Prince William’s simple gesture that saved his relationship with Kate Middleton

Prince William and Kate Middleton weren’t always the picture of romance and marital bliss we know them to be today.

Just like any young couple, back when the pair first started dating, it took a few goes to iron out their minor issues and learn how to live harmoniously with each other.

They split in 2007 for a few months, but later reconciled and of course, went on to marry.

And now a juicy new memoir from respected royal expert and Vanity Fair’s chief royal reporter Katie Nicholl, called Kate: The Future Queen, has revealed some very intimate details about exactly what happened during their rocky time apart.

Kate and Wills split in April 2007 – it was the future King of England who broke things off with Kate – because William thought at age 25 he was too young to get married and settle down.

“William went to his father and said, ‘Look, I’m 25, I’m too young to get married. I just don’t want to commit at this point,'” claims royal biographer Christopher Andersen.

“Charles, who was by then very fond of Kate, said, ‘It would be unfair to the young lady. You cannot string her along anymore, so you should just break it off.'”

But according to Nicholl’s new book, it didn’t take long for William to realise his mistake.

By the end of May, the royal expert claims, William was “pleading” with his ex-girlfriend for a second chance and desperately trying to get a hold of Kate to patch things up.

And it was during a secret meeting that they rekindled their love.

“They secretly met up at Clarence House and at a pub close to Highgrove, where William told her he wanted to get back together,” Nicholl wrote in her book.

“Kate didn’t want to rush anything. She had been badly hurt and told William she needed some time.”

READ NEXT: The best quotes Kate and Wills have said about each other

But what really sealed the deal was another encounter in June, when William invited Kate to a “Freakin’ Naughty-themed” fancy dress party at his army barracks in Dorset.

Nicholl claims that by now, Kate had “made her mind up” about her future with Wills – and made sure she was dressed to impress!

“[Kate was] dressed as a nurse – a rather sexy one in fishnet tights and a short dress,” Nicholl wrote.

According to people who were at the party that night, Prince William “followed her around like a lost puppy” and the two “couldn’t keep their hands off each other”,

By the end of the night, they were officially back on. And the rest, as they say, is history.

WATCH BELOW: The adorable moment Kate and Wills hold hands at Kensington Palace. Story continues after the video.

The couple have been open about the breakup period, even discussing it openly during their engagement interview in 2010.

Kate said the breakup made her a “stronger person”.

“I think at the time I wasn’t very happy about it, but actually it made me a stronger person, you find out things about yourself that maybe you hadn’t realised, I think you can get quite consumed by a relationship when you are younger and I really valued that time for me as well although I didn’t think it at the time,” she said.

And William said the split was a product of their young age.

“We were both very young, it was at university, we were both finding ourselves as such and being different characters and stuff, it was very much trying to find our own way and we were growing up, it was a bit of space and a bit of things like that and it worked out for the better,” the future King of England explained.

We’re just glad they managed to patch things up for the better!