted and will support The Queen in the years ahead. I will miss my Grandpa, but I know he would want us to get on with the job."

The image was noticeably more casual and intimate than other photos of the royals, especially of Prince William, who will presumably become king in his lifetime. Kate and William showed a rare display of affection by placing their hands on each other's knees.

While touring the Caribbean to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee, which marks her 70th anniversary on the throne, the royal couple was met with backlash and criticism, a distinct turn from past royal tours.

William and Kate canceled their first stop on the tour in Belize after locals organized protests around the couple's arrival and criticized the monarchy's colonial past. The couple was later met by protesters in Jamaica, who advocated for the United Kingdom to pay reparations as a result of the slave trade there. Jamaica is currently in the process of removing the Queen as its head of state, according to The Independent.

"Slavery was abhorrent and it never should have happened," William said in the speech that was sent to Business Insider by Kensington Palace. "I strongly agree with my father, the Prince of Wales, who said in Barbados last year that the appalling atrocity of slavery forever stains our history."

The royal family looked sharp in coordinating powder-blue outfits. It was their first time attending Easter services as a family unit. Prince Louis, the couple's youngest child who turned 4 on April 23, was not in attendance.

On August 22, palace officials announced that the royal family would move from their home at Kensington Palace in west London to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor, allowing them to be closer to Queen Elizabeth II.

Charles, the former Prince of Wales, became King Charles III on Thursday, September 8, when his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, passed away at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Prince William is now heir to the throne and is expected to ascend to the throne upon his father's death.

Prince William and other royal family members traveled to Balmoral to be with the Queen in her final hours. Kate remained in Windsor to see Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis off to their first day of school.

King Charles III announced in his first official address to the UK as reigning monarch that his son Prince William and Kate Middleton, formerly the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, would take on the titles of Prince and Princess of Wales.

Charles held the title for over six decades. When he married Princess Diana on July 29, 1981, she assumed the title of Princess of Wales. She is the most recent royal to hold the title. King Charles III's second wife, Camilla, held the title of Duchess of Cornwall before becoming Queen Consort.

"With Catherine beside him, our new Prince and Princess of Wales will, I know, continue to inspire and lead our national conservations, helping to bring the marginal to the center ground, where vital help can be given," the king said.

In the interview, Harry spoke about his fractured relationship with William and detailed an altercation at Kensington Palace in 2019 in which he said William knocked Harry to the ground during an argument concerning Meghan Markle. This accusation was also laid out in a leaked excerpt of Harry's upcoming autobiography.

"He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor. I landed on the dog's bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me," Harry wrote, according to a paragraph from the book published by The Guardian. "I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out."

"Wishing The Princess of Wales a very Happy Birthday today," the official royal family Instagram account, helmed by King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla, captioned a photo of Kate taken during a recent visit to Wales.

The family was photographed smiling and waving to onlookers. This marked the last time that Kate was photographed at an official royal engagement prior to announcing she had been diagnosed with cancer on March 22.

The palace said Kate's surgery was successful and that she was expected to remain under hospital care for 10 to 14 days, and then would return home to finish her recovery. The statement also announced that Kate would be suspending public engagements until likely after Easter.

"The Princess of Wales appreciates the interest this statement will generate. She hopes that the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normality for her children as possible; and her wish that her personal medical information remains private," the statement read.

The palace issued a statement on February 5 that King Charles had been diagnosed with cancer after having treatment for an enlarged prostate in January, at which point the cancer was discovered. The statement also said Charles would be refraining from "public-facing duties" following the diagnosis, per his medical advisors' advice.

"I'd like to take this opportunity to say thank you, also, for the kind messages of support for Catherine and for my father, especially in recent days," William said in a speech at the London Air Ambulance gala, People reported. "It means a great deal to us all."

"Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day," Kate captioned the photo, which was shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, and taken by Prince William.

However, within hours of news outlets reporting on the image, the Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse announced they would no longer distribute it over concerns it had been "manipulated."

On March 11, Kate released a statement apologizing for the photo, writing on X, "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused."

"'Photogate' is a PR disaster, no matter how you look at it," royal historian Marlene Koenig told Business Insider. "It's a major, major story, whether the fangirls like it or not. It's not about Kate being sick. It's not about Kate being a member of the royal family. It's about someone who manipulated a photograph to make it look better. Now there's definitely a lack of trust."

"Having William by my side is a great source of comfort and reassurance too. As is the love, support and kindness that has been shown by so many of you. It means so much to us both," Kate said in the video statement. "We hope that you will understand that, as a family, we now need some time, space and privacy while I complete my treatment."

After months of speculation, Kate went public with the news in March 2024, opening up about her private battle and how she and William have handled the situation with their three young children. And after six months away from the public eye, Kate made her triumphant return at the 2024 Trooping of the Colour looking radiant as ever.

The couple has more than a decade of marriage under their regal belts, share three kids -- Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis -- and are next in line to the British royal throne after King Charles III and Queen Camilla.

But when the Prince and Princess of Wales first met, they were two lovesick college students at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. They went from friends and roommates to longtime loves in a matter of years.

"We were friends for over a year first and it just sort of blossomed from then on," William shared in the couple's engagement interview with ITV years later. "We just spent more time with each other and had a good giggle, had lots of fun and realized we shared a lot of the same interests. She's got a really naughty sense of humor which kind of helps me."

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