The Biggest Red Flags In William And Kate's Relationship

Prince William was not in a hurry to be tied down. Although the Duke is all over his bae now, there was a time in his life when he tried Kate Middleton's patience. In fact, the British press dubbed Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, "Waity Katie." Ouch! At the time, the public expected Wills and Kate to marry according to an imaginary timeline that had the lovers jumping through spinning hoops to tie the knot at record speed. Yet, as we all know, things aren't always so simple. Granted, they started dating each other at the end of 2003, per Grazia, and only got hitched in 2011, but there were other factors at play. Like, did the British public really expect a modern couple to get married in their early 20s? 

But it wasn't as if William was in a hurry to walk down the aisle, either. According to Vanity Fair, he was already getting cold feet early into their relationship. The story goes that in the summer of 2004, the firstborn prince declared that he was feeling "claustrophobic." After agreeing to take a break from their relationship, William felt he needed a boys-only sailing vacay to Greece. Bosom buddy Guy Pelly arranged for an all-female crew, and away they sailed. The outlet reported that Kate "was annoyed, if not surprised" to learn of Guy's tactics because, at the time, Guy had been a less than stellar influence on William. 

Kate Middleton was furious that her boyfriend had been caught groping another woman at a bar. According to Today, she opened up to her mother and sister and complained that Prince William had "changed." William, for his part, also sought paternal advice complaining that he was feeling "claustrophobic." Prince Charles thought it prudent if they part ways because leading her on would be "completely unfair to Kate." 

So, William snubbed an Easter celebrations invite from the Middletons and opted to meet Kate at her flat the following weekend. Kate wanted some kind of commitment because the press was already hounding her. He recalled his mother's relationship with the paparazzi and said, "I don't want you suffering the way my mother did." She didn't want to give up on their relationship and reminded him of what they had meant to each other. 

The next day, April 11, 2007, he called Kate at work. The Duke of Cambridge did not even have the decency to break up with Kate face-to-face. He swerved a confrontation and dumped her over the phone. At the time, Kate was working as a fashion accessories buyer for Jigsaw, per Vogue. Today reveals that she excused herself from her colleagues and went into a back conference room. William's sorry excuse was, "It just isn't going to work. It isn't fair to you ..." Thankfully, they made up a few short months later.

Princess Diana left her 12-carat oval Ceylon sapphire ring to her second son, Prince Harry. However, The "spare" felt that the ring should go to the future queen, and gave  Prince William the exquisite piece of jewelry when he learned that he wanted to propose to Kate Middleton, per Marie Claire. When the prince and his bride-to-be announced their engagement in 2010, via ABC News, he shared that the ring had been on a journey of its own. The prince proposed in Kenya and revealed, "I had been carrying it around with me in my rucksack for about three weeks before that and I literally would not let it go, everywhere I went I was keeping hold of it ..." He continued, "It's my mother's engagement ring ... obviously she's not going to be around to share any of the fun and excitement of it all — this was my way of keeping her sort of close to it all."

However, many know that Princess Diana and Prince Charles' marriage was nothing to write home about. Riddled with affairs, insecurities, and the nastiest of rumors, their union ended in a scandalous divorce. According to Marie Claire, many thought that it wasn't a good idea to propose with a ring that came from a failed marriage. They felt that it was a bad omen. A decade later, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's marriage is stronger than ever.

In 2017, Prince William found himself in hot water once again when he was snapped partying up a storm with two women, per Australia's The Daily Telegraph. The Duke of Cambridge gave the Commonwealth Day services a miss and decided to hit the Swiss ski slopes with the boys instead. He also left his wife home alone with the kids. The media had a field day when footage emerged of the British royal doing some dad dancing at an establishment. William got down and dirty with Aussie model Sophie Taylor and "gyrated" with her, per The Sun. He grabbed the model's cowboy hat and placed it on his own balding head while enjoying her company. Later, Taylor reportedly did the "slut drop," a particularly wicked dance move, while entertaining the future king.

Yet again, William allegedly got handsy and placed his digits on another's woman's waist while bending low to talk to her. A partygoer later told the press, "He was dancing so wildly that I did a double-take when I first saw him and thought it must be a lookalike." They continued, "But before long everyone realized they really were partying with Prince William." Katie Nicholl, a well-known royal expert, felt, "It's safe to assume Kate will be far from happy." Wonder if he has learned his lesson yet?

It seemed only natural that Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, and the Marchioness of Cholmondeley would strike up a friendship. They are nearly the same age, have children of similar ages, and move in the same circles, so they soon became apparent close friends, per Town and Country. But then rumors started flying when Kate apparently cold-shouldered her bestie, with both houses remaining tight-lipped about what was happening. In the meantime, In Touch (via Daily Beast) reported, "Kate sees their friendship in an entirely different light now." 

It seemed as if their entire friendship was shaded by the alleged incident as The Sun (via Closer Weekly) alleged that Kate ordered William that the Cholmondeleys needed to be "phased out." The insider also divulged, "It is well known that Kate and Rose [Hanbury] have had a terrible falling out. They used to be close but that is not the case anymore." Apparently, William was reluctant to let go of the friendship, particularly because he was reportedly close to David Rocksavage, Rose Hanbury's husband. The source claimed, "William wants to play peacemaker so the two couples can remain friends, given they live so close to each other and share many mutual friends." But it seemed as if the duchess had the final say as the insider continued, "Kate has been clear that she doesn't want to see them anymore and wants William to phase them out, despite their social status."

It's no secret that the Fab Four didn't last very long. Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince Harry, and Meghan Markle were going to revolutionalize the British monarchy. And when they started out, it seemed as if they were a dream team who would actually modernize the royal institution. Unfortunately, the vision failed and, with it, family ties were broken. As far back as 2018, The Times reported that William and Harry had decided to part ways. A source told the outlet, "The brothers have leant on each other and looked after each other since their mother died."  But even their relationship had to change, and the source revealed, "They have become different people with different outlooks on life," particularly since they each had their own families to consider.

Then, Megxit occurred in 2020, and things spiraled out of control. Harry and Meghan spoke to Oprah in a controversial tell-all interview where the Duchess of Sussex accused Kate of making her cry before her wedding. Apparently, Wills was furious after the interview because it put his wife in a bad light, and he then became "very protective" over Kate, per People. Will they ever be able to come together again as a family and stop airing their dirty laundry? As for Kate and Wills, they have faced so many challenges together. Surely, they will overcome this one too.