Are you lonesome tonight? Do you miss me tonight?
Are you sorry we drifted apart? Does your?
Hi, guys. Hi, everyone.
Hey. Welcome back to Significant
Lovers. We are your host.
I'm Mel. I'm Kel and I'm Caitlin Kate.
You need one syllable. Syllable nickname.
I'm just kidding. No, but she's, she's Caitlin.
Does that make you uncomfortable, Kate?
No, it doesn't make me uncomfortable.
I just never really had a nickname, you know?
What? Are you talking about?
I like that. I like that.
You go by Caitlin. Yeah, like teachers in school
always ask me like, oh, is it Kate?
Is it Katie? Is it what?
And I'm like, no, it's just Caitlin.
Well, but that is not true though, because you did go by
Katie for many years. Did I win?
As a kid. Well, I don't think it it wasn't
official, like it wasn't at school.
Yeah. No, it wasn't like self-imposed.
Like I wasn't asking people to call me that.
Well, we're talking about a Kate today.
We are talking about a Kate. That's so true.
Today we are talking about Kate Middleton and Prince William,
another royal couple. But first, before we get into
the episode, I loved our little trivia last this week, so I have
a couple questions for you guys about past episodes.
Yay. All right, let's do it.
Question One Name the actress who sparked engagement rumors
when she attended a Dior fashion party with her boyfriend and
donned a ring on that finger. Context clues.
Dior Fashion Party. Is it FKA twig?
Close. Is it Sookie Waterhouse?
Ding, Ding, Ding, one point. You're because Robert Pattinson
was the face of the. Yes.
Oh, I didn't catch that. I will say Kelly kind of gave
you the push with the FK. No, I literally no.
I was thinking Sookie Waterhouse, but I couldn't think
of her name, so it took me a second.
I was thinking of Sookie, I just couldn't think of her name.
OK, OK, OK. In honor of the election next
week, name the celebrity who once blamed an election for an
episode for an episode of infidelity.
In Joplin and Jonlin and Jonlin. Yep.
Fuck, we should have gotten that.
First I thought Paul Simon, but then I was like, no, it's John
Lennon. Yeah, Yep.
He didn't like the results of the election and then he cheated
on Yoko Ono. I saw something the other day
that was like some Entertainment Weekly or something.
They're posting new reveal that John Lennon cheated on his wife
on. I know I saw that too of.
The election or something like new scoop or whatever.
I'm like, this is old, new. Yeah, I'm like, this has been
known. Like this is not new
information. I even commented, 'cause you
did, yeah, 'cause I don't. Well.
If you listen to significant lovers, you would have known
this. I don't know, it's like it's
annoying when they post things as if it's like new information.
It's like people who are aware of these types of things
obviously would know. It's not like if you're in the
phantom, you would know. It's not new information, you
know. Yeah, it's like as if the editor
writing that just learned it. So it was new to them.
Yeah. Like it was just uncovered.
Yeah. OK.
Final question. Kate's winning.
OK, but this is double or nothing.
OK, OK. You.
Could. Tie it.
You could tie it. No fair.
Name the actor who got drunk on too much tequila and impulsively
showed up at his girlfriend's doorstep to confess his love to
her for the first time. Ohh.
This sounds so familiar. Yeah, Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding
what? Oh my God.
Have my hands in the air. This is not fab.
Cal, that came to you quickly. I demand a recount.
Before we get into it, we want to thank some of our newest
patrons to the pod. So these are people who are
supporting us on Patreon. If you guys want to listen to
additional episodes, definitely feel free to check that out.
So thank you, Mark, Hebrew, Emily, Anna, Diana, and that's
it. Thank you.
I also wanted to say thank you
to our listener Saki for sending us a gift recently.
Super generous and just made our.
Week, yes. Month, whatever.
So thank you so much. Thank you so much.
That was so serendipitous. It was a particularly tough day
and just the kindness of a stranger.
That was super, super sweet. OK, so Kate and William.
Mel, how would you describe this couple in three words?
I would say charming, supportive, and I struggled with
this last word, how to describe it, but I came to the word
measured. Basically, they're the opposite
of like impulsive, which a lot of couples we have covered have
been. They really this couple takes
their time. That's so interesting.
Yeah. And sometimes that can be good.
So I guess you can see how that works out for them.
Or maybe not. Yeah, I'm so excited.
Or maybe not. Sorry, I mean once before I read
a like fictionalized version of their love story.
I think it was called like the Royal We or something.
I don't remember who was bi. I didn't particularly care for
the book, but I didn't think it was virtually that great.
But I did think it was an interesting love stories.
But I am interested in hearing like the actual version of it
rather than the fictionalized version, you know?
So I'm very excited. Yeah, and a lot of the
information that I'm going to talk about I got from the book
The Making of a World of Romance by Katie Nicole, which came out
from when they were getting married.
I have never watched the season of the Crown that covers their
relationship or I know there's a couple movies depicted about
them too. I've seen the movie The Prince
in Me by that stars what Julia Styles isn't that.
Way before I. Think.
I think I was around when they were dating because it's like
about a normal girl who goes to college and then falls in love
with the Prince, which is kind of what this story is that we're
going to talk about today. And oh, I should tell you guys,
this is Part 1 because there's a lot to say about this couple.
So we're just going to cover their courtship in this episode.
And then next episode we're going to talk about their
marriage. But OK, so who is Prince
William? He was born on June 21st, 1982
in London. We covered his father and his
stepmother before. Check that out.
That's I think episode. What does that call like episode
six or something like that? Yeah, Charles and Camilla, one
of our favorites, so. He was a guilty pleasure.
Yes, yeah, obviously he was born to Charles and Diana.
His full name is William Arthur Phillip Louis.
And of course, he was born with an immense amount of pressure
and responsibility as the heir to the British throne.
So even though he did always grow up with nannies who were a
big part of his life, his mom Diana was more hands on than
royal mothers typically are. So William actually got to be
the first royal baby brought on a goodwill tour when he traveled
with his parents to New Zealand and Australia at just nine
months old. And then when he was two, his
brother Harry was born and the family all lived in a very
beautiful estate called the Highgrove House.
When they became adults, I think the impression is that William
was the more reserved and mature brother, which I think is true
now. But when they were little, it
definitely was a reverse William was more rambunctious and Harry
was actually a lot more quiet and reserved.
And William was, yeah, William was very like attention seeking,
extroverted, mischievous, and the Queen, like, kind of be a
little nervous about that, but he's like 4.
Give him a break. All kids are going to be a
little acting crazy, you know? Yeah, yeah.
But of course, Williams home life was not easy.
His parents had a very toxic relationship and they fought
constantly and the boys would often have to witness their
mother breaking down in tears sometimes every single day,
which is a lot for a kid. Definitely impacts, you know,
how they view romantic relationships.
As William got older, Diana would particularly confide in
him, which was just an immense burden for a little boy to take
on. And I think that is how we
started to become a lot more reserved and quiet and sensitive
compared to his brother I. Mean she was so young and I
think not in a great emotional space.
So I can imagine him like being the oldest, almost feeling like
he needs to take care of his mom or something even though he's a
kid. I don't know, that's just what I
kind of picked up from reading about the Royal.
Family, I can also see it being really like isolating,
especially for the family where they might not have like too
many close friends that they can be around with all the time.
So maybe the only person that Diana could confide in would be
her kids. And so that was kind of the only
option. So it probably wasn't the best
option, but it was the only option and it's not healthy for
anybody. Yeah, I don't blame her at all.
I mean, also, it's like she feels repressed by the
establishment, the palace, whatever, but she knows that her
boys are growing up in that environment, too.
