By Molly Claire Goddard
2:53pm PDT, Aug 20, 2025
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Prince William and
Kate Middleton's romance may have kicked off earlier than initially believed. Despite public perception that the Prince and Princess of Wales began dating after William saw Kate strut down the runway at a St. Andrew's University charity fashion show in 2002, a new book claims their courtship actually began months earlier.
Keep reading to learn what one author has said about the couple…MORE:
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In
Sean Smith's
new book,
Sophie: Saving the Royal Family, the writer alleges that
Prince William and Kate Middleton were "already a discreet item" when he watched her walk the runway at the charity fashion show in 2002 — during which she famously donned
a sheer dress. According to the book, the duo first met in a 2001 art history class "in the same student block," though they "had yet to have a chat." William and Kate are said to have initially connected over their shared love of rugby — the future king thought they should "have a decent conversation about it." Smith writes that "they started dating in the Christmas holidays."
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Prince William reportedly paid 200 pounds to sit in the front row at the charity fashion show featuring Kate Middleton. The future Princess of Wales made her way down the catwalk in a sheer dress designed by fellow student
Charlotte Todd. "Everyone says that the fashion show was when the romance started, so a small part of me will always be part of royal history. It's madness!" the designer once said in
an interview.
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Prince William and Kate Middleton went on to date for several years before briefly splitting in 2007. They reconciled within a few months and got engaged in 2010. The royal pair wed at Westminster Abbey in 2011 and welcomed their first child,
Prince George, in 2013. William and Kate also share daughter
Princess Charlotte, born in 2015, and
Prince Louis, born in 2018.
