While most people believe Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, met Prince William at St Andrews University, it has been revealed the couple crossed paths at least once before.
Royal biographer Katie Nicholl has discovered the pair were introduced by mutual friends before they enrolled at the same university.
Nicholl discovered the meeting while researching her new book, Kate: The Future Queen.
“This was really fascinating for me,” she told US TV host Katie Couric in a recent interview.
“I was speaking to some of her friends at Marlborough College, which was where she went before St Andrews, and they said, “Uh uh, she didn’t meet him at St Andrews.
“She met him before she got there… through some of her friends. They knew Prince William and Prince Harry.”
The pair had a group of mutual high-society mates who introduced them in the summer of 1999.
“Now, I don’t know how many times they met, but I do know that Kate told at least one person, because I interviewed him,” Katie told Celebuzz.
The revelations are interesting considering Catherine had originally planned to attend Edinburgh University, but in an uncharacteristic move changed her plans. She rejected the offer from Edinburgh, took a gap year and reapplied to St Andrews.
“It was a big risk – applicants to St Andrews had shot up by nearly 50 per cent when the palace announced Prince William was going there,” Katie said.
But Catherine did secure a place and even shared some of the same classes as William.
It was Catherine’s famous appearance in the university fashion show that caught William’s eye and the rest is history!
Katie says the Catherine’s surprise decision to attend the same university as William makes her an “enigma” and a very interesting person.
“When you look at those two facts, in conjunction, you do think, ‘How much was pre-meditated?’ I believe the only person who really knows is Kate,” she said.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