And so she's probably also nervous that they're going to
one day, maybe even turn on her, too.
So I could see wanting to, like, kind of shape their opinions
early on in her to be sympathetic towards her.
But he got us a nice escape from everything that was going on at
home. When he was eight years old, he
went off to boarding school at Ludgrove School, where he played
soccer and swimming and basketball, clay pigeon shooting
and cross country. He was a very active boy.
And at this school he was very sheltered from photographers and
newspapers, and it was a safe place for him.
And then when he was 10, his parents sadly separated and
Diana moved into an apartment at Kensington Palace.
And during those years, she definitely tried to give William
and Harry as much as a normal childhood as possible.
Obviously it's kind of impossible in their position,
but you know, she would take them to McDonald's and amusement
parks and the beach and stuff and it compared to other Royals,
like they definitely lived a more grounded upbringing I
guess. Then at 13 he went off to a
different boarding school called the EN College where he was a
little bit less protected. He was frequently in the
newspapers and was super embarrassed by all the media
attention when he first arrived on campus. 2 documentaries came
out the same week, 1 called the Making of a King and one called
Inside EN which was just about him arriving at school and he
was so embarrassed by it and he urged all of his friends to not
watch them. It's a good thing he kind of has
a step up from his father because I think his dad didn't
really have many friends at this point and.
True, He. Was similarly embarrassed by
being the Prince and all that, but he like he was a social
pariah. So I think it's good at least
that William had a step up in at least having some friends.
So there's that. Yeah, I get the sense like
William sometimes feels like an outsider and embarrassed, but he
is pretty popular. That's good.
And then also at 13, Diana's famous Martin Beshear interview
came out and Diana warned William that he had nothing to
worry about at all. But when he watched his
interview, he felt super betrayed and he was just shocked
that she would even let TV cameras into their life in such
a personal way. And he had heard things in the
interview that he had never even known before, like Diana's
affair. And sadly, he didn't really ever
forgive her. According to this book by
Nicole, what's her name? Katie Nicole.
And then, sadly, just two. Years how?
Old was he? He was 13.
All of his friends at school are watching this interview that
that was super hard for him. And then just two years later,
when he was 15, he was woken up by his father, Charles at
Balmoral Castle in Scotland to receive the devastating news
that his mom had died in a car accident.
We all kind of know the story as the driver was fleeing
photographers. And to this day, both William
and Harry still very much blame the press and the paparazzi for
what happened to their mother. And obviously that will come
into play in this story with William and, you know, the
different people that he, well, mostly Kate and how Kate becomes
subject to the same media attention.
So tragic, so sad. I know I was like kind of going
down a rabbit hole reading about Diana's death and it's awful.
For some reason every time I think about Diana's death I
always think William is way younger than 15.
Harry's really young, he's like 1213 years old when it happens.
So sad. It must be very complicated,
especially since he was already having these complicated
feelings of having betrayal from Diana and having the feelings
about his dad's infidelity and then his mom's infidelity and
depressed and all these. Yeah.
It's sad because that was happening at such a formative
time in his life, and it's natural when you're a teenager
to be kind of annoyed with your parents.
But he wasn't really given the opportunity to work that out
with his mom or like get more closure from her perspective at
the time. Like, it's just kind of that
story ended, you know, was cut short and super.
Sad. Yeah, you probably think you
have your whole life to work out these problems and issues with
your parents with, but unfortunately for William, he
wasn't able to work that out with his mother.
Yeah, it's so sad. And that probably in turn had
even more of an impact then. Yeah, he has said that the day
like, well, the immediate, like, I guess, you know, after his mom
died, it was just very dark days of grief.
And now he has said that he doesn't really wallow in it as
much anymore. It seems like he's been able to
find some some peace with it, but I think both him and Harry
have some PTSD from it, especially when it comes to the
press. I bet.
But so OK, so before meeting Kate, William was quite the
bachelor from my early age. I always think of.
What is it this The Princess Diaries, too.
And he's on the screen and they're like, I just like to
look at him. Everybody loved Prince William,
so when he was 16, he had his first girlfriend.
Her name was Jeka Craig. Remember that name?
Jeka. OK, she'll come up.
She'll come up later. But he met her while in Kenya
doing a volunteer environment, her mental work.
She was an environmental conservationalist and they
worked together their their families had like kind of known
each other. She.
Older. No, she was also pretty young
too. I don't know like how she got in
the position to be honest, to be like doing that work.
But they both felt. Very.
Impressive. Yeah.
They both fell in love with Kenya and each other and they
had a quite the summer romance. And was she English?
I think so, yes. When he was 18, he had his next
girlfriend, a childhood friend who he had another summer fling
with. That's kind of his MO.
This was just after finishing high school and they connected
at the local, well, not the local.
It's like a high end. It's not like the down polo
glove, it's like the royal polo. Club.
That's how. Charles, Mick, Camilla.
Wow. Apparently though, this was a
really sweet and innocent love affair.
Oh, I should mention her name was Rose Farquhar.
Farquhar. Yeah, Farquhar.
Wait, if I quad it doesn't like Shrek?
There's no D, but it feels like there should be, you know?
OK, so it's not like Shrek. No, no, but it's.
Similar. I was just talking about Lord
Farquhar because it's a joker too and sometimes he looks like
him anyway. Anyway, and lastly, he dated a
girl named Arabella Musgraves, who is another childhood friend
of Williams who he also had a summer fling with after his gap
year. This is when he was 19,
following his gap year after high school, so he didn't
immediately go off to university.
And this relationship apparently was more passionate and physical
than the relationships in the past.
How do people know that? I don't know.
He has been described as quite serious, cautious about the
company that he keeps, distrustful of others, a little
bit, as I said, measured, mature, but also very active.
He loves sports. He's, you know, very into all of
his activities and I would say he's a little indecisive too.
Seems like his dad. I was kind of seems like the
opposite of his dad. What?
Yeah. Well, I guess does he like to
read and is into, you know, history and stuff or?
He's. Or is he more of like a athlete?
He actually was not the best student.
OK 'cause he seems like the popular jock type and his dad
was like very shy and like reserved true with the with the
old ladies and. He's friends with the old lady.
With his teddy. Yeah.
I mean, obviously they're not like they're not clones,
obviously, but I feel like he seems more, more serious, less
fun in a way. I mean, I don't know, I think I
think they can both. I think anyone's capable of
having fun but. I think it's probably just like,
because he's royal, he's probably just more picky about
who he lets into his close circle.
And that's probably why, like all of his past relationships
are like childhood friends, people he's known for like 10
plus years, you know? And that's why he's so measured
and why he's probably like less, maybe standoffish a little bit.
And even though he probably is Mr. Popular and outgoing, maybe
he isn't as I don't know what I'm trying to say.
Carefree. He's not carefree.
I feel like he's. Being less carefree.
I I just think being the heir to the throne probably forces a
responsibility on you that you can't escape.
Yeah, but who is Kate? This Catherine Middleton.
In the press, she was considered a normal middle class girl whose
family has coal mining ancestry. And it was a very big deal that
this is the first time a royal has married a commoner in 350
years. They kind of present Kate as
just the average girl next door, but that's not exactly the case.
Yes, when she was born, her family was.
Middle class and yes there is some coal mining ancestry there
through her mom and at this time when she was born her parents
did have normal jobs. Her mom Carol was a flight
attendant and her dad was a flight dispatcher and they lived
in a pretty modest 2 bedroom house in Bradfield South End.
However, she does have aristocratic and noble ties.
Her great grandmother was a member of the Lupton family who
are very wealthy, who are very wealthy and notable land owners
and they were described landed Gentry.
