06 November 2023 , 15:05
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The Princess of Wales got her fairytale ending after meeting Prince William at St Andrew's University in 2001. The couple went on to marry in a ceremony celebrated around the world in Westminster Abbey in 2011 and have gone on to welcome three children together.
However, like all couples they have experienced some ups and downs in their relationship. And in April 2007, four years into their romance, William and Kate actually split up - much to the dismay of royal watchers at the time.
It's believed that one of the main reasons behind their break up was down to William's last minute decision not to spend New Year's Eve with the Middletons in 2006.
According to reports, the Prince had promised to spend New Years with Kate to make up for the fact Kate couldn't join the rest of the royals at the late Queen's Sandringham Christmas celebrations as the occasion was reserved for married couples only.
However, William cancelled his plans to see Kate at the last minute and their time apart over the festive period reportedly prompted the couple to re-evaluate their relationship and ultimately take a break.
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At the time, one of Kate's colleagues told the Mirror that they had seen the now Princess of Wales take the break-up call in the office car park in London. They said: "It was clear it was William - and definitely a tiff. Around the middle of the day, she was pacing the car park outside the office on her mobile.
"A few people noticed because it's a pretty unusual thing to do. She'd deliberately gone outside to take the call because she didn't want to be overheard."
They added: "Kate was walking up and down and looking upset as if she was having an argument. But she didn't cry. Word went round that it was William and they were having problems.
"Now it's clear what it was all about. When she came back to the office she didn't say a thing and disappeared for the rest of the day. We didn't think anything about it at the time. But looking back, the call was definitely a girlfriend-boyfriend tiff."
William and Kate's love story began when they famously met at St Andrews University in Scotland, where they both lived at St Salvator's Hall residence. They started off as friends, but that soon blossomed into a relationship in 2002, and the pair were pictured publicly together for the first time two years later when Kate joined William on a family ski trip to Klosters in Switzerland.
Following their brief split, the couple announced their engagement in 2010 and were wed the following year.