William and Kate, the Prince and Princess of Wales, have been a couple for many years. The two met while studying at St. Andrews University, and it didn’t take long before the newspapers figured out that she was the girlfriend of the future king. 

But while the two enjoyed a loving relationship, in 2007, the two split. Several events led to the two breaking up, and once they did, it appeared William wasn’t too sad about it. Luckily, not long after, the prince and princess reunited. Today, they have been married for more than a decade and have three lovely children.

We will probably never fully understand what caused the breakup between William and Kate. But according to author Tina Brown, Kate, who worked as a fashion buyer at the time, found out about it in the most unusual place.

When Prince William and Kate Middleton met at St. Andrews University and fell in love, it didn’t take long before the newspapers were all over her. While she had no skeletons in the cupboard, it didn’t stop the newspapers from coming after her in the most cruel way possible.

Prince William & Kate Middleton – 2007 split

Despite hailing from a middle-class background – with her parents making millions via a party supply company they owned – Kate was labeled “a commoner.”

Indeed, before she and William announced their engagement, Kate was nicknamed “Waity Katie” and “Lazy Katie” because Middleton had recently quit her job to “prepare for her future life.”

Still, Kate Middleton did not care what was written about her. Behind closed doors, William did his best to prepare his then-girlfriend for what happened when being within the royal sphere.

In private, William is said to have extensively helped Kate prepare for life as a royal, according to royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams.

“It was very sensible in the circumstances for Kate and William to get to know each other over the length of time that they felt appropriate. But it can be hurtful seeing those headlines and obviously very stressful,” he said.

From the outside, William and Kate’s relationship appeared to be perfect. It seemed like the future king had found his future queen, but sadly, that was not the case at the time. 2006, their relationship declined, and two significant incidents surely were a factor. It began with Christmas.

Usually, royal tradition states that unmarried partners aren’t to participate in Christmas celebrations at Sandringham (sure, one can have different opinions about whether it’s reasonable).

Back in 2006, however, the royals made an exception. According to royal expert and author Tina Brown, Kate was invited to the Christmas party at Sandringham in 2006.

Kate reportedly declined Christmas invite to Sandringham

Naturally, one might have assumed that Kate would be overjoyed and would have canceled all other plans and traveled to Sandringham immediately.

Instead, she said no.

“Before graduation [from The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst], William had issued his girlfriend the coveted invitation to join him at the Queen’s annual Christmas house party at Sandringham,” Tina Brown wrote in the book The Palace Papers.

“Kate, reflecting the confident mood of her Philip Treacy hat, maintained her resolve that she would not go to such a significant Royal Family gathering unless she had a ring on her finger.”

Brown added: “She declined. William met her decision with silence.”

So, Kate, then age 24, decided not to travel to Sandringham to be with her then-boyfriend and meet the royals. Instead, she “retreated to Scotland to stay with her parents, who had rented a house in Perthshire for the holidays.”

Meanwhile, historian Robert Lacey wrote in his book Battle of Brothers that the Christmas party invite wasn’t the only thing Kate declined. The royal author claims that Queen Elizabeth had also extended an invitation for the traditional Christmas lunch.

As Tina Brown explained, Lacey argued that Kate, in fact, wanted to be engaged and “have a ring to prove it” before committing to any royal Christmas festivities.

So in 2006, Prince William and Kate Middleton didn’t spend Christmas at Sandringham. They were supposed to celebrate New Year’s Eve with one another days later, but with very short notice, William canceled, according to royal expert Katie Nicholl.

“William had been having second thoughts”

In her 2011 book The Making of a Royal Romance, Nicholl claimed that Kate was left in a flood of tears and feared for the future of their relationship. William had promised to meet Kate and her family but backed out with a call on Boxing Day. Instead, he decided to stay with the royals.

As the future king didn’t know what to do, he sat down with the Queen and his father, Charles, and spoke about his feelings. They had a clear answer.

“William had been having second thoughts and sat down with his father and his grandmother to have a frank discussion about his future with Kate. Both advised him not to hurry into anything,” Nicholl claimed in her book.

When William and Kate split in 2007, rumors about what had happened spread quickly.

Some royal experts claimed Prince William decided to split up with Kate because he felt the “fun” had disappeared from their relationship. Meanwhile, Kate was said to have been left “desperately upset” as she had already pictured how they would marry.