Prince William and Kate Middleton have been together ever since they were in college. The couple split twice during the span of their relationship, but both breakups didn’t last very long. In fact, following their second split, Prince William and Middleton got back together, and they also had a marriage pact. The Duke of Cambridge promised his then-girlfriend that they would get married no matter what.
But before all these things happened, Prince William and Kate Middleton were two university students who were smitten with each other. When Prince William turned 21, he celebrated his special day with his schoolmates, and Middleton was in attendance.
Prince William Ignored Kate Middleton During His 21st Birthday Party Because Jecca Craig Was There
According to royal author Katie Nicholl, the Duchess of Cambridge felt utterly frustrated at the time because Prince William ignored her the entire night. After all, the Duke of Cambridge’s old flame traveled all the way to England to celebrate with him.
“When William attended Kate's belated 21st birthday in June 2003 at her family home in Bucklebury, Berkshire, the glance she threw him across the room when he walked into the 1920s-themed party was beyond platonic. Then at William's party at Windsor Castle later that month, it seemed as though Kate was barely registering on William's radar,” Nicholl wrote in William and Harry: Behind the Palace Walls (via Express).
According to Nicholl, Prince William was focused only on his ex-girlfriend, Jecca Craig, who he met six years earlier. Craig was reportedly Prince William’s first love, but royal insiders claimed that the two were only close friends.
But during his 21st birthday party, Prince William reportedly sat close to Craig and practically ignored Middleton. According to Nicholl, this caused tension between the couple.
“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,” Nicholl said.
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Prince William Is Close To His Rumored Girlfriend’s Dad
According to reports, Prince William is also close to Craig’s dad, Ian Craig. In fact, the latter was the one who sparked the Duke of Cambridge’s interest in conservation.
“I had such an amazing experience, where I got to see [Ian] darting an elephant for research purposes, and I must have been 16, 17, something like that. Back then, conservation was very much a case of putting wildlife over here and putting people over there. Don't let them meet. And Ian came along with a pretty radical idea, which was: 'You can't keep these two entities separate. They need to be together. This is where I started to realize what the job is,” Prince William said.
Kate Middleton Accused Prince William Of Cheapening Her Image
Meanwhile, Prince William’s 21st birthday party wasn’t the only time wherein Prince William and Middleton dealt with tension in their relationship. In 2007, the Duchess of Cambridge reportedly accused her then-boyfriend of cheapening her image.
Prince William was reportedly photographed dancing on a podium, and he was also photographed with another woman during the night out. When he got home, Middleton reportedly gave him a stern warning.
“Kate told William that he was making her look bad. She has coped for years with girls flinging themselves at her boyfriend and, for a while, she found it humorous and even flattering. But after his recent behavior, she gave him an ultimatum and told him that every time he behaved like that in public he was cheapening her image as well as his own. She told him she wasn't prepared to be treated like a doormat and that his carefree behavior was affecting her image. She gave him quite a pasting. In the past, she had always let go of things like that, but this really bothered her,” a source told Express.
The insider also claimed that something snapped in her after seeing photos of Prince William with another woman during his night out.
But over the years, Prince William and Middleton’s relationship was made even stronger by these tensions.
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