Campus Confidential Royal Style: Prince William and Kate Middleton's College Romance Exposed During Game of 'Never Have I Ever'
During their early 2000s college romance, Prince William and Kate Middleton managed to stay mum with the media, but they were no match for their nosy University of St Andrew's friends.
In particular, one of the future monarch's ex-girlfriends went so far as to expose his romance with the future queen in a "cheeky" game of "Never Have I Ever" while at a campus party.
As revealed in royal author Robert Jobson's new book Catherine, the Princess of Wales: A Biography of the Future Queen, the then-second in line to the throne's former partner, Carly Massy-Birch, revealed the pair and this was later shared via information given to fellow royal author Katie Nicholl for her 2013 book, Kate: The Future Queen. The royal expert went on to anonymously speak with attendees at the "booze-filled" gathering during research for her tome.
"'I've never dated two people in this room,' knowing full well that William was the only one who had because Kate was sitting next to him," one of the partygoers revealed about Massy-Birch to Nicholl.
Shock and disbelief reportedly engulfed the room, and the future heir to the British throne "shot a thunderous look" at his former girlfriend and said: "I can't believe you just said that."
Being secretive and dodging the media were two themes that defined much of that decade for the now-Prince and Princess of Wales, but despite the challenges to their bond, William and Kate rarely ever lost their composure in public. For the next queen, in particular, the press scrutiny surrounding her mimicked that of what Lady Diana Spencer endured in 1980 while dating then-Prince Charles.
Although likely inflamed at the moment, William and Kate apparently forgave Massy-Birch as she was an attendee at their 2011 royal wedding in Westminster Abbey.
After meeting in the autumn of 2001, the millennial generation, modern future king and queen got to know one another "for months" before finally starting dating in the first quarter of 2002. The Princess of Wales revealed in her and William's 2010 engagement interview that she was "shy" when she first met the "strikingly good-looking" prince destined to wear St Edward's Crown.
"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," Her future Royal Highness spilled.
But behind the scenes of paps snapping their pictures whenever they appeared outside of the St Andrew's enclosure, William and Kate lived a "relatively normal" life while studying.
"They could often be spotted walking or cycling to lectures, browsing the aisles of the local Safeway supermarket, or spending quiet evenings at home, listening to William’s R&B tracks or [their friend] Fergus’s jazz on their music systems," Jobson wrote. "Their routine rarely deviated during the week, except for Wednesday afternoons when they indulged in sports."
The New York Post reported on Jobson's book.