Kate Middleton and Prince William's Relationship Timeline: How They Went From College Roommates to Celebrating 14 Years of Marriage

Yahoo

29-04-2025

It's been 14 years since Prince William and Kate Middleton's royal wedding!
The Prince and Princess of Wales met in 2001 when they were students at St. Andrews University. During the couple's now-famous 2010 engagement interview with ITV News, William said that he "knew there was something very special" about Kate from the moment they met.
The pair were friends at first, but soon began dating, only to split shortly after. They didn't stay apart for long, though, and rekindled their romance in the summer of 2007. Three years later, Kate and William publicly announced their engagement — and got married at Westminster Abbey in London on April 29, 2011.
They welcomed their first child, son Prince George, in 2013. The royal family expanded in 2015 with the birth of Princess Charlotte, followed by Prince Louis in 2018. In March 2024, Kate announced that she had been diagnosed with cancer, and while it was "incredibly tough" on their family, she said that having William by her side brought her "a great source of comfort and reassurance."
Now, the pair are celebrating their 14th wedding anniversary, several months after Kate announced she was in remission. During an interview in November 2024, William reflected on his "brutal" year, but said that he was "proud" of how Kate handled her cancer journey.
From the early days of their relationship to their work as royals, here's a complete timeline of Prince William and Kate Middleton's relationship.
Kate and William first laid eyes on each other while studying at St. Andrews University. According to the Princess of Wales, it took some time for the two to get to know each other, in part due to her bashfulness.
"I think you said I actually went bright red when I met you and sort of scuttled off," she recounted to William during their 2010 engagement interview. "[I was] feeling very shy about meeting you."
William added that he and Kate remained "very close friends" for about a year, until it "sort of blossomed."
As the pair spent more and more time together, the prince said they found commonalities between them.
"[We] realized we shared the same interests," he explained. "[We] just had a really good time."
Kate and William's relationship quickly progressed, and the two began living with each other and friends Fergus Boyd and Olivia Bleasdale in a four-bedroom apartment near the town center. A friend of Middleton's said she didn't see the arrangement as being a "big deal," noting, "He has a large circle of friends, and she is just one of them."
William later spoke of their early days as roommates during the pair's engagement interview, explaining that they "moved in together as friends."
"We lived with a couple of others, as well, and it just sort of blossomed from there, really, we just saw more of each other, hung out a bit more and did stuff," he said.
William's view of Kate reportedly took a turn when the art student strutted her stuff in a college fashion show titled "The Art of Seduction" while wearing a see-through frock with a black bra and underwear beneath designed by classmate Charlotte Todd.
"Everyone says that the fashion show was when the romance started, so a small part of me will always be part of royal history," Todd later told PEOPLE, adding, "It's madness!"
The couple moved out of their four-bedroom apartment and into a place of their own in 2003. William took the opportunity to cook for his future bride (or at least attempt to).
"When I was trying to impress Kate, I was trying to cook these amazing fancy dinners, and all that would happen was, I would burn something, something would overspill, something would catch on fire, and she'd be sitting in the background just trying to help and [then] taking control of the whole situation," he said in the ITV interview.
As for the dish, Kate revealed in a 2019 Christmas special that it was "like Bolognese sauce and things like that."
After roughly a year of keeping their relationship under wraps, The Sun published photos of Kate and William looking extra-cozy on the slopes at Klosters Ski Resort in Switzerland in April 2004.
A friend of the pair's confirmed to PEOPLE at the time that their romance had "been going on for a bit. She is his girlfriend," they added.
Kate was on hand to cheer her boyfriend on as he graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Her presence was significant, as it marked her first royal event (the Queen was also in attendance), and sparked engagement rumors.
It wasn't Kate's first encounter with the royal family. While it's unclear exactly when she and King Charles first crossed paths, the duchess revealed in the ITV interview that their meeting was a pleasant one.
"I was quite nervous about meeting William's father but he's very, very welcoming and very friendly, so it couldn't have gone easier, really, for me," she said.
After five years of dating, PEOPLE confirmed that Kate and William had decided to go their separate ways in April 2007, with a source saying that the split was "amicable."
