Well, I never!
Kate Middleton and Prince William’s college romance was publicly revealed to their group of friends when one of his ex-girlfriends instigated a game of “Never Have I Ever,” according to a new book.
The future Princess of Wales, 42, met her prince in 2001 while they were students at St. Andrew’s University in Scotland, where they began a relationship as friends. However, after Kate walked in a charity fashion show wearing a black lace gown, which prompted William to famously declare, “Kate’s hot!” the pair moved out of the friend zone.
Britain’s Prince William and his then fiancee Kate Middleton pose for the media at St. James’s Palace in London on Nov. 16, 2010.AP
By September 2002, the pair were living together along with two classmates. And, as Robert Jobson reports in his new biography of Catherine, “among the student community, it was an open secret that they were a couple.”
But whatever secrecy shrouded their relationship, at least on campus, was ripped away after what Jobson calls a “revealing moment” at a dinner party attended by friends of William and Kate, including his ex-girlfriend Carly Massy-Birch.
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge attend the EE British Academy Film Awards at Royal Albert Hall on February 10, 2019 in London, England.
UK Press via Getty Images
Massy-Birch, “perhaps unwittingly,” according to Jobson, “exposed William’s secret love affair with Catherine” during a boozy game of “Never Have I Ever,” reportedly “much to the prince’s chagrin.”
Jobson cited the work of fellow royal author Katie Nicholl, who, in her 2013 book, “Kate: The Future Queen,” provided additional details about the revelatory evening.
One of two official portraits that Prince William and Kate Middleton chose to release to mark their engagement. The happy couple in the Cornwall Room in St James’s Palace.ZUMAPRESS.com
Prince William and Kate Middleton, watch the England against Italy Six Nations rugby match at Twickenham stadium in London on Feb. 10, 2007.AP
“[Massy-Birch] announced, ‘I’ve never dated two people in this room,’ knowing full well that William was the only one who had because Kate was sitting next to him,” a guest at the party told Nicholl.
According to that guest, everyone at the dinner was “in shock.” Prince William, they added, “shot a thunderous look” at his ex and reportedly whispered under his breath, “I can’t believe you just said that.”
The Prince and Princess of Wales with their children, Prince George, Prince Louis, and Princess Charlotte, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in June 2024.ZUMAPRESS.com
Whatever ill will he had toward Massy-Birch seemed to have faded by the time he wed Catherine in 2011, as his former flame was one of a handful of the prince’s exes to snag an invite to the happy couple’s nuptials.
William and Kate were often inseparable during their time together at university, making the revelation of their romance not as surprising to their classmates as it would be to someone outside of St. Andrews.
The Prince of Wales and The Princess of Wales take part in the Out-Sourcing Inc. Royal Charity Polo Cup 2023 at Guards Polo Club on July 6, 2023.ZUMAPRESS.com
“They could often be spotted walking or cycling to lectures, browsing the aisles of the local Safeway supermarket, or spending quiet evenings at home, listening to William’s R&B tracks or [their friend] Fergus’s jazz on their music systems,” Jobson writes.
“Their routine rarely deviated during the week, except for Wednesday afternoons when they indulged in sports.”
Britain’s Prince William and his fiancee Kate Middleton pose for the media at St. James’s Palace in London, Tuesday Nov. 16, 2010, after they announced their engagement.AP
Will later spoke about the start to his and Kate’s romance in the couple’s official engagement interview in 2010, recalling, “We moved in together as friends. We lived with a couple of others, as well, and it just sort of blossomed from there, really. We just saw more of each other, hung out a bit more and did stuff.”
