01 October 2023 , 13:27
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Prince William and Kate Middleton crossed paths for the first time while they were both studying at the University of St Andrews. They may have seemed an unlikely couple at first glance, with the self-proclaimed 'shy' Kate initially nervous about meeting the teenage prince. But they would soon develop a blossoming romance after coming across one another in their shared student accommodation block.
They have now been married for 12 years and share three children - 10-year-old Prince George, eight-year-old Princess Charlotte and five-year-old Prince Louis.
In the couple's engagement interview back in 2010, Kate admitted she was left red-faced during her first encounter with William. She remembered the first moment they met perfectly, but William struggled to recount it. Kate reminded him: "I actually went bright red when I met you and scuttled off feeling very shy about meeting you."
She added: "William wasn't there for quite a bit of the time initially, he wasn't there from Fresher's Week, so it did take a bit of time for us to get to know each other. But we did become very close friends from quite early on." Famously, things didn't go totally smoothly for the pair, briefly splitting up in 2007 before getting back together soon afterward.
In the same interview, William said: "We did split up for a bit. We were both very young, it was at university and we were both finding ourselves and being different characters and stuff. It was very much trying to find our own way and we were growing up. It was just a bit of space. It worked out for the better."
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Kate added: "At the time I wasn't very happy about it but actually it made me a stronger person. You find out things about yourself that maybe you hadn't realised. I think you can get quite consumed by a relationship when you're younger. I really valued that time, for me as well, although I didn't think it at the time."