While reports at the time stated that Kate was struggling with the media attention surrounding their relationship and that they were growing apart amid their separate careers (Kate's as an accessories buyer for Jigsaw and William's as an armored corps commander trainee), William later told ITV that it was "just a bit of space."
"We did split up for a bit, but that was just, we were both very young, it was at university, and we were both sort of defining ourselves as such and being different characters and stuff," he said of their time apart. "It was very much trying to find our own way and we were growing up."
Two months after the pair made headlines with their split, reports surfaced that the prince had reconnected with his former flame at a party at his army barracks in Bovington, Dorset, during which they reportedly shared a passionate kiss. She was also said to be invited to a memorial concert for his mother at Wembley Stadium the following week.
"It's true that they have been seeing each other," a source confirmed to PEOPLE at the time, with another adding, "The spark is still there."
William popped the question in a cabin hut roughly 11,000 feet above sea level on the side of Mount Kenya in Africa. The prince shared details from the special moment with ITV News in the 2010 engagement interview.
"It was about three weeks ago, on holiday in Kenya," he shared. "We had a little private time away together with some friends, and I just decided that it was the right time, really. We'd been talking about marriage for a while, so it wasn't a massively big surprise, but I took her up somewhere nice in Kenya, and I proposed."
According to Kate, the moment was "very romantic," and for good reason: As William shared, he'd been planning it for some time. "It just felt really right to ask in Africa, beautiful time, and I had done a little bit of planning of sorts to share my romantic side," he shared.
William proposed with his late mother Princess Diana's ring — and made sure to take special care of it for the three weeks he carried it around.
"I literally would not let it go, everywhere I went I was keeping hold of it, 'cause I knew this thing, if it disappeared I'd be in a lot of trouble," he said.
In mid-November 2010, the couple announced their engagement.
"The Prince of Wales is delighted to announce the engagement of Prince William to Miss Catherine Middleton," the official statement read. "The wedding will take place in the Spring or Summer of 2011, in London. Further details about the wedding day will be announced in due course."
The announcement also included details about the circumstances surrounding the couple's big moment. "Prince William and Miss Middleton became engaged in October during a private holiday in Kenya," the statement continued. "Prince William has informed The Queen and other close members of his family. Prince William has also sought the permission of Miss Middleton's father."
As Princess Diana had done before her, Kate took a royal walkabout in Wales with her husband-to-be, completing her very first royal duty.
There, she chatted with the locals, sang along with the Welsh national anthem and poured champagne on the Hereford Endeavor lifeboat that the couple named during their visit.
Just ahead of their nuptials, Queen Elizabeth bestowed Dukedom on her grandson and her granddaughter-in-law, who became a duchess, as announced by the palace on their wedding day.
"The Queen has today been pleased to confer a Dukedom on Prince William of Wales," the announcement read. "His titles will be Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus. William thus becomes His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge, and Miss Catherine Middleton on marriage will become Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge."
The couple's much-anticipated nuptials took place on April 29, 2011, at Westminster Abbey in London. At the time, PEOPLE hailed it as the "greatest and grandest royal affair" since the King and Princess Diana's 1981 wedding.
Prince Harry served as his brother's best man, with both dressing in traditional military uniforms. Meanwhile, Kate stunned in a French Chantily and English Cluny lace Alexander McQueen by Sarah Burton gown with a skirt, complete with padded hips, that was made to look like an opening flower.
Attended by a crowd of 1,900 (plus more well-wishers cheering for the couple outside), the affair's mood was jovial: "There was a swell of smiles and laughter when the cheers came from outside," attendee Kate Wright said of the wedding. "The congregation almost wanted to join in the cheering."
Following their vows, the newlyweds rode through the streets of London in a 109-year-old State Landau carriage to Buckingham Palace, where they shared not one, but two now-famous kisses on the balcony before driving off in an 1969 Aston Martin convertible.
Kate later changed into a second white strapless evening gown (also by Burton) for a dinner hosted by the King with roughly 300 guests in attendance.
