All eyes have been on Meghan Markle and Prince Harry thanks to their ground-breaking interview with Oprah Winfrey and that has allowed Kate Middleton and Prince William to hide a rather big scandal about their marriage.
The rumours of trouble brewing inside the marriage of The Duke and Duchess Of Cambridge has been going on for a year now but a recent photograph of Kate Middleton finally gave us nosy fans, the answers we needed.
Not An Easy Start
We all remember the couple's 2011 wedding, what a spectacular royal affair it was; millions of people worldwide tuned in to watch Kate Middleton walk down the aisle in what now is considered one of the best bridal dresses of all time.
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But before they had their fairy tale kiss on the balcony, life for the couple was anything but rosy. The early days of their relationship was marked with conflict, with many rumours circulating even then about Prince William's devotion to his girlfriend.
Not His First Choice
The couple met at St.Andrews but it was no love at first sight. In fact, another woman had the princes attention for a large portion of his college life. It was Carley Massy-Birch, creative writing, and an English language student.
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Kate and William were only cordial during their first year at college and while Kate had been crowned the prettiest girl in her dorm, Carley had the honour of winning the “finest first-year bottom” competition at St. Andrews. Yes, this seems to be a thing.
Hot And Cold
The minute they met, William had fallen head over heels for her and it was a well-known fact around campus, although at the time the tabloids didn’t. But things soon cooled off between the pair when Carley found out that William still wasn't over his ex!
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Arabella Musgrave was a childhood friend of William and had high social standing. The two had dated before the prince left for university with Arabella breaking things off because she didn't want to deal with the distance.
The Big Moment
The oft-repeated story of how William finally noticed Kate goes something like, she was modelling for a show, wearing a sheer dress down the catwalk and that is when Prince William finally saw Kate as more than just friends.
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But of course, it is only now we know that William was actually right dab in the middle of many complicated romantic emotions when he finally saw Kate as girlfriend material. It is reported that he even said "Wow, Kate Is Hot"
The Confusing Start
While most of you have heard about this moment, did you know what happened afterwards? Well, William tracked Kate down and they went to an afterparty together, where the couple sat together alone and chatted for hours.
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Whatever Kate said that night was music to William's ears and he even leaned in for a kiss but Kate pulled away! Turns out, Kate actually was dating another student at the time Rupert Finch.
Making It Official
Clearly, the attraction between Kate and William was far deeper than whatever she had with Ruper and things didn't last long between the two. Soon after, William and she made things official and moved into new accommodation, together.
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They named their apartment 13a Hope Street and unlike most of his other romantic exploits, Prince William tried his best to keep their relationship as secretive as possible. The couple even used to leave the house at separate times for date nights!
Hiding It From The Public
While the seeds of William and Kate's love were well and truly sown, the prince still had no plans of announcing his interest to the world. When speaking to the Press Association to mark his 21st birthday, he had something rather surprisingly to say.
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“I don't have a steady girlfriend. If I fancy a girl and I really like her and she fancies me back, which is rare, I ask her out.” “But, at the same time, I don't want to put [prospective girlfriends] in an awkward situation because a lot of people don't quite understand what comes with knowing me,” William continued. “There’s been a lot of speculation about every single girl I’m with and it does quite irritate me after a while, more so because it’s a complete pain for the girls.”
Here Comes Jecca
Before William and Kate could move their relationship further, Jecca Craig walked into the Prince's life and apparently, things got serious fast! The media reported that William and Jecca had performed an engagement ceremony!
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And despite the royal family very rarely commenting, it was only when they stepped in and confirmed that no such event happened did the rumours of Jecca being William's true love finally died down. Image: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images
Dedicated To Someone Else
But in private, despite living together, it did seem like Kate and William's romance was fizzling down. During Prince William's 21s birthday party, many guests noticed that Jecca was seated next to William while Kate wasn't even at the main table.
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Furthermore, the celebration’s theme was “Out of Africa”. The duo had met in Kenya and that is also the place where their reported pretend engagement took place! But even then, amongst friends, it was still known that Kate and William were together.
Public Announcement
While we aren't sure what happened since the birthday party, between Jecca and Prince Williams, he did finally make up his mind about Kate. News of the relationship finally made headlines in April 2004.
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The couple were spotted on a skiing trip, The Sun ran the headline “Finally… Wills gets a girl.” After the many ups and downs of their short relationship, again Kate and William found their groove back and were steady for a while... until...
Distracted, Again!
Well, the bliss didn't last long and William went around flirting with other women sometimes right in front of Kate and now with their relationship public, each rumour and gossip was making headlines.
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And Kate wasn't impressed. She was fuming when William went on holiday with Anna Sloan, an affluent American. He also was pictured many times with heiress Isabella Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe to consider.
