Kate (16 page)

But storm clouds were brewing, and it was in the summer of 2004 that their relationship encountered its first set of serious difficulties. After enjoying a holiday together with a group of friends on the island of Rodrigues, which William had been wanting to revisit since his gap year, they realized it would be some time before they saw each other. William had been invited to Nashville, Tennessee, to stay with his close friend Anna Sloan, who was studying at Edinburgh University with Pippa. Although there was no suggestion of a romance, Kate hated the idea of him being away with another woman,
even if Anna was just a friend. She knew it was a flaw, but she was territorial when it came to William. When he returned from that trip, he barely had time to unpack his bags and see Kate before jetting off again, this time to Greece with Guy Pelly and some of their friends for a boys-only cruise in the Mediterranean. Kate knew William well enough to realize that he clearly needed some space, and before he went to Greece, they agreed to use the time apart to think about things. As with many couples who meet at university, the crunch time came as the prospect of graduation loomed.

It was as if real life had suddenly intervened and burst their bubble once they had left Balgove House for the summer vacation. Kate knew she had no option and was forced to give William his freedom, but the rest of the summer was agonizing as she questioned his commitment to her and tried to make sense of what was going on. In truth, William was experiencing some unease about being tied down, and having agreed to a break with Kate, he had the opportunity to play the field again.

He had always had a soft spot for Isabella Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe, the younger sister of William and Harry's polo-playing friend Jacobi. With her intimidating triple-barreled surname, Isabella was just the sort of rival that Kate feared—astonishingly pretty, titled, and the heiress to a stately home and a banking fortune. During the summer, William made repeated efforts to take her out, on one occasion boldly turning up at the family's Chelsea home on the pretense of seeing Jacobi. Isabella, however, had no aspirations to date a prince and, despite his amorous advances, declared that she was not interested in dating William.

In order to take her mind off things, Kate accepted an invitation from Fergus Boyd to join a group of university friends at his family's holiday home in France in the Dordogne. Among the group were Kate's friends Ginny and Olivia. She hadn't told them about the trial separation from William, but she was unusually subdued and they asked her what was wrong. At first she brushed off their concern, but one evening, she could no longer keep it to herself, confiding to them that she and William were taking a break. “She was debating whether or not she should text or call him. She got quite drunk on white wine and really let her guard down,” recalled one of the group. “She said how sad she was and how much she was missing him.”

However, the summer appeared to be a blip in their relationship, for while William had clearly needed time away, by October they were back together, returning to Balgove House for the start of their final year at St. Andrews. Kate had some conditions—the most heartfelt one being that he wasn't to contact Isabella again—and just as though nothing had happened, they slotted back into life as a couple. Later that term, Kate was invited to Prince Charles's fifty-sixth birthday party at Highgrove. William's father was very fond of Kate and already saw her as a future daughter-in-law. She was thrilled to be included. It was even clearer how much Prince Charles saw Kate as part of the family the following March, when she was included in his pre-wedding skiing holiday at Klosters, along with William and Harry.

However, whereas his father's wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles was just around the corner, William was in no hurry to tie any knots, as evidenced by the unguarded remarks he
made to a reporter during an après-ski evening in a local bar: “Look, I'm only twenty-two, for God's sake. I am too young to marry at my age. I don't want to get married until I am at least twenty-eight or maybe thirty.” Kate no doubt knew of William's thoughts on marriage—and maybe even felt the same way—but it can't have been reassuring to hear such a categorical, emphatic wish to remain single.

The runup to Charles and Camilla's wedding, meanwhile, had been beset by problems and was probably enough to put William off the idea, for the foreseeable future at least. Charles and Camilla had wanted a civil wedding at Windsor Castle, but when it was realized that if a license were granted, then any other couple could also be married there, the plan was scrapped. Instead, it was decided that they would marry at Windsor Guildhall, followed by a blessing by the Archbishop of Canterbury in St. George's Chapel in the castle. Although the British public had largely warmed to the idea of Camilla marrying Charles, there was speculation that the Queen would not be attending the nuptials. Charles was crestfallen that his wedding was being labeled a “fiasco” in the press but had been reassured by William and Harry's supportive joint statement: “We are both very happy for our father and Camilla and wish them all the luck in the future.” It had been difficult for them in the early years following the death of their mother, but they had more than accepted Camilla as part of their father's life: “We love her to bits,” remarked Harry.