Following a week of post-nuptial work, the newlyweds jet-setted off on their official honeymoon. Officials would not confirm the locale at the time, but reports surfaced of the duo taking a private jet to Seychelles in the Indian Ocean.
PEOPLE reported that the royal couple completed their move into their new home at Kensington Palace in July 2011, which consisted of a two-bedroom, single bathroom apartment. By November, they had made plans to relocate to a larger apartment on the grounds described as "the size of a small mansion," though it would first need major renovations due to asbestos.
Not only were the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on hand to cheer on the Queen's oldest granddaughter, Zara Philips, they got caught up in the excitement of the crowd, joining in on the wave.
The royal duo had exciting news to share in December 2012 when it was announced that they were expecting their first child. "Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting a baby," a statement for the couple read.
It continued, "The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Harry and members of both families are delighted with the news."
That same day, Kate was admitted to the hospital with pregnancy-related illness, for which she would receive treatment for the next four days.
Prince George Alexander Louis, more formerly known as Prince George of Wales, was born at 4:24 p.m. on July 22, 2013 following a natural, 14-hour delivery.
"It's been a wonderful day and everyone's delighted," a palace source said at the time.
The little prince, who weighed in at 8 pounds, 6 ounces, made his world debut on the steps of St. Mary's Hospital in the arms of his mother, who looked lovely in a blue polka-dot short-sleeve frock by Jenny Packham.
"It's very emotional," she said. "It's a moment that any parent having just given birth will know what this feeling feels like."
The pair had more exciting news to share with the world on Sept. 8, 2014: George would soon become a big brother.
"Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting their second child," the announcement read. "The Queen and members of both families are delighted with the news."
Despite their happiness, however, Kate once again needed medical care due to her illness.
"As with her first pregnancy, the duchess is suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum," the statement explained, noting that she would be unable to attend a previously planned engagement with William. "The Duchess is being treated by doctors at Kensington Palace."
On May 2, 2015, the couple's family grew by one with the addition of a baby girl. "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a daughter at 8.34 a.m.," the palace announced on X.
The palace also issued a more traditional statement on the 8-pound, 3-ounce baby's arrival, stating, "The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Harry and members of both families have been informed and are delighted with the news."
A hospital insider told PEOPLE that the baby's delivery went "extremely well," and that the couple celebrated their newborn's birth with champagne.
Nearly 10 hours later, the couple introduced their royal bundle to the world on the steps of St. Mary's Hospital, with Kate looking stunning in a breezy yellow Jenny Packham gown with a buttercup print. "We're very happy, very happy," William said.
The couple named their newborn "Charlotte Elizabeth Diana" in honor of William's late mother.
William presented a BAFTA Fellowship award to Mel Brooks at the 2017 British Academy Film Awards. Kate walked the red carpet alongside her husband at the event in an off-the-shoulder Alexander McQueen tiered floral gown.
The royals revealed that Kate was once again pregnant in early September. "Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting their third child," the official statement from Kensington Palace read, adding, "​​The Queen and members of both families are delighted with the news."
The family of four expanded to five on April 23, 2018. "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a son at 1101hrs," a statement announcing the birth of Kate and William's third child — the fifth in the line of succession — read. "The baby weighs 8 pounds 7 ounces. The Duke of Cambridge was present for the birth."
Keeping with tradition, the couple made their first official appearance with their baby boy seven hours later on the steps at St. Mary's, with Kate in a red Jenny Packham gown with a lacy Peter Pan collar.
Named Louis Arthur Charles, the baby's name was a likely nod to William's grandfather, the late Prince Philip, and Philip's grandfather, Prince Louis Alexander of Battenberg. It is also a part of Prince William's full name of William Arthur Philip Louis.
The couple joined the prince and Meghan Markle on their wedding day at their nuptials at St. George's Chapel in Windsor, England.
"William was in a jokey, wonderful mood at the party," a wedding guest told PEOPLE of the Duke of Cambridge. Kate was also in good spirits, with the guest adding, "She was [in] great form. She and William were saying how thrilled they were to have their children there taking part."
With the royals feeling the restraints of COVID-19, the duke and duchess gave a rare joint interview via video call to the BBC in April 2020, during which they talked about homeschooling their children throughout the pandemic.
