Book Reveals How A Dinner Party Exposed Prince William And Kate Middleton’s Romance

Kate Middleton and Prince William’s love story had a modest beginning. The couple first met as first-year students at the University of St. Andrews in the fall of 2001, but they didn’t start dating right away. Both were attached to other people at the time, so they formed a strong friendship first.

Royal biographer Robert Jobson, in his new book Catherine, the Princess of Wales, out on August 6, details how their relationship evolved. 

“Among the student community, it was an open secret that they were a couple,” Jobson writes. 

According to the book, the pair often walked to class together, browsed the local grocery store, or spent nights at home listening to music.

In their 2010 engagement interview, Prince William reflected on their time as roommates with a few other friends. “We moved in together as friends. We lived with a couple of others, as well, and it just sort of blossomed from there, really. We just saw more of each other, hung out a bit more, and did stuff,” he recalled.

For a while, their relationship “remained shrouded in secrecy,” according to Robert, until a revealing moment during a dinner party with friends attended by Carly Massy-Birch, an ex-girlfriend of Prince William’s. The group decided to play “Never Have I Ever,” a drinking game that encourages players to confess previous experiences. 

“Perhaps unwittingly, Carly exposed William’s secret love affair with Catherine, much to the prince’s chagrin,” Robert writes.

Royal biographer Katie Nicholl also detailed this incident in her book The Making of a Royal Romance. When it was Carly’s turn, she reportedly announced, “I’ve never dated two people in this room,” knowing full well that Prince William was the only one who had, since Kate was sitting next to him. 

A party guest told Nicholl that everyone was in shock by Carly’s move, and Prince William shot a thunderous look at her, whispering under his breath, “I can’t believe you just said that.”

“We knew they were together, but it was the first time William confirmed his and Kate’s relationship in public,” the source added. 

Despite the initial tension, Carly was invited to Prince William and Princess Kate’s 2011 wedding, along with a handful of the royal’s other former girlfriends.