A Definitive Timeline of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s Surprisingly Dramatic Relationship
Much like a dusty bottle of port and a rich old man, Kate Middleton and Prince William are a match made in heaven. This royal couple are literally destined to be King and Queen of England, and as such, their relationship is extremely, well, polished.
No one knows what really goes on behind the gilded doors of Kensington Palace, but Kate and William’s love story has always been presented as a fairy tale. And it probably is! But like any couple who met in college, William and Kate’s relationship hasn’t been without its bumps, like all the Megxit drama that recently went down. On that note, let’s walk through a timeline of their romance—including the ups and the downs.
Circa 2001
William and Kate meet at University of Saint Andrews. Here’s a picture of them at their graduation ceremony for proof, in case you live life by the motto “pics or it didn’t happen.”
Circa 2003
William and Kate begin dating after he’s apparently mind-blown watching her model in a charity auction wearing this gem:
According to E! Nows, William was all, “Wow, Fergus, Kate’s hot!” to some dude named Fergus.
January 2004
William and Kate are spotted on a ski holiday together! Here he is wearing some kewl glasses:
And here she is low-key matching her man:
March 18, 2006
Kate is seen kissing William at his polo match, and they seem relatively unbothered by the cameras:
July 15, 2006
Kate shows up at another one of William’s polo matches, and he trots over to her smiling gleefully on this magnificent STEED. (She’s the one in the halter dress, FYI.)
Christmas 2006
William reportedly cancels his plans to spend Christmas with Kate’s family, causing her to second-guess everything. Per Vanity Fair royal reporter Katie Nicholl, “At the last minute, William had a change of heart and decided to stay with his own family instead,” deciding to inform a “tearful” Kate on Boxing Day. Wow. Cold.
February 10, 2007
Kate is seen attending some sort of ~sports game~ with William and his brother, Harry. Please note: This photo was taken mere months before William and Kate’s breakup.
Spring 2007
News breaks that William and Kate have called it quits. “We were both very young,” William later explained during his engagement interview with Kate. “We were both finding ourselves and such and being different characters and such.”
It seems like William was the one to initiate the split (HOW DARE HE), and the internet circa 2007 had some insane theories about why, including:
Kate accidentally used the word “toilet” in front of the queen, an alleged incident that was—I kid you not—known as Toiletgate.
William moved to an army camp in Dorset, causing their relationship to endure a long-distance strain.
Also Spring 2007
Kate goes through it post-breakup, fleeing the country to visit Ireland and making it clear that her new motto is fully “thank u, next.” Behold, Kate not giving a fuck:
Meanwhile, William endures awkward interviews about his breakup:
This clip will never not make me laugh ??
A reporter asks William how things are going with Kate (2007) pic.twitter.com/2XfBcv0Y3c— Tea Time With The Cambridges (@TeaCambridges) December 9, 2018
June 2007
Kate reportedly starts dating William’s best friend, shipping heir Henry Ropner. If that’s not the ultimate revenge, IDK what is.
July 1, 2007
Kate attends a tribute concert for Princess Diana, sitting a few rows behind William and Harry. Rumors of a reunion begin to ~swirl~.
March 19, 2008
Kate and William are officially back together! The happy couple are seen shredding their way down some fresh powder on a ski trip. JK, they’re just, like, standing there.
April 2008
Kate accompanies William to his RAF graduation ceremony. Seems pretty official!
October 2010
Prince William and Kate Middleton get engaged in Kenya. “We had a little private time away together with some friends, and I just decided it was the right time, really,” William said. “We’d been talking about marriage for a while, so it wasn’t a massively big surprise, but I took her up somewhere nice in Kenya.”
November 16, 2010
William and Kate announce said engagement, and the couple gives an ultra-cute engagement interview:
April 29, 2011
William and Kate get married! GLORY BE!
July 9, 2011
Kate and William get their PDA on at a polo match:
July 22, 2013
Kate gives birth to the sassy icon known as Prince George:
May 2, 2015
Kate gives birth to Princess Charlotte. Yay!
March 14, 2017
William causes a low-key scandal while dad-dancing on a ski trip in Switzerland sans Kate.
Additional footage shows William putting his hand on a mystery woman’s waist, and apparently, Kate isn’t thrilled, with a source telling Vanity Fair, “It was William’s choice to go away, but make no mistake, Kate wears the trousers in their marriage and she won’t be happy with William’s antics. She thought his partying days and larking around with the boys was a thing of the past. I imagine she’ll find this humiliating and William will have come in for a pasting.”
Wow, no quote has ever been more British!
April 23, 2018
Kate gives birth to Prince Louis! Yay!
April 4, 2019
InTouch published a report saying Kate confronted William about having an affair with their family friend and newly minted “rural rival” Rose Hanbury. After the rumors spread, “pressure was applied by the palace,” allegedly.
February 2, 2020
Kate and William attended the BAFTAs and sat through Brad Pitt making jokes about Prince Harry leaving the royal family and Rebel Wilson’s about Prince Andrew. (Fast-forward to 00:42 if you want to see Will and Kate trying really hard not to cringe and look upset.)
According to sources of Fox News’s Neil Sean, Will and Kate were much more upset than the two-second clip let on. Sean said they were most upset by Rebel’s joke and “this was not met with the smiling faces that you saw on the final edited version of the show. A mole also told me that to ensure that the royals are not embarrassed or made fun of again at such a prestigious event like this one....”
February 6, 2020
Welp, after a testy year filled with affair rumors and a major feud that consumed the entire family, Will and Kate are apparently feeling much closer with their busy work schedules bringing them together.
Aaand that’s all for now! We’re fully anticipating that Kate and William’s relationship will go on sans drama—especially if William goes on another unsupervised ski trip.
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