Against all the odds, the wedding was a success, even though it had to be delayed a day because of the death of Pope John Paul II. When Camilla emerged from the shadows of Capital Guildhall into the spring sunshine to spontaneous applause from the waiting crowds, it seemed the worst was behind
them. And while the Queen and Prince Philip had not attended the civil part of the ceremony, they were there at St. George's Chapel—along with the other seven hundred guests. The most moving tribute that day came from the Queen, when for the first time she gave the couple her public blessing: “My son is home and dry with the woman he loves.”

Kate was not at the wedding—protocol dictated otherwise—and this, more than any other time in her relationship with William so far was the starkest reminder that her boyfriend's family was beyond anything she had ever known. From the outset, Prince Charles and Kate had enjoyed a good relationship. But there were strict rules about who could and could not be invited, and Kate was not yet an official part of the inner circle and wouldn't be until she was a royal fiancée.

The Easter break seemed to pass in a flash, and soon Kate was back at St. Andrews to prepare for her finals, putting the final touches to her dissertation on Lewis Carroll, the author of
Alice in Wonderland
and a significant figure in the history of photography. According to her tutor, Professor Peter Humfrey, “Kate produced a good piece of work; it was very interesting.” She had been a diligent student throughout her four-year program and was determined to get a good final grade.

Both Kate and William finished their finals at the end of May 2005 and launched themselves into the end-of-degree celebrations—including the traditional May Ball, which was organized by the Kate Kennedy Club and held at Kinkell Farm. For once Kate let her hair down, and not able to tolerate her drink, was carried out by Fergus Boyd before the night was over. Knowing this was the last few weeks they would all be together, William was characteristically generous and threw
several barbecues and cocktail parties at Balgove House, Kate doing the catering while William tended the bar. There were also William's social engagements and obligations outside St. Andrews, and he included Kate in several of these, most notably flying down to Oxfordshire to attend the wedding of his close friend Hugh Van Cutsem to Rose Astor. This was the first society event at which Kate and William would appear together, and their rumored attendance ensured that a number of paparazzi turned up at the parish church. William was an usher and had arrived ahead of Kate, who appeared rather nervous as she made her way to the entrance past photographers desperate to get an image of her. As they left the church, Kate and William were pictured walking into the distance, heads tilted, bodies turned toward each other and deep in conversation. Their closeness was there for all to see.

On June 23, 2005, Kate and William graduated from St. Andrews, both with a well-deserved upper second degree. It was a high-profile event for the university as the Queen and Prince Philip had traveled to the town to see their grandson receive his degree certificate, the first time they had ever attended a family member's graduation ceremony. There had been much preparation ahead of the royal arrival; the university had sent details of every student graduating to the Palace ahead of the day, and in a pleasant surprise, the sun was out. Vice Chancellor Brian Lang recalled, “The Queen was wonderful; she was the proud admiring doting grandmother, I remember hearing William say: ‘Hello Granny, I'm so glad you could come.' We knew she hadn't been well, but nothing was going to keep her away from that day and she was very good company. It was such a glorious day—St. Andrews at its best. In the sun, this beautiful ancient medieval town was full of bright good-looking students. Everything went right that day, thank goodness, because we had the world's press watching us.”

Carole Middleton poses proudly with her baby daughter who was as good as gold and known as Catherine until she went to university. (© Rex Features)

Kate described her time at St. Andrews Prep School as “some of my happiest years.” Here she is (
first on left
), age 13, with her classmates and favorite tutor, Kevin Allford.

Kate (
top row, center
) loved sports and played Goal Defense for the school netball team. Her mother Carole also played Goal Attack in a teachers' and parents' team.

Kate (
far right
) loved her time at Marlborough College and made friends for life. A boarder at Elmhurst house, her favorite tutor, Ann Patching, says she was popular and talented. (© Solo Syndication)