And we're well acquainted with the British royal family and
well known philanthropist. And actually, meanwhile,
researchers in 2010 discovered that she's technically related
to the royal family, royal family, although distantly, her
11th great paternal grandfather, Sir Thomas Leighton, was a 16th
century governor and diplomat who was also the 12th great
maternal grandfather to Prince William, OH.
My gosh, that's so that's. So very.
Distant. I know when people found this
out they were like the kissing cousins but.
Why do we always talk about this?
Take a drink. Covering some kissing cousins.
Everybody, I mean, everybody's related.
Technically, yeah. I mean, I saw something recently
where if you go back far enough, like if everybody were to have
completely unique ancestors, that would mean way more people
that have ever lived ever on this planet, ever in the history
of this world. So that would mean that like
everybody has some form of incest in our ancestors.
Oh, totally. Just yeah.
Not possible to not yeah. I heard I heard that in human
history, 80% of marriages are between cousins.
OK, that's a lot. I feel like that kind of
probably ended. People have been around.
People have. Been around for a long time.
I know. But yeah, technically that this
makes them 12th cousins once removed, so it's pretty distant.
That's so. Far, yeah.
Additionally, when she was five years old, her mother founded
the company called Party Pieces, which is a mail order party
supply retailer. So it's basically like Party
City, but catalog version of that.
And this business really took off and at its peak, it was
estimated to be valued at around $37 million.
So kids, families got a little money.
They are not really your average middle class family.
They are rich. And after that business took
off, her family moved into a $1 million home in Chapel Row, and
they also purchased a London flat in Chelsea for occasional
use whenever they want it. So it's not like she's really
the girl next door. Wait, so was this $1 million
place before or after the two-bedroom house?
That that was after this. So when Kate was around 5, like
her family moved into a really big house.
It is impressive. I mean, that's pretty self-made
millionaire. But yeah, she's not like just a
lowly commoner. No, you know, no.
She's pretty privileged and Kate and her younger siblings Pippa
and Michael also attended very prestigious private schools.
And she was big into athletics in school plays.
And when she was 10 years old, she actually first encountered
William in person because his school would come to compete
against her school in rugby matches.
And that was a big deal at her school.
Like the Prince is coming to play against our school.
So all the kids at the school would like get excited and watch
on the sidelines to see him. And she got a glimpse of him.
Wow. When she was 13, she was lead in
a drama called Murder in the Red.
And in the play, her character meets with a fortune teller who
tells her, soon you will meet a handsome man, a rich gentleman.
And she responds, it's all I ever hope for.
Will he fall in love with me? And then the fortune teller
says, indeed he will. And then she asks, will he marry
me? To which the fortune teller says
yes. And then, lo and behold, the
rich man in this play was named William.
What? Is that crazy?
So was it. Real.
Was that like all scripted but then it all just like came to
fruition? Yeah, it was some weird
foreshadowing in real life. That is kind of creepy.
And there's actually like a very grainy video of it on YouTube if
you want to see it. Whoa.
And then at 14, Keith began her first year of high school at
Down High School, which is an all girls boarding school.
But she really struggled to fit in because the school was very
cliquey. The other girls apparently
teased her for being too into studies and not otherworldly
enough. And she was also just painfully
shy and really not that confident.
The next year she attended Marble Marlboro College, a Co Ed
boarding school, and she was very shy and homesick there.
But she had a much easier time. Apparently people really liked
her. They thought of her as really
easygoing. And former classmates remember
her as not partaking in drinking or partying, but her being very
into sports, playing tennis, swimming and hockey.
And at this time she wasn't really into guys.
Apparently there were rumors that she allegedly had a poster
William in her dorm room and that she would say to her
friends. I bet he's really kind.
You can just tell looking at him.
But Kate denies this. You know, Fast forward when they
got engaged, she was actually asked about this in their
engagement interview. And she said, and it was kind of
cute. William jokes, she had 10
posters of me on the wall. And then then Kate laughed and
says he wishes, no, I had the Levi's model on my wall.
And then she turns to William and she goes, sorry, sorry.
It's really cute that. Was up to right, Yeah, I
thought. Someone just made that up.
I know it's a nice story, but maybe too good of a story.
Yeah, wow, she sounds so like sweet and just simple and I
don't know, I can picture some of my friends from high school
being like her in a way. Yeah, I really like her.
Researching her, she seems, she seems like very down to earth,
actually. That said, there are reports
that she did very unseriously date a classmate named Henry
Preston in high school, and they were actually dubbed one of the
best couples in the yearbook. So she must have had a
boyfriend. Henry Preston.
I know that's such a like preppy name.
So posh. Her second year at school, the
boys on campus actually rated her as 2 out of 10 for her
looks. So mean she's a.
What? Oh my God.
But then she had a glow up over the summer and with the help of
her mom, she like went to her mom and she's like, I want to
look better or something. And I don't know what they did.
But she returned to school and she was reportedly put on the
fit list, which was a list of the the prettiest girls on
campus. Oh my God none of those guys
deserve her after rating her only a 2 out of 10.
That's insane. First of all don't rape people
but also that's just crazy. I don't think anybody is a 2 out
of 10 and. No.
I don't think anybody's below like A7, you know, especially no
girls, nobody, no one. No girl is below a 7 I think.
Oh yeah, I know. I saw.
I saw something recently that was like, I've never seen an
ugly woman. And I think that's true.
I think all women are beautiful in many different ways.
I feel like there's no. Way she was a 2.
I mean, I know that we all have our awkward years and such, but
she's so beautiful and I just don't get how she could have
ever been a two. It's so mean.
I know, I think, I think people are just cruel at that age.
Yeah, I know. After graduating high school,
she took a gap year. She traveled to Italy and Chile
with friends, and then she began she began college.
I know they said college is like high school there.
But she began university at Saint Andrews in Scotland to
study art history. Man, I would have loved to go to
uni in Scotland, yeah. So cool.
And she has been just described as shy, feminine, calm,
unassuming, demure, sporty and very self assured.
Do you know what Sporty played? No, I said sporty, Sporty. 40
She. Said 4040 now though she played
the same as William. She played like tennis and
swimming. She played swimming.
She was Benjamin Buttoning this entire time.
You're still laughing. What the for?
Yeah. OK, OK, so it is time for uni.
It's 2001 and William breaks from 150 years of family
tradition by attending Saint Andrews University in Scotland
rather than going to Oxford or Cambridge because he wanted to
study art. And apparently they had a good
program there. And he lived in Saint Salvador's
hall. And his new friend group on
campus was nicknamed the Sally Boys.
And among the boys on Salvatore Hall, they would see this
beautiful brunette Kate Middleton.
And she apparently was dubbed the prettiest girl at Sally's
after their freshman orientation week.
So like all the guys on campus are in this hall like knew of
Kate Middleton and. That's so.
Cute one day they. Couldn't have competed with the
Prince of England, do you know? I know.
If he had his sights on her, how could they compete?
I know one day William had the courage to ask her to eat
breakfast with him at the dining hall with him and his friends.
And when they were eating breakfast together, they
discovered that they had a lot in common.
They both were one in the same major.
They both enjoyed playing sports, including swimming and
skiing. They both had coincidentally
taken a gap year the year before and spent some of that time in
Chile and in Florence. So.
They both. Did.
Wow. Weird.
And that freshman year, William and Kate became pretty close.
They apparently would study together and because William was
on the water polo team, they would wake up early and go
swimming together. However, they were just friends
at this point. They actually both were dating
other people. Yep, I know.
So that first semester, William began dating a creative creative
writing major named Carly Massey Birch and she has been described
as a country bumpkin who was very down to earth, tall and
beautiful. I know and OK, I feel bad saying
this, I feel bad. But she was known as having the
best derriere on campus. That's what.
