Prince William and Duchess Catherine seem to be the perfect couple. From their days as university sweethearts to their current situation as full-time royals and parents, the Duke and Duchess have become the pin-up royal poster couple.
But back in 2007, the fairytale romance was briefly put on hold when William and a then-Kate Middleton broke up for a brief window. So what really happened?
And now, new details on the break-up have surfaced and it appears that even the royals had their own relationship woes.
Before they were Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Will and Kate hit a couple of rough patches. (Image: Getty Images)
Prince William and Kate Middleton met while studying at the University of St Andrews in 2001 and after five years of dating, the couple hit a rough patch.
According to her book, The Duchess of Cambridge: How Kate Middleton Became A Future Queen, author Jessica Jayne reveals how Prince William began to feel “claustrophobic” in the relationship and jetted off on holiday to Greece with close friend and nightclub owner, Guy Pelly, who is now Prince George and Prince Louis’ godfather.
William’s right hand man had also organised an all-female crew for their sailing trip around Greece, which left Kate to find solace at her parents’ home feeling “miserable.”
And like any other lovelorn twenty-something, Kate tossed up whether she should contact her prince and confess to missing him.
“She got quite drunk on white wine and really let her guard down,” the book claims.
Ahh! We’ve all been there, Kate!
During the brief break up period, Kate let her hair down with sister Pippa and dated, but she and William soon realised they were meant to be together.
They soon reconciled and announced their engagement in November 2010.
The then-Kate Middleton in her single days. (Image: Getty Images)
When quizzed about the break-up in their official engagement interview, the now Duchess of Cambridge admitted that whilst it hurt at the time, the break up made her stronger.
“You find out things about yourself that maybe you hadn’t realised, or 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. Looking back on it.”
Prince William admitted, though, that there was something special about Kate from the moment he met her.
In their engagement interview he said, “We ended up being friends for a while and that was a good foundation because I do genuinely believe now, being friends with one another is a massive advantage and it just went from there. Over the years I knew things were getting better and better and we worked through a few stumbling blocks as every relationship does but we picked ourselves up and carried on.”
The couple wed in a breathtakingly beautiful royal wedding in 2011 and the rest, as they say, is history.
WATCH: Prince William and Duchess Catherine exchange wedding vows.