"It's been ups and downs, like a lot of families self-isolating," Kate said. "The children have got such stamina, I don't know how. Honestly, you get to the end of the day and you write down the list of all the things that you've done in that day. So, you pitch a tent, take the tent down again, cook, bake. You get to the end of the day — they have had a lovely time — but it is amazing how much you can cram into one day, that's for sure."
For their 10th anniversary, Kate and William shared two new portraits by photographer Chris Floyd that showcased them cuddled up and laughing at their home, Kensington Palace.
They also shared a video with their brood enjoying some family time in Norfolk, England, as shot by Will Warr. In the footage, they can be seen helping their children walk through the dunes and sharing a laugh together. They thanked the public in the caption of the post, writing, "​​Thank you to everyone for the kind messages on our wedding anniversary. We are enormously grateful for the 10 years of support we have received in our lives as a family."
On June 23, the couple stopped by the University of Cambridge's Fitzwilliam Museum where they viewed their first official joint portrait as it was revealed to the public for the first time.
The piece was commissioned in 2021 by the Cambridgeshire Royal Portrait Fund, which is held by the Cambridge Community Foundation, as a gift to Cambridgeshire. It was painted by award-winning British portrait artist Jamie Coreth.
The King made the official announcement during his first address to the United Kingdom after Queen Elizabeth died.
"With Catherine beside him, our new Prince and Princess of Wales will, I know, continue to inspire and lead our national conversations, helping to bring the marginal to the centre ground where vital help can be given," he said of the couple.
The Princess of Wales title was once held by William's mother, the late Princess Diana.
"The new Princess of Wales appreciates the history associated with this role but will understandably want to look to the future as she creates her own path," a source told PEOPLE.
On Sept. 15, Kate and William visited Sandringham to view the bouquets, balloons and other tributes left by the public in the late queen's honor, marking their first solo appearance as the Prince and Princess of Wales
Shortly after, on Sept. 27, the royal couple traveled to Wales for the first time since taking on their titles.
The royal couple confirmed that they are still smitten with each other after Kate gave her husband a sweet love tap on his backside while walking the BAFTAs red carpet.
The Duchess of Cornwall dazzled in a white Alexander McQueen gown (which she had previously worn to the BAFTA Awards in 2019), while William looked dapper in a black suit.
The Prince and Princess of Wales supported the King and Queen Camilla at their historic crowning ceremony at Westminster Abbey in London along with their children. The couple both wore formal robes and mantels for the occasion, with William donning the ceremonial dress uniform of the Welsh Guards and Kate wearing a dress by Alexander McQueen.
Following the ceremony, they appeared on Buckingham Palace's balcony with their entire family, including their children, for the first time since receiving their new titles. William and Kate also attended the Coronation Concert held the following day with their children George and Charlotte (Louis stayed at home).
After a "planned abdominal surgery" in January 2024 and an announced break from royal duties for Kate, the Princess of Wales revealed she is undergoing treatment for cancer in a personal video message.
"In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London, and at the time, it was thought that my condition was non-cancerous," she said in the video. "The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present. My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy, and I am now in the early stages of that treatment."
After saying the news was a "huge shock," Kate shared that she and William were focusing on comforting their children. "But, most importantly, it has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them, and to reassure them that I am going to be ok," the princess added.
Kate also mentioned how her husband had supported her since the diagnosis. "Having William by my side is a great source of comfort and reassurance too," she said.
Kate shared on Instagram that it was "a relief" to announce she had completed her chemotherapy treatment, and expressed appreciation for the support she and William had received throughout the year.
"The last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family," she wrote. "This time has above all reminded William and me to reflect and be grateful for the simple yet important things in life, which so many of us often take for granted. Of simply loving and being loved."
Kate and William commemorated 14 years of marriage with a trip to Scotland, the country where their love story began.
They arrived in the town of Tobermory on the Isle of Mull on April 29, and wrote on their joint Instagram that they were looking forward to "celebrating and connecting with rural island communities in the beautiful Inner Hebrides."
Read the original article on People