Derriere like ass. Oh.
She had a big butt. This is all from this place.
The the best butt the. Best butt on campus?
Wow. And apparently Kate was also
going out with an older senior guy named Rupert Finch, but I
don't really know a lot about him.
I don't. I tried to look into it.
I'm so intrigued by this writer with a big butt who's a country
bumpkist. Who dated the Prince of England
for a brief period of time. Who's she?
What's her story? I don't know, maybe we can cover
them in like a side episode. Despite having a solid group of
friends and a girlfriend, William really wasn't happy that
freshman year and he found his course load very challenging and
would often and go home. And when he would go home, he
would go clubbing with his friends back in London and spend
time with his old summer fling Arabella.
You know the one he had that passionate relationship with,
physical relationship and that ultimately LED Carly, you know,
the country bumpkin, to break up with him.
More. Carly, I was going to say
freshman year is really hard. It is even even if you are
technically having fun, it just you feel really unstable.
I don't know, I just I can understand missing your old.
Mates. Yeah.
Especially first semester. First semester so rough.
Everyone was crying. And even if you grew up with
like the best education or the best tutors going into probably,
you know, like college or whatever, it could be a
challenge for you. It's so cool.
I feel like we, I feel like we've never covered a couple
like in college. Yeah, before.
Besides Albert. Einstein not like this in Oh
yeah, true to true. Usually not this in depth yet,
Einstein. So if you're still in high
school and you're about to go into college, just know that it
can be a little challenging, but.
Even for Prince. William, but not too
challenging. I don't know, I'm trying to be.
No, it gets better. I feel like with college, it
takes a while to really find your footing and your friend
group. It just kind of settles in
without you realizing it. But in the beginning, you're
like, you're leaving your door open, you know, You're like
really forcing these friendships and it's kind of awkward.
I don't think anyone really opens their door anymore.
Yeah, I want. I'm sure William didn't, but you
know also for him, he has to have like security with him, the
whole. Time so it doesn't help.
Wow, so after one semester he really wanted to transfer, but
the palace was worried that that would be a PR nightmare and that
it would alienate their relationship with the Scots.
So that sucks. Like you have also have this
whole like. Political reasons.
You can't. Literally.
Can't piss off a whole country. Apparently Prince Philip was
like his grandfather was like, yeah, he needs to suck it up, he
just has to stay there. And they settled on a compromise
that he could change his major to geography instead.
Oh, cool. So then I, I do think that, oh,
sorry, just for our maybe young listeners out there, I do think
sometimes it is good to just suck it up and stick it out
because I think a lot of people after one semester were like,
I'm leaving. But no, like you said, it can
get better. No for.
Real definitely stick it out, it will get better 100%.
I love all the advice for giving some people.
OK, so second semester there. Kate is volunteering to catwalk
in a on campus charity fashion show.
I've heard of this. And William paid 202 hundred to
sit in the front row. And as Kate walked down the
runway in a black underwear and a see through dress, William
apparently turned to his friend Fergus and said Kate's hot wow.
He was a googly eyed for her. And after the fashion show at an
after party, Kate and William were deep in conversation in the
corner and they clinked their glasses together to toast.
And then apparently, I don't know how we know this, but
apparently William leaned in and kissed her, but Kate pulled away
because keep in mind, she still has a boyfriend at this point
and classic. But apparently she's did return
the feelings. I mean, you know, you know, when
you kind of like someone, but you don't know if they like you
and then is confirmed that they like you and then you really
like them. You know, I think that's what
happened here. Oh.
Come on, Yes, you do. Anyways, so now it's sophomore
year, and Kate and William are actually roommates in a shared
flat with three other friends, Fergus, Olivia and Natasha.
So the five of them are all yeah, they're all living.
They were roommates. They're living together,
splitting chores, buying groceries, throwing dinner
parties, and I don't think the roommates knew right away that
there was something going on between Kate and William in the
eyes of the press and the public.
William at this point is single, but paparazzi is always trying
to catch him with different girls and link him up with
someone. But in their own apartment
behind closed doors, William and Kate are free to just be
romantic with each other, which because I would say, like, if
you're a sophomore in college, don't roam with someone that
you're newly dating or that you have a crush on.
I think that's bad news, but I can see where William wants
privacy. That is kind of a smart idea
that like you can at least have some privacy within your own
apartment. It's a way to be discreet, so
it's not like you have your own apartment, but then the
paparazzi can see Kate, like, coming and going.
Yeah. Exactly this way, living
together, if Kate's coming and going, they can just be like, Oh
well, Kate lives there. Yeah, exactly.
Wow. And in public, they would arrive
at events separately and they had an agreement to never hold
hands in public. So is anything happening at this
point in time? Yeah, they're hooking up.
I don't know what happened to Kate's old boyfriend, but her
and William are together and actually the their friends first
found out at a little party at their flat when William's
ex-girlfriend Carly, the country bumpkin, was there.
And they're all playing. Never have I ever.
And Carly said never have I ever dated two people in this room.
And then William rolls his eyes and takes a drink.
And that's the first time that he acknowledged to all of his
friends that he was dating Kate. This is such a good teen drama
or something. I'm like, gosh.
So then after the school year, Kate had a 1920s themed 21st
birthday party. Me and Kelly had one fun and
they apparently were very cozy with each other.
And at the end of the school year, the press is beginning to
hear rumors about Kate. People are starting to pick up
who is this Kate Middleton person?
Reporters actually showed up at her parents house and confronted
her father on his doorstep. And he said, we are very amused
at the thought of being in laws with the royal family, but I
don't think it is going to happen.
But he might not even know that, like Kate and William are dating
at this point. Because I don't know.
At that age, you don't tell your parents everything.
No, especially if it's something casual maybe.
It's kind of under the radar, this relationship, I think.
Then a few weeks later, William had his 21st birthday and
allegedly he was actually more preoccupied with the presence of
his ex-girlfriend Jacka there. You know, Jack is the one from
Kenya that he met. Yep.
Flash from the past. And if you were there at this
party, you would have actually thought that he was dating Jacka
instead of Kate. While he people were singing
Happy Birthday to him, Jacka was standing next to him.
Wow this is such a early 20s college type of experience.
Like. I think, seriously, it feels so
ordinary. It does.
Why was Jacka you? I don't know.
I don't she's, like, going to be there a lot.
Like, he really keeps in touch with her.
Wow. So then junior year, William and
Kate are back at school and still together and are desperate
for more privacy. And the couple moved to a very
storybook looking private cottage 1/4 mile away from
campus and, like, his security officers.
Yeah. Like, yeah, it's like a little
house. Wow.
Which it's pretty serious. Like I'm too.
Young. For that house.
In this book, the author writes, William joked that it was like a
miniature high growth and with its crab apple trees, blooming
rhododendrons and patches of wild poppies, it was an
impressive substitute. When it was warm enough, they
would pack a picnic hamper and spend a pleasant afternoon
stretched out on a blanket, sharing a bottle of chilled
white wine, an occasional pheasant, their only company.
They were blissful days, made all the more romantic by the
fact virtual actually, no one knew about their romance.
Wow, it sounds like so beautiful.
I know the public would soon learn about their romance for
real. It was leaked on April 1st,
2004. Kate had accompanied the royal
family on a trip to Closters, a resort village in the Swiss Alps
where they had vacationed for skiing every year, and paparazzi
took photos of them on the slopes together.
And The Sun published the photos with the headline Finally dot
dot dot. William gets a girl, finally.
Finally, he's had girl. Yeah, this is like his fifth
girlfriend at this point. Compared to Diana or Meghan
Markle, I would say that Kate had a more smooth transition
into the royal family. She was really polite with
photographers and she never spoke out.
