Prince William and Kate’s relationship timeline - when did they first meet?
The Crown season 6 part 2 shows the royal couple meeting for the first time - but what is the true story of their relationship timeline?
The relationship between Prince William and Kate Middleton is set to take centre stage in the second part of The Crown season 6, as the royal drama looks towards the next generation.
These will be the final six episodes of The Crown, with the show's storyline set to go up until 2005 and the wedding of Charles and Camilla.
But for those looking to tell fact from fiction when it comes to William and Kate's relationship, just when did they first meet, and when was their relationship made public?
Read on for everything you need to know about Prince William and Kate Middleton's relationship timeline.
When did Prince William and Kate Middleton meet?
Kate and William met while studying at St Andrews University in 2001, with both initially studying Art History (although William later changed to Geography).
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Kate had initially been going to study at Edinburgh University, but both she and William took gap years after their finished school, and she decided to re-apply to St Andrews.
They are said to have become close friends, and they later started living together, along with friends Fergus Boyd and Olivia Bleasdale. At this time, Middleton was reportedly in a casual relationship with Rupert Finch.
In 2002 William's view of Kate is said to have changed when she performed in a charity fashion show, wearing a see-through lace dress. He is said to have turned to a friend and said: "Wow, Kate's hot."
They subsequently started going out, and moved into a place of their own.
When was William and Kate's relationship made public?
The couple were first rumoured to be together in late 2003, but their relationship became fully public in April 2004, when pictures of them at a Ski Resort in Switzerland were published by The Sun.
Their relationship continued until 2007, when it was reported that they had separated. This was said to be because Kate was struggling with the media attention, and they were growing apart due to their separate careers.
In their engagement interview, William later confirmed to Tom Bradby: "We did split up for a bit, but that was just, we were both very young, it was at university, and we were both sort of defining ourselves as such and being different characters and stuff. It was very much trying to find our own way and we were growing up."
They were reported to have got back together just two months later.
When did William and Kate get married?
While this is not expected to feature in The Crown, Prince William proposed to Kate in October 2010 while they were on the side of Mount Kenya in Africa. They then announced their engagement in November.
The wedding took place on 29th April 2011 at Westminster Abbey, with the date being made a public holiday.
The couple would go on to have three children - Prince George, born on 22nd July 2013, Princess Charlotte, born on 2nd May 2015 and Prince Louis, born on 23rd April 2018. They are second, third and fourth in line to the throne respectively.
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Who plays William and Kate in The Crown season 6?
William appeared in The Crown season 6 part 1, played by Rufus Kampa, but in season 6 part 2 he is played by a new actor, Ed McVey.
Meanwhile Kate Middleton first appears in season 6 part 2, and is played by Meg Bellamy. The two young actors are both newcomers.
The show's casting director, Robert Sterne, previously told RadioTimes.com that William is "quite a complicated character" because he is "coming out of that kind of tragedy" of his mother's death, but "looking forward".
He continued: "And he is a golden boy who's going find his own autonomy. And it's a difficult transition for him from university into entering the limelight as the heir."
Meanwhile, Sterne said that "Peter Morgan's version" of Kate is "very much a person who was having to deal with a lot of pressure with a lot of grace, and a real presence of mind".
He continued: "They’re early days – we see her as a teen and then we see them going to university and we see their kind of relationship starting and the various pressures that she has on her life at that time."
The Crown season 6 part 2 will stream on Netflix from 14th December 2023. Seasons 1-5 are available now. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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