Boundaries
Kate still loved William and things got so bad that she even banned him from seeing Isabella again. This was definitely not something he appreciated and the pair decided to separate
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Somehow, they managed to keep this news away from the hungry tabloids at the time. Reportedly, William went to go see Jecca in Kenya the minute he got separated from Kate, making it seem obvious that he always had her on his mind.
And Back Together Again.
We aren't kidding when he said the couple runs hot and cold! A year after making their relationship publically official, Kate took the next big step with William and went on holiday with Prince Harry and Prince Charles.
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This seemed like a significant step towards a serious relationship, one which many other girlfriends had never been given. The holiday seemed to have been a success and soon Kate was seen in many royal gathering.
Graduation
The pair both graduated from St. Andrews University and the couple looked happier than ever. Tabloids constantly speculated when exactly will Prince William pop the big question and officially add Kate into the family.
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This wasn't happening anytime soon since, rather than get down on one knee William decided to join the British Army. This news made the tabloids even wilder, with many again suggesting that William was unfaithful to Kate.
The Final Straw
It didn't help matters that every week, Prince William was spotted hanging out with one girl after another. At one point, the prince was spotted dancing at a nightclub with Tess Shepherd. Another night saw him taking out a new girl for drinks.
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By 2007, no one really believed that William would ever marry Kate. The media had even given her a terrible nickname, Waitey Katie. Royal insiders revealed that Kate was so sick of the headlines that she gave William an ultimatum, he either marry her or leaves her.
The Split
And William had an answer. By Easter of that year, Kate and William had split up. Kate even wore a daring party dress and hit the party circuit in full force. She was determined to show everybody that she was just fine without William.
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In April 2007 an unnamed “friend of the prince” confirmed what everyone knew already. They told The Evening Standard that marriage was “never on the cards.” They added, “Kate did everything she could to make him stay – playing a waiting game one minute and then hard-to-get the next.”
The Harsh Truth
The royal insider also said, notably, “Just the other week, she said she intended to be photographed at as many places as she could without William to punish him for all those pictures that appeared of him clubbing with other girls"
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They continued "But William’s heart just wasn’t in it anymore. As she was planning the wedding, he was working out how to extricate himself.” Another source told the Evening Standard, “He has always had a roving eye, far more so than Harry, who is meant to be the family playboy"
Working Things Out
Of course, as we all know, Kate and William ended up getting back together and finally in 2010 revealed the news, which everyone was waiting to hear for years. They were engaged and getting married!
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The first years of William and Kate’s marriage all but seemed to focus on how Kate was dealing with becoming a royal wife and the days of Prince William's lurking eye were soon forgotten.
Wondering Eye
But after years of marital bliss, in March 2017 the prince was videotaped in a comprising position at a nightclub. It looked like his old habits were resurfacing. It all happened when was away on a skiing holiday with friends in Switzerland.
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The video shows the prince observing the dancing playfully and Vanity Fair reported that Kate was “less than pleased” to hear about it. And then in 2019, the big - unconfirmed- news broke.
Cheating Rumours
William had allegedly cheated on Kate while she was pregnant with Louis. And the other woman was none other than, their neighbour Rose Hanbury, Marchioness of Cholmondeley. The story even suggested that Kate and Rose had a falling out, due to this reason.
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Richard Eden of the Daily Mail claimed that Kate “seems to see Rose as a rival.” The Sun quoted a source who said, “Things are tense between them… Over the years, Rose and Kate’s lives have been entwined in many ways.”
Damaging Headlines
In April the magazine In Touch published details about infidelity claim, in which Kate had confronted William upon hearing rumours, which he "just laughed it off saying there was nothing to it.”
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Journalist Giles Coren of The Times also tweeted out a post “confirming” that William had indeed cheated on Kate but it was later removed. Many believe that this was done due to pressure from the palace and some publications were even handed out legal warnings.
Royal Response
One of the letters issued to Cosmopolitan magazine by the Royals stated, “In addition to being false and highly damaging, the publication of false speculation in respect of our clients’ private life also constitutes a breach of his privacy according to Article 8 of the European Convention to Human Rights.”
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Us Weekly published an article, in which one of the insiders said, “Kate finds the rumours hurtful, obviously, and hates the thought that one day her children will be able to read about them online.”
Kate's Reaction
The insider also claimed that hearing the rumours “forced her and William to sit back and examine their relationship, which they realized they should have been doing more often.” A second source who spoke to Us was rather harsh.
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It revealed that the couple had argued that the headlines “didn’t go down well with Kate.” but added that the couple were “determined to pull through it and are doing a great job at getting their marriage back on track again.”
Getting Stronger
Since then, Kate and Rose have been seen in a room together and have acted cordially with each other. No new reports of Prince William's infidelity have surfaced with many believing that this was just a small bump in an otherwise, strong marriage.
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One inside said “It’s not unusual to have a few hiccups in a marriage, especially after eight years, and Kate and William are no different. They’re still going strong. Regardless of their ups and downs, they love each other dearly and their kids are the most important thing in their lives.”
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