Prince William and Kate Middleton’s love story has long been sold as a modern-day fairy tale — university sweethearts turned future king and queen. And for what it’s worth, it’s got all the elements of a classic romance: meeting at university, falling in love, getting married, and preparing for the crown. But no love story this flawless escapes rumors, and one in particular refuses to die: that teenage Kate had a poster of William on her bedroom wall before they ever met. Even Netflix series “The Crown” leaned into it, and fans ate it up. After all, what’s more adorable than a normie girl dreaming of marrying a prince, and then actually doing it?
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The only problem, though, is that the poster never existed — and Kate herself said so. In the couple’s official engagement interview with Hello! Magazine, journalist Tom Bradby helped set the record straight. “There’s a story that goes around that you had a picture of him on your wall,” he asked, and William jumped in to answer. “There wasn’t just one, there was about ten, 20.” Kate, however, wasted no time shutting it down. “He wishes!” she quipped. “No. No, I had the Levis guy on my wall, not a picture of William. Sorry!” she said. And William, of course, tried saving face, “Well, it was me in Levis, obviously!”
So no, teenage Kate wasn’t secretly pining for William and was instead swooning over denim models like every other girl her age. Whether she had a crush on the prince before they met is anyone’s guess, but what we do know is this: when they officially met at university, William made the first move — and the rest is royal history.
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It was actually Prince William who made the first move to kickstart their romance
Not only did Kate Middleton debunk the infamous poster story, but she also didn’t orchestrate her entire academic life around chasing a royal. Rumor has it that she gave up a spot at the University of Edinburgh as influenced by her mother, Carole, to enroll at St. Andrews — conveniently where William was headed — but that theory doesn’t hold up either. If anything, it was William doing the chasing from the start.
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Apparently, it was the now-iconic student charity fashion show that did him in. William shelled out £200 for front-row seats and got more than his money’s worth when Kate stepped out in a sheer dress that left little to the imagination. Legend has it he turned to his friend and blurted out, “Wow, Fergus, Kate’s hot!” At the after party, William reportedly made his move, despite the small issue of Kate already dating fellow student Rupert Finch. It didn’t seem like the prince cared. “It was clear to us that William was smitten with Kate,” one of their friends told Vanity Fair. “He actually told her she was a knockout that night, which caused her to blush. There was definitely chemistry between them, and Kate had really made an impression on William. She played it very cool, and at one point when William seemed to lean in to kiss her, she pulled away. She didn’t want to give off the wrong impression or make it too easy for Will.”
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So there you have it. Not only was Kate not pining for William before they met, she didn’t even chase him when they finally did. If anything, she had him working for it — Levi’s poster, current boyfriend, and all.