And I, I just think she had an easier time, like keeping her
peace and not really letting things bother her too much.
I think she like got it what she was supposed to do and she
really enjoyed spending time with Williams family too.
She's very like professional, I guess you'd say.
Keeps her cards close. She's good at that.
Now it's senior year, and even though Kate and William seem to
be having a lot of fun together, William began telling his
friends that he's feeling claustrophobic in the
relationship and wants space. Allegedly, he claimed that he
wanted to focus on his studies his senior year before
graduating to Kate. Like he claimed he wants to
focus on his studies more, but honestly, it kind of seems like
he just didn't want to be tied down to one girl.
Apparently he had taken up a close friendship with an
American heiress named Anna Sloane, who he had met through a
mutual friend. And Anna had recently lost her
father in a tragic shooting, and William and her bonded over
their shared grief over losing a parent.
And he was pursuing her so. I think this is such a common
thing. You're in your early 20s too,
like that. It sucks to hear that and we
feel for Kate, but I mean they are young.
It must be kind of intense to be already living in a house
together. Yeah.
Basically acting like you're married and you're still in
college. I know some people are ready for
that when they're in college, but it sounds a bit intense to
me and probably being. The heir to the throne.
There's probably some pressure as well.
Oh totally. And especially with his parents
marriage, he definitely probably wanted to play the field to be
like, OK, like, I want to make sure I'm definitely picking the
right partner for me. Yeah, I was going to say I was
kind of glad to hear he had a couple of girlfriends because,
yeah, he, you want him to explore a little bit and, yeah,
take his time, not just jump right into it.
But still, it's sad for Kate, I know.
Probably. But apparently this Anna girl
actually only saw William as just a friend.
Yeah, and apparently he also was thinking a lot about life after
college, and he actually had his sights on reconnecting a parent.
Allegedly. How do we know for sure?
But he allegedly wanted to reconnect with Jacka in Kenya.
Is Jacka like the one that got away?
That seems like him and Kate go on a break.
And actually during that trial, separate separation, he also
developed feelings for another person, an heiress named
Isabella, who was the daughter of a wealthy banker.
And according to Nicole, the author, she had CoverGirl looks
compared to Kate's girl next door beauty, which is kind of
mean, I think he is different kinds of beauty, I guess.
But apparently Isabella also rejected William.
Seems like it's actually. So like his dad?
Yeah, that is, he keeps trying to open doors, that's away from
Kate, and they keep getting shut right into his face.
I like the way you put it. I know I mean.
Jack goes away in Kenya. Like, I know.
So in the fall they return to school and Kate and William are
back together. You know it.
That's so normal, too. Like, you go away for the
summer, you break up, but then you're back on campus.
Let's just be together, you know?
And they agreed that he wouldn't try to contact Isabella anymore,
the other girl he was pursuing, which, like, duh.
You shouldn't be doing that, you know?
Yeah, but Charles was a big fan of Kate and he would invite her
to join the family on the annual ski trip, and he actually
invited her to go skiing with them just before his wedding to
Camilla. Nice.
Wow, so Charles himself is reaching out.
Yes, inviting her. Well, maybe he's saying to
William, like, invite Kate, you know, But Kate wasn't able to go
to the wedding because of royal protocol.
Oh, what's the protocol? I don't know.
Basically, the firm is just like now she's not serious enough.
Maybe they have to be engaged or something to go to the wedding.
So then after college, there was some uncertainty about, you
know, whether this is just a college relationship or if it's
for the long haul. And I think they both were not
sure about it. William traveled to New Zealand
to do some real engagements and then returned to Kenya.
And he actually met up with Jacka, but this time around he
brought Kate with him so. That's.
That's a good sign. Then in January 2006, William
began his military training and he and Kate would have to be
apart for a month. And beforehand, per Harry
suggestion, the couple went off on a romantic ski holiday to the
Swiss Alps, where they were photographed kissing by
paparazzi. And at this time, the palace is
already drawing up plans about a potential engagement, even
though William has no plans to propose anytime soon.
And apparently this obviously seems very premature, but it's
not unusual in the royal family and they start planning things
super far in advance. Weddings, even funerals, they'll
plan very far in advance, sometimes decades before a
person has even passed away. May 2006 Kate attended the
wedding of Williams step sister Laura Parker Bowles and her
presence there solidified to the public that she was a part of
this family. And around this time, Woolworths
began making William and Kate branded wedding China to prepare
an announcement. That's so premature.
It's really fine advance. What do they do?
With all that China, that doesn't happen.
This made William very anxious, especially remembering how much
pressure his mom felt before getting married.
Apparently Diana had cold feet right before marrying Charles,
and her sister said bad luck. Dutch, your name is on the tea
towels so you're too late to chicken out now.
And you know William, Why did she say that?
I know. Seriously.
William is not. What you want to hear?
Literally, yeah. It's never too late.
He's anxious, you know, he's not even sure if Kate is the one and
the public is really projecting this onto.
Them. Yeah, he feels like his fate is
probably already written. Deep SO.
I mean, maybe. I mean, he probably does really
really like Kate, but it probably doesn't help your
feelings to feel like you have no choice in the matter.
Yeah, and it's stressful getting even like normal people, it's
stressful to get a lot of pressure from your relatives or
whatever, so. I empathize.
Yeah. And William was very cautious,
too. Like, he doesn't want to rush
into marriage unless this was a decision that they were both
absolutely sure about. Like, he wants to make sure that
Kate is sure about it, too. Yeah.
Because it's a big deal to marry a Prince, so he wants to make
sure that Kate knows what she's getting herself into.
How old are they at this point in time?
Young. They're like 2423.
Wow. So then William is in the
Military Academy, and Kate lives in a London flat that her
parents bought for her, and she's applying to work at art
galleries. I kind of feel like she, yeah, I
kind of feel like she probably identifies with, like, Charlotte
York. Oh, yeah.
So then it's December 2006, and Kate sat front row at Williams
graduation ceremony from the Royal Military Academy at
Sandhurst. And Kate's parents actually sat
next to her, too, along with Williams grandmother, the Queen.
Charles and Camilla were also present.
And this was really at Kate's first official event as Williams
girlfriend besides the wedding of his step sister.
And according to lip readers, who knows if this is true, but
Kate whispered to her mother during the ceremony.
I love the uniform, it's so sexy.
Wow. And there's speculation about,
as mentioned, an eventual engagement and which is only
intensified by the press. And curiosity about Kate is just
beginning to grow more and more. And William is very determined
to make sure that Kate didn't really experience the same
suffering that his mom did. So he set her up with a team of
people, including royal protection officers and aides
who helped to coach her on how to handle photographers.
Nice. So she's kind of like training
for many years for this. Meanwhile, her career is kind of
uncertain. She sets up a clothing business
under her parents company, but she's traveling to Milan to buy
all these materials for it and she quickly runs into debt.
It's not really going so well. And then she accepts a part time
job as an accessory buyer for a clothing store called Jigsaw,
but she only does that for a year.
And then she just does like project management for her
parents company. So it's kind of all over the
place. January of 2007, it's Kate's
25th birthday and the press is speculating that again, maybe
this is when they'll get engaged on her birthday.
So she she wakes up on her birthday to hundreds of
photographers waiting outside her house to snap a photo of
her. But of course she's not engaged.
She's only 25, and this is the first time that she really
started to feel utterly overwhelmed and isolated in this
experience. And William actually issued a
very rare statement to the press asking for privacy because he
feels bad that Kate's birthday has been ruined by this.
But at this time, a single image of Kate could sell upwards of
€20,000, so it's very hard to get privacy.
