• Prince William and Kate Middleton’s love story—which has now lasted over 20 years—almost didn’t have the chance to develop at all.
  • The future king went far away for college, to the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where Kate also attended.
  • After his first semester there, he very nearly transferred, meaning that his romantic relationship with Kate would have never gotten the chance to grow legs.

A key decision while in college could have ended Prince William’s relationship with Kate Middleton before it even started.

Both William and Kate chose to attend the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where they met as first-year students in 2001—though they didn’t start dating until some time later, likely 2002 or 2003, depending on who you ask. The two eventually became friends, then platonic roommates, and then romantically involved—but it almost didn’t happen at all.

Kate Middleton and Prince William on March 13, 2007.

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In his book Battle of Brothers, veteran royal biographer Robert Lacey wrote of William’s “nerves” as the 19-year-old arrived at school far away from home in 2001.

“I think he was really nervous when he arrived,” said Colleen Harris, former press secretary to King Charles (via Hello!). “All the press were there—cameras from all over the world—and it suddenly hit him. He was very unsteady for a while after that.”

After all, it’s difficult for any teenager to move away to college, let alone if you’re a future king. Hello! reported that William became further unnerved while at university when “an overly amorous female admirer pinched him on the bottom while he enjoyed a drink,” and the hits kept coming during his first term at school.

Prince William in 2003.
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“As the term progressed, the winter weather soon grew cold, gray, and austere, and he found it difficult to make new friends,” Lacey wrote. “He missed his brother [Prince Harry], too.” (Oh, how we remember those days…)

William’s dislike for university life got to the point that he would often retreat back to London and Highgrove, where his father’s country home was. Over Christmas break, William told Charles he intended to leave St. Andrews in favor of the University of Edinburgh, but Charles’ private secretary Stephen Lamport feared that William’s transfer could allow him to be seen as a “quitter” and even seen as a “snub by the Scottish people.”

Prince Charles and Prince William in 2004.

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Prince William graduating from the University of St. Andrews in 2005.

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After a father-son heart-to-heart, Charles encouraged William to stay at St. Andrews, which he did—though he did change his major from art history to geography. He—along with Kate, who was by then his girlfriend—graduated from there in 2005.

Kate Middleton and Prince William at their 2005 college graduation.

The Middleton Family / Clarence House / Getty Images

“I don’t think I was homesick,” William later said of his heart-to-heart with Charles. “I was more daunted. My father was very understanding about it and realized I had the same problem as he had probably had. We chatted a lot and in the end we both realized—I definitely realized—that I had to come back.”

On the other side of that decision was his future wife. Had he not returned to St. Andrews after that first semester, he likely never would have developed a romantic relationship with Kate, as the spring of 2002 was when that infamous fashion show happened—you know, the one with Kate in a sheer outfit that caught William’s attention. Kate’s former roommate Laura Warshauer previously spoke about William and Kate’s instant chemistry, claiming that “they’d already fallen for each other before Kate took to the runway for the charity gala,” according to Hello!.

Kate Middleton at the famous charity fashion show in 2002.

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“We went to a party at a castle,” she said. “It was a Harry Potter theme, and they did an auction for charity where people were bidding to win a date. Will bid £200 to win a date with Kate.”

While Warshauer can’t remember exactly what the future king and queen did for their first date, she did note that “Kate was unfazed and effortlessly casual about the situation,” Hello! reported.

Prince William and Kate Middleton on April 29, 2025.

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Three kids and 20-plus years later, we’re personally really glad the Prince of Wales made the decision that he did nearly a quarter century ago.