What William & Kate's Early Romance Was Really Like, According To Their Former Classmates
Netflix's "The Crown" gives viewers a not-fully-accurate glimpse into the life of the royal family. The show got some things wrong about William and Catherine, Prince and Princess of Wales' relationship. However, back in 2010, some people who knew William and Kate Middleton from their time in university shared their recollections of the royal couple.
William and Kate announced their engagement on November 16, 2010. A BBC America special about the couple premiering in December 2010 included details about their early relationship. ABC News shared quotes as a preview before the documentary's release. "I think he, he just took a shine to her, really," Jules Knight, a former classmate, said. He said William and Kate "spent a lot of time together and were very good friends for a long time, and I think that blossomed into something more." Knight believed Kate would do well as a royal.
During their school years, Rachel Humphreys and Kate were on the same study abroad trip. Humphreys had positive things to say about Kate from their time in Chile, which also seemed to fit royal standards: "She was extremely attractive, extremely popular, and she was a great member of the expedition. But she was always very in control of herself and impeccably behaved." Another former classmate spilled the story on how he believes William fell for Kate.
A bold fashion show look changed it all
William and Catherine, Prince and Princess of Wales were reportedly friends before they started dating, just as Jules Knight reported. One of William and Kate Middleton's school friends Ben Duncan spoke to E! News in 2011 prior to their wedding. He said the prince was "social" but "very low-key" and Kate was "very sporty" and involved with many campus activities. Duncan divulged that William and Kate would both visit the dining hall at 8 a.m. if they thought the other would be there. They'd sit with their respective friend groups, "but they would have noticed each other there, because not many people got up for breakfast at 8," Duncan said. He also talked about the charity event that changed everything.
"The moment in question, of course, is the Don't Walk fashion show," Duncan said. It took place in March 2002, near the end of the school year. Duncan continued: "I was there, and in person there were a lot of attractive girls. [Kate] was in a very daring dress, in a sheer stocking-like dress. [William] was sitting front row and his eyes were like stalks."
The dress was a see-through Charlotte Todd piece worn over a black bra and underwear. After seeing Kate in the look, William reportedly said, "Wow, Fergus, Kate's hot!" to his friend Fergus Boyd (via E! News). It was considered one of Kate's most inappropriate outfits, but it led to a happy ending.
William and Kate's wedding proved they were a modern couple
According to ABC News, the BBC America special on William and Catherine, Prince and Princess of Wales also included a quote on their early days from Justin Hughes. Hughes owned a bar that William and Kate Middleton visited as younger people. "She didn't seem to be trying too hard, she wasn't, you know, dressing up to the nines," Hughes said of Kate. "She was just a normal girl who got on well with her boyfriend."
On April 29, 2011, William and Kate got married. A report from CBS Evening News outlined how the couple were perhaps more casual than the royals that came before them, one example being how they drove off in King Charles III's Aston Martin for the adoring crowds to see. "Stuffy royals aren't supposed to do this sort of thing," reporter Mark Phillips said, "which is exactly the point." (He didn't mention how William drove with the handbrake on, though – one of many mishaps from the royal wedding.)
Phillips pointed out other examples from their wedding that showed a more casual kind of royal family, such as asides and smiles between William and Kate. He called them, "a thoroughly modern couple for a gradual modernizing monarchy." Royal expert Victoria Mather agreed, saying: "They perhaps symbolize the future, which is going to be a takeaway monarchy. They go get pizza, they sit in front of the television and watch movies, they're leading a modern life."