The Surprising Thing Kate Middleton Shared With Prince William Before They Even Dated
Before taking on the important duties of being a senior royal, Prince William attended university. William wanted to be as normal as possible the four years he spent studying at St. Andrew's University. "I mean, I'm only going to university. It's not like I'm getting married — though it feels like that sometimes," he told BBC News in reference to the public and media interest at the time. "It will get easier as time goes on," the royal continued. "Everyone will get bored of me, which they do."
Like many first-year students, William was a little apprehensive about making friends. "It's not as if I choose my friends on the basis of where they are from or what they are. It's about their character and who they are and whether we get on," he explained. "I just hope I can meet people I can get on with. I don't care about their backgrounds."
He certainly did just that when he crossed paths with his future wife Kate Middleton, who also happened to attend St. Andrews (via Times Higher Education). The two quickly struck up a bond, so much so that they made a pretty major decision about their living arrangements.
Prince William and Kate Middleton shared a flat in school
At the beginning of their university life, Prince William and Kate Middleton lived in the same residence hall (via Glamour), which is like a college dormitory. However, as their second year rolled around, they decided to move into a house with friends — as is common in English universities (via The Uni Guide).
"We moved in together as friends because we were living together, we lived with a couple of others as well, and it just sort of blossomed from there really," William said during the couple's engagement interview (via YouTube). "We just saw more of each other, and you know, hung out a bit more and stuff."
Middleton revealed that William was quite the cook, too. "He did cook for me quite a bit at university, and it would always come together with a bit of angst and a bit of anger if something had gone wrong," she said. "I would have to wander in and save something that was [cooking]."
Prince William and Kate Middleton took things slow
It took some time before Prince William and Kate Middleton became romantically involved. They remained friends — which William believes is essential to any relationship. "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 during their engagement interview (via YouTube). "We ended up being friends for a while, and that just sort of was a good foundation ... I generally believe now that being friends with one another is a massive advantage. And it just went from there."
However, they encountered a slight hiccup post-graduation when they decided to part ways. As William noted, they were very young at the time. "We were sort of both finding ourselves as such and being different characters ... it was very much trying to find your own way," he explained. "It was just sort of a bit of space and ... things like that, and it worked out for the better."
While Middleton wasn't too happy about the situation, she took a positive experience from it as well. "Actually it made me a stronger person, you find out things about yourself that maybe you hadn't realized," she said. "I really valued that time for me as well although I didn't think it at the time."
William and Kate got married April 29, 2011 and have been happily together ever since.