Back in April, we were all minding our business and waiting for Meghan Markle to give birth to baby Archie when the royal scandal of 2019 hit the internet. These cheating rumors have led us to reflect on Kate Middleton and Prince William’s dating history. It’s actually as complicated and nuanced as you’d expect any long-term relationship to be–there are no exceptions for royals.
Out of nowhere, the world was nearly set aflame when unconfirmed reports claimed that the prince had cheated on his wife with her good friend, Rose Hanbury. Neither party has commented on the tabloid rumors, and it looks like someone made them up to stir up trouble. However, it did reveal that even royals don’t have fairytale romances.Kate Middleton and Prince William met way back in 2001 when they were both students at St. Andrews University. Their romance would be an on-again, off-again saga until they finally wed in 2011. Now, royal biographer Andrew Morton, who wrote the book, William and Catherine claims that a lot of the friction in the Cambridges’ relationship was due to the future Crowned King’s treatment of the duchess. Morton boldly suggests that William treated his then-girlfriend, “like a servant.”
Though we’d take anything one person says about a mega-famous couple with a grain of salt–Morton isn’t the only one who observed the prince’s flippant behavior toward Kate during their dating years. Michael Choong, a university friend of the couple, told The Express that the prince would often act like the duchess wasn’t there, blatantly ignoring her to have conversations with other people. He explained, Prince William “could be flip and curt” with Kate. “He expected Kate to run after him, and the longer they knew each other, the more he seemed to keep her on a tight leash.”
In William and Catherine, Morton writes that the relationship was always on the fritz in the early years because the prince treated Kate “like a servant rather than his girlfriend.” He explained, “There were often spats, rows, and break-ups, and William and Kate tried to find their way both as young adults and as a couple.”
The couple would go on to breakup twice throughout their near-decade-long romance. The first time in 2004 because they were both unsure about having such an intense commitment. Prince William had also become enamored with British heiress Isabella Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe–a woman he apparently had ZERO chance with.
Way back in 2007, a royal insider told Daily Mail, “William was madly in love with [Isabella], but when he knew there was no chance of them getting together he went back to Kate. Kate was very aware of his obsession with Isabella, and she was incredibly threatened by her. Isabella is drop-dead beautiful and would leave any girl in the shade. Kate accepted William back again but on the condition that he would not speak to Isabella again.”
The couple’s second split in 2007, due to long distance and the prince’s wandering eye. In her 2010 biography Kate–Marcia Moody wrote, “rot had set into their relationship.” The duchess was also tired of being dubbed, “Waity Katy” by the press.
Thankfully after their second split, the duke and duchess decided they were in it for the long hall, and by the fall of 2010, they were engaged to be married. With such a rocky road to get to where they are now, with three children, and a taking the lead of the British Royal Family in the future, we highly doubt Prince William would have compromised it all by boldly cheating on his wife.
But hey, crazier things have happened.
