Kate and William share a pint in the Dog and Duck pub

In the early days of Prince William’s relationship with Kate, Princess of Wales, the pair reportedly enjoyed spending quality time together away from the limelight in a secret hideaway.

The lovebirds, who met while they were students at St Andrews in the early Noughties, spent time together at Tam-Na-ghar, a cottage near the Royal Family’s country estate Balmoral in Scotland.

During the young couple’s university breaks, they would head to the cottage to spend time in the country together away from the prying eyes of the public and paparazzi.

It seems the humble abode holds a special place in the couple’s heart as they reportedly told friends it is where they have enjoyed the “happiest” of times.

The Prince of Wales was reportedly left the cottage by his great-grandmother, the Queen Mother, just before she died.

However, PA reported last year that Tam-Na-Ghar is owned by the Crown Estate with Kensington Palace confirming that it is leased to a third party.

The Crown Estate, which owns property worth more than £14billion, is land and property owned by the sovereign but not in the private possession of King Charles.

The three-bedroom house is nestled on a 50,000-acre estate and surrounded by greenery making it the perfect location to enjoy peace and quiet — and privacy.

The property is also close to another summer royal residence, King Charles’s Birkhall, which lies along the River Muick, and is where the new King and Queen began the New Year.

Both the countryside and Scotland hold a special place in the Prince of Wales’s heart as he told Country Life in 2018: “There is nowhere I feel more relaxed, energised and at peace than the British countryside…

“Of course, a big part of me is also in Scotland—my family has deep connections there and it was such a fun part of my childhood and upbringing.”

Although Kate was taken to Tam-Na-Ghar in the early years of their relationship, it was not until 2009 that she went to Balmoral, a big leap as she and William were not yet engaged.

As Cancellecitadelle wrote on Twitter: “Catherine was used to coming to Balmoral in Tam-Na-ghar, but this was the first time she was officially invited to stay at the Castle by [Her Majesty the Queen] herself. So it was a big deal: since she was not yet engaged nor married to [William] & she was to stay with the whole [Royal Family]. She bravely came.”

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While there she undertook the famous “Balmoral Test” where new guests from family friends to politicians are observed to see whether they fit in.

But Kate passed with “flying colours”, according to Christian Anderson’s 2010 book William and Kate: A Royal Love Story. He wrote: “As Kate stood on the riverbank angling for salmon, trout and pike, it quickly became clear to one member of the Balmoral staff that she seemed ‘perfectly at home here’.”

This was the first time that the Queen had met Kate properly as previously they had only met “fleetingly” at Peter and Autumn Phillips’s wedding, royal expert Kate Nicholl writes in her 2013 book Kate: The Future Queen.

But the late Monarch sought to ensure that Kate felt welcome and broke protocol by allowing her to take pictures. Ms Nicholl continued: “She went out of her way to make her feel welcome, giving her permission to take pictures at Balmoral.”

William and Kate, who met in 2001, were friends for more than a year before their relationship “blossomed” and they started dating.

It seems that the quality time spent together was important at the beginning of their relationship as the Prince of Wales told Tom Bradby following their engagement in 2010: “We just spent more time with each other, had a good giggle, had lots of fun and realised we shared the same interests and had a really good time.

“She’s got a really naughty sense of humour, which kind of helps me because I’ve got a really dry sense of humour, so it was good fun, we had a really good laugh and things happened.”

The couple still visit Tam-Na-Ghar but undoubtedly do not enjoy the alone time of yesteryear as they are now accompanied by their three young children, George, Charlotte and Louis.

During the 2019 annual summer trip to Balmoral, the Waleses stayed in Tam-na-Ghar to “ease the pressure” as the Queen had “a lot of guests coming”, a source told Vanity Fair.

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