And all the while things are getting kind of rocky between
them. William and Kate are spending
less and less time together with him away doing military training
for weeks at a time, and in the spring they do go on a ski trip
to go together. However, there are multiple
reports that when William goes to London, he actually goes
clubbing without Kate and is often photographed cozying up to
other girls one time. He thought you're going to say
Jeca. No, no, not Jeca.
Just like kind of random girls. One time it's this blonde girl
who he's seen flirting and dancing with, another time he's
photographed with his arm around this 18 year old Brazilian
student. And honestly, I think it's
innocent, but his hand is kind of close to her breast.
But I think it's just like where his hand falls.
But of course, in the press, it's like William grabbing this
girl's boob. And then another time he's
photographed dancing with another woman.
So. And then another time it's with
that big butt writer. Hillbilly or whatever.
But you know, all these instances are very embarrassing
for Kate and she gives him an ultimatum that he has to either
fully commit to her or it's over.
And to that, William told her that they should take a break.
That is not the response you want to hear.
I know, I know. I'm not shots because I feel
like that's what I expected because that's why I felt like
he was feeling. But at the same time, I know
what happens in the future. So at the same time, I thought
that that wouldn't happen, you know?
I know. Wow, how does he turn it around?
I know. Gosh.
So after this, Prince William started enjoying his freedom and
partying with friends, living his bachelor life.
Meanwhile, the Duke of Edinburgh, Phillip Williams
grandfather allegedly actually even reached out to Kate and
told her that William would offer her a ring in the future
when the time is great. I thought you were going to say
the Duke of Edinburgh, like slid into Kate's DM was going to hit
her. That'd be crazy though.
What would you do if your boyfriend broke up with you, but
then his grandfather asked you out instead?
I feel like then it would be over, like there'd be no way to
come. If you accept that, yeah.
That's so meddlesome though. Why is he messaging or writing
to Kate? I know it's not even adamant
Dad, it's his grandfather. It's like please stay out of
this. Maybe they thought there was
just like so much money to lose with this.
I know. I think they really liked Kate.
They're like, oh, OK, She's like you said, keeps her cards close
to her trust. Like she's not going to cause
any issues for us. Yeah.
To distract from the heartbreak, Kate put all of her energy into
training for a charity rowing event with her girlfriends.
However, apparently by the time the race came up, she and
William were back together and she pulled out of the race.
Oh my, if I was her girlfriend, she.
Didn't do it. If I was her girlfriend so I got
dragged into a rowing event because her and her ex broke up
and then she pulled out of the race at the last minute, I'd be
pissed. Because they got back together,
but apparently. What you can still do and.
Apparently the reason she dropped out is because of the
media attention and that she was worried that the practices were
a magnet for paparazzi. But like, honestly, it's for
charity. Don't you want the spotlight on
it? You know, true to like.
And it makes you look really athletic.
And cool, I bet if they didn't get back together she still
would have done it because then William would see the photos in
the magazines and be like, whoa, Kate is, you know, in a rowing
charity event. Wow.
So years later in their engagement interview, they're
actually asked about this time when they broke up, and I want
to show a clip first. You've been going out a bit and
you split up famously all over the papers.
What was all that about? I mean, people are bound to want
to know. Well, I think to be honest, I
wouldn't read over, I wouldn't believe everything you read in
the paper. But, you know, in that
particular instance we did, we did split up for a bit, but that
was just, you know, we were both very young.
It was at university and we were, we were sort of both
finding ourselves as such and being, you know, different
characters and stuff. It was very much trying to find
our own way and, and we were growing up.
And so it was just sort of, you know, a bit of space and a bit
of things like that. And it's been worked out for the
better. And I think at the time I wasn't
very happy about it, but actually it made me a stronger
person. You find out things about
yourself that maybe you hadn't realized or I think you can get
quite consumed by a relationship when you're younger.
And you know, I really, I really valued that time for me as well,
although I didn't think it at the time.
Looking back on it, I there's a. Chance to resent?
Yourself. Definitely.
Yeah, this is all bad. Wow they look so young in that.
How long ago was that video? I think that's like 2010, so 14
years ago. He still had hair.
It was kind of crazy to see. I know appreciate her honesty.
Yeah, I was really impressed that she said that.
But she still was very professional and had like a
positive spin on it. I we've talked about it like how
many times is too many times to break up for a couple?
But when you are young, sometimes you do have to have
those breakups to reaffirm that you do want to be together.
It's tough, and especially if you are so young and you had
spent so much time together, sometimes you do need those
breakups to spend time by yourself to figure out who you
are and then come back together. And she kind of mentioned that,
like figure out who you are as a person.
She needed that time. I mean, maybe she didn't need
that. Like she said, she didn't really
think that at the time, but looking back, maybe she did.
Well, your early 20s too, that is such a young age to
potentially never be single ever again if you do get married to
this person. So yeah, it is good to have that
time to just, you know, be single for the last couple times
or months of your life and make sure that that's what you want.
So now 2008 and it's March and the couple go on their annual
ski trip, though Charles didn't attend in order to his reduce
his carbon footprint, which I only included because that came
up in our Charles and Camilla episode that he is very big into
the environment. Wow, where did they?
Used to go about him. Where did they used to go
skiing? Just in the Swiss Alps.
So and then on April 11th Prince William finished his Air Force
training and received his Air Force wings from his father
Prince Charles at a ceremony and Kate attended it.
But apparently William drew criticism when he flew and
landed his Royal Air Force helicopter into Kate's parents
garden, which prompted people to get upset over the misuse of
military resources for the royal family's personal use,
especially during a time of war. And it just like reignited this
whole debate about royal members and whether they should even be
in the military. Well, I I thought.
Did he ruin the garden as well? I don't know if it's like the
garden is. The garden must be massive for
him to land A helicopter, no? I think they mean like garden as
in like lawn. That's what they say over there.
OK, yeah, but I imagined him landing like on the flowers and
the propellers, like making all the dirt cascade everywhere.
No. But my question is, is he just
doing all this training for like nothing?
Like what is this for, you know? Yeah, that's a good question.
It's tradition. It's.
Tradition, but. Yeah.
So he does more military service in years than the traditional,
than the a royal member traditionally would.
And actually he started being labeled as a reluctant royal or
reluctant figurehead because of that.
I think I'll. Some of it it's just like duty
to country. Like he did really want to
actually like fight combat. Obviously in his position that
was like never going to happen. But I don't think like other
than being a member of the royal family, he kind of has his own
career and as a Prince and then eventual king that's been chosen
for him. So I do think like being in the
military is kind of like a source of independence and
autonomy for him in a sense, because he can like kind of
build his career here, even though it's still pretty limited
what he can do you. Know like what he does in the
military? So it's mostly training that he
does, but then later on he becomes a search and rescue
pilot. Oh, interesting.
I'm curious. I'm curious why I I can't agree
with the fact that he probably shouldn't be using military
helicopters to visit his girlfriend, but I'm curious why
people would think would come to the conclusion that the royal
shouldn't be in the military. I don't, I don't get.
That I know because you would think you would want them like
you're like, OK, if I'm paying their tax dollars, they do
something. Yeah, yeah.
I think. I think it kind of bothers
people that like they are in the military, but they don't really
do the same level of service as other people.
So it's kind of like for show in a way.
Yeah, yeah. But it could be, like, good for
morale in a way, like, oh, the Prince is here.
Like, I don't know. Yeah.
And I think it brings attention to what's happening with
soldiers and everything. Maybe, I don't know.
Also, they might not feel like, oh, nobody cares about us, you
know, like our country doesn't even care that we're out here.
Like, if someone from the royal family is involved, I think it
could feel good. Yeah.
