Princess Kate Middleton had a few romances before getting married to Prince William.
Some of the now Princess of Wales’ past relationships went down as she was on and off with William. Royal expert Robert Jobson broke down the highs and lows of Kate’s love life in his August 2024 biography Catherine, the Princess of Wales.
“Catherine experienced a few innocent teenage romances,” Jobson wrote, referencing Kate’s time at Marlborough College before William became a permanent fixture in her life.
Of course, when royal watchers think of Kate’s romantic history, William is the only person on their mind. It’s no secret that they split up a few times (William broke up with her in 2007 during a 30-minute phone call) before the now Prince of Wales proposed, and Kate definitely dated other people in the interim.
Who is in her romantic past and how did she and William find their way back to each other? Keep scrolling for her dating history:
Harry Blakelock
In his book, Jobson referred to Blakelock as her “first love.” Kate’s romantic relationship with her former schoolmate “had its ups and downs, but ultimately ended before the start of her gap year,” Jobson revealed.
Willem Marx
While they had a brief relationship that “did not develop into something more,” per Jobson, Kate and Marx remained friends.
Ian Henry
The duo were deckhands together, but Henry stated that he and Kate were “very good friends,” per Jobson.
Rupert Finch
Before William, there was Finch. According to Jobson, Kate was “casually involved” with the former law student just before the St Andrews University charity fashion show where she famously caught William’s eye.
Sir Henry Ropner
Following her and William’s 2007 breakup, Kate was romantically linked to Ropner.
Prince William
While they were aware of each other’s existence for years, formally meeting in 2001, nothing romantic went down between William and Kate until after the 2002 fashion show. Jobson noted in his book that they had a “cooling-off period” at one point during their university days, but the exact time frame remains unknown.
By 2007, however, William decided that he wasn’t ready for an engagement and called things off with Kate. While it’s unclear exactly when they reconciled, they were engaged by October 2010 and married in April of the following year. William and Kate have since welcomed three kids: Prince George in July 2013, Princess Charlotte in May 2015 and Prince Louis in April 2018.
