It Took Prince Harry a Longtime to Warm Up to Kate Middleton After William Started Dating Her, Royal Writer Says
Article Highlights:
- Prince William and Kate Middleton knew each other for a decade before they got married
- Prince Harry took a while to warm up to Kate
- When Harry did finally bonded with his sister-in-law
You’ve heard the stories about how Prince William wasn’t particularly keen on how fast things were moving with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle while they were dating. But it’s been reported that Harry wasn’t all that fond of Kate Middleton either when she was beginning to enter the royal fold. The Duchess of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex did become tight and formed a close relationship but it wasn’t always that way.
Prince William and Kate Middleton knew each other for a decade before they got married
William and his future bride were introduced in 2001 when they both attended St. Andrew’s University. During the couple’s joint interview, Kate recalled their first meeting and stated that they were friends for a while before they became romantically involved.
“I actually went bright red when I met [him] and scuttled off feeling very shy about meeting [him],” Kate admitted, adding, “William wasn’t there for quite a bit of the time initially, he wasn’t there from Fresher’s Week, so it did take a bit of time for us to get to know each other, but we did become very close friends from quite early on.”
The pair took their time getting to know each other. Considering all that Kate’s future would entail with the future king, they didn’t rush things and continued to date throughout college and several years after that. William didn’t pop the question until 2010; nearly a decade after they met. They got married the following year.
Prince Harry took a while to warm up to Kate
When the world found out William and Kate were dating, the future duchess was thrust into the royal limelight. Vicky Ward wrote in Vanity Fair that Kate did not receive any guidance on how to handle things before William proposed.
She noted that at the time Kate wasn’t “officially entitled to any royal benefits paid for by the taxpayers, such as security; she has no spokesperson and is not receiving any official guidance on what to wear or how to conduct herself in royal circles.”
Ward revealed that something Kate did decide to do while she was still Willliam’s girlfriend was really try to get to know his family saying: “She went to dinner several times with the queen, who liked her, as did Charles and Camilla.”
Ward added that Harry though wasn’t sold on Kate when she was slowly entering the royal fold. “Harry, according to one friend, took longer to warm up to her,” Ward wrote (per Express).
When Harry finally bonded with his sister-in-law
Eventually, Harry and his sister-in-law did bond. After having known each other for almost two decades, when William decided Kate was the one Harry was on board.
A Newsweek interview profile with the Duke of Sussex reads: “There was no one filling the hole left by Diana’s death, and Harry seemed to be growing up without someone emotionally available he could lean on. Kate has helped fill some of that gap. When she and William got engaged, Harry called her the big sister he never had.”
