Kate Middleton and Prince William’s love story is one for the ages.
The Prince and Princess of Wales became close friends while studying at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, where they both studied Art History. Their friendship eventually blossomed into a romance, with the couple now married and sharing three children together.
However, Kate and William almost missed out on the chance of meeting. Kate had dreamt about studying at another university and was faced with a tough dilemma about her future.
Royal expert Katie Nicholl explained, “It seemed every girl in America wanted to come to St. Andrews to search out the prince. Kate would have read the papers. She would have known that William was going.”
Writing in her book Kate: The Future Queen, Nicholl said Kate was aware “there was every chance they could be in the same program at the same time if she got a place to study there.” Therefore, she had to choose between her dream of studying at The University of Edinburgh and the chance to meet her Mr Right.
Kate had been given an acceptance offer at The University of Edinburgh, which made her decision even harder. She eventually decided to decline the offer, take a gap year and go on to study at St Andrews University instead.
With Kate and William getting close at university, many fans believe this is where the two first met. However, Nicholl claimed they had actually met while Kate was still a student at Marlborough College.
She explained they met through mutual friends. Nicholl said, “[Kate’s friends] said, ‘Uh-uh, she didn’t meet him at St. Andrews, she met him before she got there, while she was at school during her sixth form through some of her friends’.”
The source added to Nicholl, “They knew Prince William and Prince Harry, so there wasn’t any meeting.” William spoke fondly of meeting Kate during their engagement interview in 2010.
“When I first met Kate, I knew there was something very special about her. I knew there was possibly something that I wanted to explore there,” he said.
