Prince William and Kate Middleton reunite with Queen at Windsor

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been married for nearly a decade but their relationship was not always plain sailing. They had been dating for a few years when William started to have doubts and it was his father and grandmother he turned to for advice. William knew that his partner had to be, not only a great match for him personally, but also for the Royal Family and for her future role as Queen consort.

According to Katie Nicholl in her book ‘The Making of a Royal Romance’, William sat down with Prince Charles and the Queen to air his concerns.

She wrote: “William had been having second thoughts and sat down with his father and his grandmother to have a frank discussion about his future with Kate.

“Both advised him not to hurry into anything.”

William would later offer the same advice to his brother Harry when he was dating Meghan Markle.

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He told Harry to “take as much time as you need” to get to know the American actress.

However, Harry took offence to this and, according to the 2020 book ‘Finding Freedom’, it was the beginning of the rift between the brothers.

In contrast, William decided to break up with Kate just weeks after his discussion with Charles and the Queen in early 2007.

Amid a media frenzy over a possible proposal, Kate had given William an ultimatum: to fully commit to their relationship or not.

William’s doubts took over and he told a devastated Kate that they should have some time apart.

Just a few months later, however, they were back together.

The couple reunited at the Concert for Diana and William took Kate on a holiday to the Seychelles.

The Duchess of Cambridge said in their engagement interview in 2010 that, while it upset her at the time, she actually really valued the time apart from William because it made her “stronger”.

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She said: “I think at the time I wasn’t very happy about it, but it actually made me a stronger person.

“You find out things about yourself that maybe you hadn’t realised.

“I think you can get quite consumed by a relationship when you’re younger and, you know, I really valued that for me as well, although I didn’t think it at the time.”

At the time when William was having doubts about the relationship, Kate had actually been invited to spend Christmas with the Royal Family at Sandringham.

Kate Middleton and William arrive at Cleeve Court Care Home

Ms Nicholl wrote in her 2011 book: “In November 2006, just before William graduated from Sandhurst, Kate was invited to Sandringham for the Royal Family’s traditional Christmas lunch, the first time a girlfriend had received such an invitation.”

Kate turned down the invitation to spend Christmas with her own family, but William promised to spend New Year with the Middletons, so they could enjoy some of the festive season together.

So, when William called her on Boxing Day to say he had changed his mind and decided to stay with his own family for New Year, she was devastated.

The conversation reportedly left William’s future wife in tears.

Ms Nicholl wrote: “For William, it was no big deal, but for Kate the cancellation was a sign of something more sinister.”

Her fears proved legitimate when not long after, William broke up with her, albeit temporarily.

The Making of a Royal Romance was written by Katie Nicholl and published by Weinstein Books in 2011. It is available here.

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