I. I'd be curious to look more into
it and hear what some British people have to say about it.
We don't really have that in our country.
No, we don't. Know like the people who are
like, like the president or something, maybe they had served
previously, but they're not like actively serving.
Yeah, we don't have anyone like born into these roles.
No, yeah. But OK, so then in May there is
a royal wedding, but it's William's oldest cousin Peter
who's getting married. And William is actually not able
to attend the wedding because he has already accepted the
invitation to attend his ex Jeka, her brother's wedding in
Kenya. Oh my gosh.
So he doesn't go to his cousin's wedding.
Instead, Kate goes in his place. She stands in for him at the
wedding. And he goes by himself to Jeka's
brother's wedding. Yeah, I would not like that.
No, that's crazy. I guess Jeka is just a good
friend, but I don't know. Who's his cousin related to?
Like which side? Like Diana's or his dad?
His dad's side, so she's standing in for him at the
wedding, which showed how comfortable she felt in this
family and how highly regarded she was by the Queen.
But there are also reports at this time that the Queen is
concerned with Kate not really having a career.
And apparently she asked her advisors what is it exactly that
Kate does, Which is kind of a fair question.
The Queen I'm. Surprised she cares.
So much the Queen called Kate jobless and.
Yes. Yeah, get a job.
She's like. Yeah, literally, because to the
public, it appears like Kate is just going on these long
holidays. She's always photographed either
skiing or in the Caribbean with her family or on vacations with
William. And at this time, Britain is in
a recession. So the Queen is concerned that
such frivolous displays of wealth are really off putting.
This influencer. Yeah, literally she doesn't
really work, but in her defense it would be hard to have a full
time job with the constant media attention.
And she, I'm guessing she would have to give it up eventually
anyway. So why should she work so hard
to like, climb up the corporate ladder or something And then?
Exactly. Yeah, that's so true.
That would be such a waste. And she also does have a lot of
money, so. But she really took this
personally. She did not like that they were
saying this about her. So Kate's inner circle, this is
like one of the few times that Kate has like kind of responded
to something. Her inner circle responded to
the tabloids and claimed that she was working full time for
her parents company, although I'm not really sure if that's
true. And within days, her parents
company posted a black and white image to their website, like
about their team. But then it was removed.
And the queen suggested that Kate should just affiliate
herself with charities. Like, OK, don't, don't try to
like, pretend you're working for your parents company.
Like just do some charity work. That's kind of embarrassing not
Oh my God. Hey mom and dad, can you like
post a headshot of me on your website to show that like for.
You. Yeah.
Then in June, William was knighted by his grandmother
Queen Elizabeth in a royal ceremony in which he receives
the Royal Night of the Garter title and Kate is in attendance.
And then afterwards he begins his Royal Navy training,
continuing this long distance with Kate.
And then once again in July, Kate stands in for William at a
royal wedding, this time for his second cousin Lady Rose Windsor,
as William is away doing his training in the Caribbean.
And then in September, William returns home and is expected to
become a full time royal. However, however, he shocks the
palace when, as I mentioned, he decides to stay in the Air Force
and become a search and rescue pilot.
And in doing this, he is seen as, like I said, a reluctant
figurehead. And it kind of seems like he's
trying to postpone his royal duties.
You know he's not that close in line to the throne.
That's the rush. Yeah, I guess the only thing is
the Queen is getting older, so she can't do as much traveling
anymore. So Charles is already doing, you
know, his share. But it's kind of like time for
William to start doing some of that while the queen can kind of
take a break. And his decision just as much
shocks Kate because she didn't necessarily expect to be a
military girlfriend. And this also means that they're
going to have to wait a little bit longer for them to even
begin planning their future together and planning having a
family or getting married. What was she thinking when she
was at all these ceremonies? I know.
Yeah. I guess you thought that he
would just like, do the training and then be like, OK, now I'm
gonna do just be a Prince. I guess so.
I know it's upsetting everybody, but I'm glad.
I'm kind of glad that he decided to do this.
I'm I'm guessing he does. Upset me, I'm does happy to
think for a little bit doing something.
I'd rather he'd do more. Than less, yeah.
What's the point of doing training and then just nothing
with the training, You know? I guess they can use him in case
there's a war and they need people or.
Something, yeah, we need all the extra bodies.
We completely run out. We really need Prince William.
That's how dire the situation. Planting all this, all this
training and then you don't use. It I know.
Seriously. So then it's 2009 and Kate
Middleton. Poor Kate, she has this crazy
uncle, Gary Goldsmith, who is, this is her mom, Carole brother.
And I guess he's this mega millionaire.
He's an entrepreneur. Oh my God.
But Rick, he's kind of crazy though.
And in July 2009, to Katie's horror, he invited undercover
reporters to his villa. And while they're there, he's
just like snorting cocaine with €100 bill.
And he just blabbed about William and Kate.
I don't think he really said anything too salacious or crazy.
I don't actually think they had much to hide, but he does tell
the reporters that Kate and William are planning to get
married at the end of that year, which was not true.
Yeah, So I don't know what he's thinking, but Kate was super
embarrassed. And also just the fact that she
has this crazy uncle who's like doing coke in front of reporters
and stuff. And all that coke, Yeah.
Just adding a little stuff like that can like flare up in the
press. But both William and Charles
assured her that it will all blow over and it's no big deal.
And it did. But still, the Middleton family
abruptly took off to the Caribbean to escape and go on
vacation to as a natural reaction when something like
that happens, you go on vacation impromptly.
To the Caribbean to hide the fact that the uncle does coke.
Yeah, so. Are wedding bells coming up?
Not yet. Wait, William, our it's 2009.
So Kate and William are still pretty far from getting engaged.
He just signed up for 18 months of training in the Air Force,
though he at this time, he's assuring her that they are
serious and that it's not a question of if, but when.
And during this time, they see each other on the weekends.
But it's still tough and isolating for Kate because at
this time, most of her friends have gotten married or engaged.
And so, you know, she's not really like living the the life
that they lived in their early 20s.
Like, I'm still able to like, go out and do her own thing.
She's at this time is getting a little impatient or just
curious, like, is this actually going to happen?
And the press starts calling her weighty Katie.
Then in the fall of that year, 2009, it's come out that the
Queen does need Harry and William to do more royal
engagements because she is getting old and she cannot
travel as much. So William, unfortunately, does
have to take a step back from the military and he's just got
to do what he's got to do. He sucks it up and does his
Prince stuff. January of the next year, he
goes on a publicity tour to New Zealand and Australia.
And while in Australia, an elderly woman asked him if he
plans to marry Kate. And he responded with a laugh
and said, as I keep saying, just wait and see.
I know, I feel bad. They're getting a lot of
pressure. This is like us.
Normally normal people get this, but this is magnified.
It's been so many years, what's with all the coy answers and
stuff, you know? It's.
Like, yeah. I know at this point just cut
Kate loose, you know? But remember when Kristen
Stewart went on Howard Stern's podcast and he said, like, you
going to marry her about her girlfriend at the time and who's
now her fiance? And she was like, yes, yes, if
you're a public person and you're asked that, you're really
put on the spot. There's no good way to answer it
because if you say yes, you're just kind of like maybe giving
up the surprise too, or, you know, causing all this noise
even further. Yikes.
Like he's probably like, hold off on the China guy.
Really, we don't need that. Yet I wonder what happened to
all that China from before. I don't know they're.
Still holding on to. It Yeah.
So at this time, Kate and William seem to be growing
closer than ever, but there is just an intense amount of
pressure also from their families as well.
Kate's mother, Carol, apparently is getting increasingly
concerned that her daughter is 28 without a ring on her finger.
