The Truth About Prince William's Ex-Girlfriends
While Prince William and Kate Middleton have been married since April 2011 and have welcomed three children — Princess Charlotte, Prince George, and Prince Louis — once upon a time William was a young prince and wealthy bachelor without any serious commitments and plenty of access to fun. As such, it's not exactly a total surprise that William dated more than a few girls before he and Kate settled down.
Some of his previous girlfriends have managed to stay under the radar, only popping up in the media from time to time. Like a lot of us, William has his own history and past. Unlike a lot of us, though, that history and past will always be fascinating to those who follow the British royal family. Here is a look at the women Prince William dated before he finally settled down with Kate Middleton and became the Duke of Cambridge.
Prince William's ex Davina Duckworth-Chad is technically related to him
Prince William and a woman by the name of Davina Duckworth-Chad were said to be an item way back in the late 1990s (via Daily Mail). In 2011, many years after they went their separate ways, Duckworth-Chad was invited to William and Kate Middleton's royal wedding, as the exes were said to still be friends (via The Sun). Could that be because the two are technically related? Yes, it's true, they're family. As People reported, she is Princess Diana's second cousin. As such, that makes her William's cousin three times removed.
In 2004, Duckworth-Chad married Tom Barber, and both are friends with Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton (via Evening Standard). In April 2015, the publication reported that Barber and Duckworth-Chad, who welcomed twins in 2008, live close by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's country home, Amner Hall.
Prince William dated Olivia Hunt while at college
Prince William and Kate Middleton met while they were attending college at the University of St. Andrews, but Kate wouldn't be his first college girlfriend. He previously dated Olivia Hunt. It's believed that William and Hunt dated during their freshman year at the school, though it's unclear how long the relationship lasted (per the Daily Express).
As many royal fans and followers know, even though he and Kate began their relationship as friends, things between them changed when Kate walked the runway at a college fashion show. She was wearing a sheer dress designed by her fellow classmate, Charlotte Todd. Todd told People, "Everyone says that the fashion show was when the romance started, so a small part of me will always be part of royal history It's madness!"
While Hunt and William ultimately broke up and William went on to marry Kate, there doesn't seem to be any hard feelings between the exes. In fact, Hunt attended Kate's sister Pippa Middleton's wedding in 2016 and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding in 2018. However, William and Kate did not attend Hunt's 2016 wedding to Nicholas Wilkinson. A source who attended the wedding reportedly told the Daily Mail, "Prince Harry was there, along with most of William and Kate's friends. Their absence was really striking."
Prince William and his ex Rose Farquhar were childhood friends
The relationship between Rose Farquhar and Prince William reportedly dates back to their childhood. However, they did eventually become more than friends for a time. The Daily Mail dubbed Farquhar as William's "first love," and even though they broke up, there seems to be no ill will between the two all these decades later (per E! News).
The Daily Mail reported that Farquhar and William were reintroduced after the future king finished his A levels, which are the exit exams required by U.K. schools to move forward to university or college. Farquhar briefly returned to the spotlight in February 2016 when she auditioned for the reality show "The Voice." A source reportedly told The Sun that William had given his "blessing" to Farquhar ahead of the audition (via Daily Mail). Farquhar previously participated in the reality show "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?" back in 2006.
Prince William had a freshman fling with Carly Massy-Birch
In addition to finding his future wife at University of St. Andrews, Prince William found girlfriend Carly Massy-Birch. William and Massy-Birch met during their first year at the school, and her parents later confirmed that the pair were an item for a short time. In 2008, a report surfaced claiming there were problems between Kate Middleton and William's ex. Massy-Birch's mother Mimi told the Daily Mail that she wasn't sure why a story about her daughter and William had been published, but she was worried about how her daughter would feel about it.
Mimi explained, "Carly will be really upset that this has come out. She went out with William for six or seven weeks when they first arrived at St Andrews." Mimi added that her daughter was good friends with William and Kate Middleton, who he was dating at the time the report was published. She also explained that Massy-Birch was rooting for a wedding between Kate and William for her own reasons. As she put it, "She really wants Kate to marry Wills so that she can be sure of going to the wedding" because the three were "best friends." Indeed, she was invited to the royal affair, according to People.
Prince William met his ex Jecca Craig in Kenya
If there is one ex-girlfriend who Prince William has hung on to rather tightly, it's Jecca Craig. The two met in 1995 when William visited the Craig family ranch in Kenya (via Daily Mail). They reportedly struck up a relationship after William left Eton, but things between them slowed once William decided to attend the University of St. Andrews. However, that doesn't mean that William never saw Craig again.
In fact, Craig remained a problem for William and Kate Middleton for quite some time into their relationship, especially as it seemed that William and Craig were carrying on an emotionally inappropriate friendship, according to "Brothers and Wives: Inside the Private Lives of William, Kate, Harry, and Meghan" (via Yahoo). At one point in their relationship, William reportedly traveled to Kenya without Kate, even spending part of his trip staying at the Craig family home. The book alleges that William's father Prince Charles eventually put a stop to the back-and-forth, reportedly telling his eldest, "You mustn't put her through that, William. It isn't fair to Jecca."
In 2014, William attended Craig's wedding to Professor Jonathan Baillie solo, drawing to mind a previous trip he made in 2008 to attend the wedding of Craig's brother, Batian, which he also did without Kate by his side (via Vanity Fair). Royal sources insist that William is more attracted to Kenya than Craig, but rumors that there was something more than friendship between them continued (per Daily Mail).
Isabella Calthorpe reportedly led to William and Kate's 2004 breakup
According to the Daily Mail, of all the women Prince William dated, there was one who had the power to make Kate Middleton jealous: Isabella Calthorpe. William and Calthorpe are said to have met in 2005, when they both attended the same black-tie event. While some have described their relationship as something that exists between friends, the Daily Mail claims that at one point, William planned to end his relationship with Kate so he could pursue Calthorpe.
Unfortunately for William, it seems that Calthorpe was not interested in entering into a relationship with the prince. Nevertheless, William's friendship with Calthorpe was reportedly to blame for the temporary breakup he and Kate announced in 2004. A friend reportedly said that during that time period, William traveled to Greece with friends, but Calthorpe was in the area. The friend said, "Kate's a tough cookie, though, and stood aside and waited for William to come back to her which eventually he did. Before that, though, he did everything he could to woo Isabella" (via Daily Mail).
Prince William almost dropped out of university to be with Arabella Musgrave
Prince William reportedly met Arabella Musgrave in summer 2001. Royal expert Katie Nicholl explained that William and Musgrave had known one another since they were children (via Marie Claire). Musgrave was part of William's friend group, who dubbed themselves the Glosse Posse, even though she was not of nobility herself, according to The Sun.
William was said to have been captivated by Musgrave as soon as they met. As Nicholl wrote in a 2010 book, "As (Arabella) walked through a friend's house party, William did a double-take. Arabella had blossomed into a gorgeous-looking girl, and he wondered why he hadn't noticed her properly until now" (via The Sun). The two reportedly spent several hours together that night before spending the bulk of their summer together.
At one point, Nicholl claims that William very nearly dropped out of college to be with Musgrave, but when he met Kate Middleton he was convinced to give the school another shot. In the years since, Musgrave reportedly became friends with both Kate Middleton and her sister, Pippa (via Daily Mail). In fact, Pippa attended Musgrave's wedding to George Galliers-Pratt in 2014.