Prince William's 'Decoy' Girlfriend Helped Hide Early Days Of Kate Middleton Romance: All About Bryony Daniels

There's nothing like a little royal relationship drama to kick off your day, and luckily, fans have been treated to plenty of it over the years. While Prince William has been a model royal in every aspect of the word (after all, he's never really been responsible for any of the royal family's biggest PR disasters — that honor goes to his younger brother, Prince Harry), he's had plenty of girlfriends in the past. Most notably, there was one lucky lady that wasn't actually his girlfriend, but rather a decoy to keep the press distracted from the very real relationship William was having with Princess Catherine while they were at university.

The woman who helped the Prince of Wales keep his romance with his future wife under wraps is Bryony Daniels, and as it goes, her father was a prominent man who owned some land in Suffolk alongside the Strathvaich Estate in the Scottish Highlands. Royalists and the press alike thought she fit the mold of a future queen perfectly, given her status in society, and they were sufficiently distracted by the fake relationship not to dig deeper. Daniels and William sure made it look legit, often by walking to class together at St Andrews University.

Daniels, who works as an event planner at Liquid OPM, might not have married a prince, but she found her own Prince Charming in Adair Williams, who just so happens to be the nephew of the Duke of Sutherland. Williams asked Daniels to marry him in October 2025 while they were hiking in the Scottish Highlands, a place dear to the couple's hearts. They got married in July 2026, with Daniels taking to Instagram to share some snaps of the special day, and sweetly penning, "One glorious week of being yours, and you mine."

Among their many strange customs, the royals have a tendency to invite their exes to their wedding. So it's hardly shocking that Prince William invited some of his former flames to his big day, including his decoy university girlfriend Bryony Daniels. She notably witnessed William and Princess Catherine's lavish 2011 nuptials, but reports indicate that the Prince of Wales wasn't present at his former classmate's 2026 wedding. It's not clear whether William simply wasn't invited or whether royal obligations prevented him from attending.

It's worth noting that William and Catherine have reportedly been placing all of their focus on their eldest, Prince George's, transition to Eton College in Fall 2026, ensuring the young royal has a great summer before he has to leave for boarding school. George turned 13 on July 22, 2026, and the Waleses have certainly been celebrating — and planning "a summer to remember" for the future king, according to a family friend who spoke to Vanity Fair.

Daniels, meanwhile, will have her hands full helping her new hubby turn his 13th century family home, Herrington House, into their dream home. But that's probably not all she'll be doing. A quick peek at Daniels' Instagram shows she loves spending time outdoors and enjoys horseback riding — a sport favored by many members of The Firm too. She's also an avid dog lover, which is something she and the Wales family definitely have in common (Kate Middleton's dog reportedly helped her choose George's name, believe it or not).