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Everyone knows that Prince William and Kate Middleton were college sweethearts. The royal couple met when they both attended St. Andrew’s University in the early 2000s and they became fast friends. Eventually, their friendship blossomed into something more, and now, almost 20 years later, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are married, and they have three adorable children together, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. However, we bet you didn’t know that the first time the duke and duchess late eyes on one another was in 1990.

The first time Prince William and Kate Middleton crossed paths they were 9 years old

Way back in the late ’80s and early ’90s when Prince William and Kate Middleton were in elementary school, their respective schools, Ludgrove Prep and St. Andrews Prep, used to play each other in sports. The duchess first spotted her future hubby when his school played hers in a hockey game. In her book, Kate: The Future Queen, royal biographer Katie Nicholl writes,

Although [Kate] wasn’t especially interested in boys, the arrival of one particular young man had caught her attention. Nearby Ludgrove Prep school would often play matches against St. Andrew’s Prep, and there was much excitement when Prince William, a left back on Ludgrove’s Colts team, came to St. Andrew’s to play a hockey match when he was nine years old. William, like Kate, loved sports and was one of the best hockey and rugby players in his year. Of course, the arrival of the prince generated a flurry of excitement. It was the first time Kate had set her eyes on the young prince, but certainly not the last.

Did Kate Middleton have a poster of Prince William on her dorm room wall?

Though the duchess adamantly denies it, her former roommate, Jessica Hay, recalls that Middleton had a poster of Prince William taped up on the shared wall of their boarding school dorm room. Hay told Katie Nicholl, “She would joke, ‘There’s no one quite like William.’”

In her book Kate: The Future Queen, Nicholl says that Middleton denies having a high school crush on the man that is now her hubby. Even if she did have a secret crush, it looks like the duchess was much more focused on her studies and activities then boys when she was in high school.

When did Prince William start dating Kate Middleton?

Duchess Kate Middleton and Prince William were officially introduced to one another in 2001 just before they began their first year at St. Andrew’s University. Initially, the pair were just friends, and they even dated other people. However, by the end of their second quarter things shifted. The future King of England saw Middleton walking in one of the university’s fashion shows, and he was smitten. He later cornered her at a party, and the pair shared a kiss, officially changing their relationship forever.

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