It took five years for the Queen to meet Kate after she started dating Prince William

When it comes to royal relationships, William and Kate certainly stand up there at the top. The future King and Queen consort are heralded for having the perfect relationship, with the couple rarely ever talked about negatively in the press. While there have been bumps in the road – including that rumored affair – their partnership is mostly bulletproof. However, despite being the epitome of relationship goals, it apparently took a whole five years for Kate to meet the Queen.

A love for the ages

William and Kate’s love story is one that we’ve been following for a long time. These two have been in each other’s lives for so many years now, and they’ve been an item for most of that time. While they haven’t had a smooth run together by any means, they’ve weathered their storms better than most couples.

That’s why we can’t wait to see William ascend to the throne one day with his loyal partner by his side.

Their first meeting

Their romance began in the early ‘00s while the pair were at college. It was actually when they were students that the duo met. William and Kate both attended the University of St. Andrews, with the two studying degrees in art history.

Although the Prince later changed his major to geography, the time that these two spent together before then changed both their lives. Nothing happened between the pair at first, especially as Kate had a boyfriend at the time. However, once he was firmly out of the picture, a romance started blossoming between the royal and his fellow student.

A blossoming romance

The spark between these two was first ignited when William saw Kate at a charity fashion show. She took his breath away, partly because she was wearing a lacy number that he couldn’t look away from. However, as the Prince got to know the girl, he soon realized it wasn’t just her looks that attracted him to her.

She was intelligent, funny, and a great person to hang around with. Luckily for him, his interest was reciprocated, and by 2003 the pair were dating. Not long after that, the couple decided to move in together, albeit with several other students.

Interrupted by the press

Unfortunately, while the duo enjoyed exploring their love together, things weren’t smooth sailing for William and Kate. The media became heavily invested in their relationship, with many publications speculating if the Prince’s girlfriend would one day become his wife.

Given William’s standing as an heir to the throne, there was little he could do about all the media attention. However, when they started prying into Kate’s life and harassing her, he did what he could to protect her. He and his father threatened legal action against the press, and this – combined with the intervention of Middleton’s lawyers – helped calm things down.