Meet the Exes Prince William Dated Before (and, Uh, During) His Relationship With Kate Middleton
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It's been 84 years since Prince William and Kate Middleton got together in college, but please be advised that Prince William dated around for a bit before committing to Kate. Which isn't a huge surprise considering he was England's Most Eligible Bachelor when he entered the University of St. Andrews and routinely took photos like this:
So, whomst did Will date before Kate Middleton caught his eye (in an entirely sheer dress)? Meet his exes:
Rose Farquhar
According to the Daily Mail, Rose (pictured above at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal wedding) was William's "first love" back at some random polo club. But there isn't much reporting on the relationship, so let's take it with a grain of salt.
Davina Duckworth-Chad
The Daily Mail reports that Davina and William were briefly dating in 1999, when she accompanied him on a cruise that was (help) described as a "love boat." Also, I'm sorry to report these two are apparently second cousins, so let's hope rumors that they dated are false. Please god, if you're there....
Jecca Craig
Jecca and William dated back in 2000 during Prince William's pre-college gap year. And, uh, their former relationship allegedly caused some drama with Kate Middleton during William's birthday party. Per royal biographer Katie Nicholl, via She Finds, "Kate didn't know whether they had been romantically involved or not, but she noted that Jecca had been seated at the head table next to William, whereas Kate had to raise her glass to toast the prince from afar."
Meanwhile, royal biographer Christopher Andersen says in his book Brothers and Wives that then-Prince Charles told William not to string both Jecca and Kate along, saying, "You mustn’t put her through that, William. It isn’t fair to Jecca."
Arabella Musgrave
The Daily Mail reports that William briefly dated Arabella before university, but apparently "the relationship fizzled out when he started his first term." Arabella then went on to date William's buddy James Tollemache, and a friend said, "I think at first Kate felt threatened by Bella because she was William's first real love, but when she realized that Bella and James were as tight as they are, she relaxed a lot more and Kate and Bella actually get on very well now."
Carly Massy-Birch
Wills and Carly (no photos, sorry!) dated in college—before Kate entered the picture.
“I’m a real country bumpkin,” Carly said, via Katie Nicholl in Vanity Fair. “I think that was why we had a connection. William was in the year below, and we just happened to meet through the general St. Andrews melee. It’s such a small place that it was impossible not to bump into William, and after a while there was nothing weird about seeing him around. We got on well, but I think we would have got on well even if nothing had been going on romantically. It was very much a university thing, just a regular university romance.”
Meanwhile, Carly went on to have a super awkward encounter with Kate Middleton during a casual game of "Never Have I Ever" at a dinner party. According to a source who spoke to Nicholl for her book The Making of a Royal Romance, "When it was Carly’s turn to play she 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." Annnnnd Kate has barely spoken to Carly since as a result!
Olivia Hunt
William also dated Olivia (alas, no pics) at university, with a source telling the Daily Mail that "William was seeing Olivia when he met Kate, and when Kate came on the scene Olivia moved off pretty quickly. Kate was jealous of other girls at St Andrews. There was one from Greece who William took a shine to. Kate had a real problem with her because she and William got so friendly."
Isabella Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe
William reportedly met Isabella when he and Kate were "on a break," and he fell hard.
"William said he needed a break and that summer he went on a boys-only holiday to the Greek Islands," a source told the Daily Mail. "Isabella was very much on the scene that summer. I would go so far as to say that William dumped Kate because he thought he had a chance with Isabella, and Kate knew that. Kate's a tough cookie though, and stood aside and waited for William to come back to her which eventually he did. Before that, though, he did everything he could to woo Isabella. He had fallen for her in a huge way and wanted to be with her. He propositioned her several times that summer, and although Isabella was single, she knocked William back and said it would be too damaging for her and her career."
The source went on to add that "William was madly in love with her, but when he knew there was no chance of them getting together he went back to Kate. Kate was very aware of his obsession with Isabella and she was incredibly threatened by her. Isabella is drop-dead beautiful and would leave any girl in the shade. Kate accepted William back again but on the condition that he would not speak to Isabella again."
Anna Sloan
It's unclear if William and heiress Anna Sloan (again, no pics!) actually dated, but he went on holiday with her during the summer he and Kate were broken up—which apparently "hurt Kate deeply." Katie Nicholl writes in her book, William and Harry (via The Express) that “Kate was beginning to question William’s commitment to their relationship, and she also had her own creeping doubts about their future after St Andrews.”
Obviously Kate and William ended up together after all ^ these ^ other ^ ladies ^ and she's going to be Queen of England some day, so 💅
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