That's not that old. But.
Mom's worst nightmare? Apparently, apparently Kate's
mom is, like, kind of not a social climber, but she is very
caught up in Kate's relationship with William at this time.
She really wants Kate to, like, secure the bag.
She doesn't want her to be so close to potentially being a
Princess and then having it fall through.
So then in October, Yeah, Yeah. I mean, that'd be crazy.
Then in October, Kate's mother would not need to wait for much
longer because while on a trip to Kenya, William flew Kate up
to the high slopes of Mount Kenya and standing on the shores
of the mountain with a view of the glacial lakes at over 12,000
feet, he popped the question. And he proposed with his
mother's engagement ring, which was a 12 cut sapphire ring
surrounded by 14 diamonds and an 18 karat white gold.
And this is October. And then a couple weeks later,
the couple officially announced their engagement on November
16th, 2010. And here is a little interview
clip of them talking about it. Kate, people are obviously
incredibly curious about you. So let's start with the obvious.
William, where did you propose? When, how?
And Kate, what did you say? It was about 3 weeks ago on a
holiday in Kenya. We had a little private time
away together with some friends and I just decided that it was
the right time really. We've been talking about about
marriage for a while, so it wasn't a massively big surprise,
but I took her up somewhere nice in in Kenya and and proposed
It's very. Romantic.
There's a true romantic in that there is.
So yes, of. Course, yes, Yeah.
Absolutely. And you knew you were going to
do this from day one of the whole day or you you waited till
the end. I've been planning it for a
while, but as every guy out there will know, it's a, it
takes a certain amount of motivation to get yourself
going. So I was planning it and then it
just felt really right out in, in Africa.
It was beautiful at the time and I just, I had done a little bit
of planning to obviously share my romantic side.
OK, you've been on holiday a while, so did you see this
coming? Was he getting a bit nervous and
jumpy? No, not at all.
No, Because you know, we were out there with friends and
things, so I really didn't expect it at all.
I thought he might have sort of maybe thought about it, but no,
it was a total shock when it came and very excited.
And produced the rain. Yeah, there and then.
I did, yeah. I've been carrying it around
with me in my rucksack for about 3 weeks before that, and I
literally would not let it go ever.
I went, I was keeping a hold of it because I knew this thing, if
it disappeared, I've been in a lot of trouble.
And yeah, because I planned it, sort of.
It went fine. As you know, you'll hear a lot
of horror stories about proposing and things get
horribly wrong. It went really, really well.
And yeah, I was really pleased that she said yes.
And it's a family ring. It is a family ring, yes, it's
my mother's engagement ring. So I thought it was quite nice
because obviously she's not been around to share any of the the
fun and excitement at all. That's this is my way of keeping
her sort of close to it all. Interesting.
But I'm confused because I thought Kenya was like him and
Janka's place or whatever. Janka, what's her?
Janka Jacka. Jacka.
No, I had the same thought. Why did he have to do it in his
and Jacka's place? I know.
He's like fixed and I know he loves Kenya and maybe that's why
he loved Jacka just cuz like he associates her with Kenya but.
Maybe. Makes you worry, you know?
Is it? Yeah.
Is he still caught up on her? Oh.
Now I'm intrigued. Well, I would be a little.
Annoyed. They said in the clip that they
were out with friends and I want to wonder if Jacka was one of
the friends that they were out with.
Maybe. Could make sense because they
were in Kenya unless they brought a whole crew with them
to Kenya. Yeah, I don't know.
I. Thought it was funny.
He said something about like working up the courage and she
turned and like looked at the journalist.
She, I don't know, I just feel like she had the reaction to
that, like, oh, really had to work up the courage.
Like it was, it's been years. I don't know, maybe reading too.
Far into it and he was like, oh, it wasn't too big of a surprise
because we've been talking about it, but seems like a little bit
of a surprise, I'd say. Wow, it's official.
It's official. I remember this.
I because honestly, they weren't really on my radar until they
got engaged. I actually don't remember them
until like their wedding was upon us and like I just.
You were pretty young. I mean, you were like 10 years
old. I was really young.
But I remember, like, I remember when it was like, oh, the royal
weddings, like coming up. And then I watched it like live
on TV and then they had like, DVDs of it.
But I don't really remember the whole proposal of it all.
Me neither. I remember it was.
Of course we're Americans. Yeah, but it was still a big
deal. Like we always got People
magazine in my house and and then people started doing this
thing where any story about the Royals, like there would be like
a special title like the Royals and the royal coverage just at
the time seemed to just pick up more and more.
And I feel like it never really stopped their engagement, like
really sparked, it seems, huge interest in them that I just
maybe wasn't aware of as a kid. I mean, I'm sure there was a
huge interest in them, like with Diana and everything, but I feel
like it just kind of made people excited internationally.
I think it made people excited all over again because before it
was like, yeah, it was the excitement of, oh, Diana and
Charles got married, and then they have their babies and they
have their kids. And it was exciting when, like,
Diana was alive. But then after she died, the
only excitement was like, yeah, William and Harry are growing
up, but like, that's not that exciting.
But having like a wedding on the horizon, oh, you know, that's
something. Yeah, and these big bro
weddings, it's almost like a huge holiday and it's a huge
money maker for them to like. They sell so many different
memorabilias associated with it. People travel and it's huge
publicity, yeah. In the interview, Kate also
revealed that William had asked her father for permission for
her hand in marriage. And that is where we will stop
for now. Oh my gosh, you're leaving us on
a cliffhanger. Do they get married?
Does Jacka read? I know.
Does she? Or Carly the country.
Bumpkin with the big ass? What about Finch, the older
senior that Kate was dating her freshman year?
Oh yeah? And what about Pippa?
What's up with her? I know she really became a
celebrity around this. It's funny, she actually became
known for her ass as well. Not to objectify but I remember
like is she at the wedding? This is really for the next
episode, but she was, you know, the maid of honor was helping
Kate with her train and all the photos were are dressed of like
her butt backside. Can't wait.
People were like. Whoa.
Pippa stole the show, but Pippa? Such a cute name.
I know. Thanks, Mel.
Oh my God, thank you. So impressed.
So impressed with all your research.
I know I knew pretty much absolutely none of this,
honestly. Well, thank you guys for
listening. And yeah, we'll get back
together next week with more Kate and William on the Patreon.
I wonder if there's going to be like any coincidences that are
going to happen. What do you mean?
Coincidence. Like you know when you posted
the Charles and Charles and. And Camilla.
And then the Camilla. The Queen died.
Which sucked cause in the episode we were like the queen
is never gonna die and then she. Could die.
And then we just posted the Nina and Ian and Nina got engaged
literally the day of so. Crazy.
I know I think there's been other things too, so I wonder if
there's. Gonna be anything.
Things are really things are really In Sync with this show, I
know. Yeah, like you, You seeing?
Oh, why am with the Ronson? Yes, Samantha Ronson when you're
researching Samantha Ronson like.
So. Weird works in mysterious ways
but especially with the Royals. Like now I'm nervous like there
could be nothing. Especially since doesn't King
Charles like have cancer or something?
Oh God, Gage. Yeah, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry. That's really morbid, but like,
it's just so hopefully. Not hope.
Hopefully nothing bad happens. No, Hopefully.
Knock on wood. But maybe like Camilla will get
pregnant or something. Camilla, my God, that would be
truly a miracle. Maybe Kate will get pregnant
again, who knows? I don't know.
Yeah. Anyways, guys, thank you so much
for listening and yeah, more to come next week with this.
Lovely couple, we'll get back together next week.
Get back together next week. Shall I come back again?
Tell me, Dee, how are you? Lonesome to.