Royal family
Prince William and Kate Middleton first met while attending the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Now, they’ve been married for years, but the prince took a big risk before proposing.
Prince William and Kate Middleton have been together for more than 20 years. The couple met back in 2001 at the University of St. Andrews, and after developing a close friendship, the rest became history.
These days, William and Kate have come a long way in their relationship and share three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. But in order to get to where they are today, William had to make the big decision to propose; it turns out he took one major risk before popping the question.
Prince William chose not to ask Kate Middleton’s dad for permission to marry her
William and Kate first met in the early 2000s. The couple began dating sometime around 2002, after they had moved in together during their second year of college. The Prince and Princess of Wales started out as close friends, but once they were living under the same roof, everything changed.
William and Kate’s relationship went through its share of ups and downs, with the couple reportedly breaking up twice during their lengthy dating timeline. They split once in 2004 for just a few weeks, then once in 2007 for only a few months. By 2010, William had made the decision to propose to Kate, but he took one big risk: He did not ask Kate’s dad, Michael Middleton, for permission to marry his daughter.
William explained his reasoning during the couple’s 2010 engagement interview. It turns out he was just worried that Kate’s father would say no. “I was torn between asking Kate’s dad first and then the realization that he might actually say ‘no’ dawned upon me,” the prince revealed after the couple announced the good news to the world. “So, I thought if I ask Kate first, then he can’t really say no. So I did it that way ‘round. I managed to speak to Mike soon after it happened really, and then it sort of happened from there.”
Prince William and Kate Middleton tied the knot in 2011
By the time William and Kate had their royal wedding, the event was certainly a long time coming. The couple had been together for almost a decade before William proposed, but things moved quickly after that. They planned a wedding in six months, and after a little more than a year of enjoying married life, the two announced that their first child, Prince George, was on the way.
These days, William and Kate have built a whole little family for themselves, and they continue to put their children first as the kids grow up. The two are one step closer to the throne now than they were when they wed, but they are in no rush to take over.
