In her 2011 book, The Making of a Royal Romance: William, Kate, and Harry, author and royals insider Katie Nicholl drops a bombshell of a story. It turns out that Prince William once basically wrecked Christmas and made Kate Middleton cry when he changed their plans at the very last minute.
The story goes something like this: the pair were meant to spend the Christmas of 2006 with Kate Middleton's family. Sometime the night before Christmas, Prince William "had a change of heart" and decided they would spend the holiday with his family instead. This was years before their 2011 wedding, and Katie Nicholl says that Kate was upset about the change in plans and worried this was a bad sign for her relationship.
Katie explains, "She had good reason to be concerned. William had been having second thoughts and sat down with his father and grandmother to have a frank discussion about his future with Kate. Both advised him not to hurry into anything."
Kate Middleton ended up in tears during the holiday, likely from a combination of missing her family and being worried.
Of course, Kate and Prince William have long since put this drama behind them, and have celebrated several holidays together alongside their three children. In 2019, Prince George and Princess Charlotte joined their parents while greeting members of the public on the family's annual Christmas walk.
Prince William and Kate were also all smiles during the filming of the BBC's "A Berry Royal Christmas." The Duke and Duchess were joined by famed British chef Mary Berry for four separate events.
Prince William and Kate first really met one another while they were both college students. After living as roommates with two other friends, the two started dating. The public found out about their relationship when they were photographed skiing together in 2004.
After they graduated from school, Kate went off to work for her parents in London and William began military training. The two were going strong until 2007, when they reportedly broke up. Interestingly, the break-up happened following the now infamous 2006 Christmas incident.
While speaking about their 5-month split, Prince William has said, "I think I at the time wasn't very happy about it, but actually it made me a stronger person…You find out things about yourself that maybe you hadn't realized. Or I think you can get quite consumed by a relationship when you're younger. I really valued that time for me as well although I didn't think it at the time, looking back on it."
After taking a trip to Ireland with friends to process her feelings about the split, Kate and William reconciled. Kate attended his military graduation, and the two seemed to be doing quite well. In 2010, William was posted to Wales to train as a search and rescue pilot, and Kate moved there to be with him.
And then the big news came: Prince William had proposed to Kate while the two were on a safari trip in Kenya in October 2010! Wills famously proposed with the same engagement ring that Princess Diana received from Prince Charles, an 18-karat sapphire and diamond ring.
Kate and Prince William got married in 2011 in what was dubbed the event of the century. And it basically was. People turned out in droves to line the streets on the day of their wedding, and millions of people watched the wedding on TV.
Kate and William adopted a puppy named Lupo together the same year, and then announced they were pregnant with their first child in 2013. The baby was a boy, who the pair named George. Prince George was joined by his sister, Princess Charlotte, in May 2015.
Prince William and Kate delighted royal followers by announcing a third pregnancy and giving birth to Prince Louis in April 2018. The two have stayed mum on whether or not they plan to add to their family, though it's safe to assume that royal fans would love to see another baby or even two from the couple.
It's generally safe to say that Prince William and Kate Middleton have come a long way since that teary Christmas in 2006. The two did weather cheating rumors last year, when it was revealed that Kate had cut off ties with a previously close friend, Rose Hanbury. No one knows exactly why the pair split, but rumors surfaced that William and Rose had had an affiar.
The palace issued a rare statement denying the accusations, which many took as basically proof that at least something transpired between Prince William and Rose. Despite all efforts on the part of the royal family, the rumors keep having a nasty way of popping back up.
Only time will tell how this particular royal marriage goes, but it definitely seems that Kate is in the marriage for the long haul. She has spoken at length about marriage and parenthood, and it seems that both suit her well.
