Kate Middleton
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge attend Easter Sunday service at St George's Chapel on April 21, 2019 in Windsor, England. Getty Images/Samir Hussein/WireImage

Before Prince William and Kate Middleton were happily married, they were a young couple who went through a brief break up. During the early years of their relationship, the Duke of Cambridge made it clear he wasn’t ready to settle down and ended their romance.

While Kate was left heartbroken, a royal expert claims the future Duchess of Cambridge wanted to punish William for the situation that caused their break up.

In 2007, William was photographed dancing with several women while partying at a nightclub in London. After Kate confronted him over the photos, the young Prince decided it was time to move on.

At the time of the split, Prince William’s friend told the Daily Mail, Kate didn’t want the relationship to end. “Kate did everything she could to make him stay – playing a waiting game one minute and then hard-to-get the next,” the insider said.

Although the confidant claimed the relationship lost its spark, Kate was determined to make the Royal regret breaking up with her.

“Just the other week, she said she intended to be photographed at as many places as she could without William to punish him for all those pictures that appeared of him clubbing with other girls,” the source explained.

“But William’s heart just wasn’t in it anymore. As she was planning the wedding, he was working out how to extricate himself.”

However, Kate managed to catch William’s attention by looking her best while being photographed by the paparazzi. “She went to a few parties in London in hot pants for charity – all those lovely events – and I think William must have seen what he was missing.”

Constant reminders of Kate in the press eventually caused Prince William to reconsider a future with his ex-girlfriend. In 2007, a friend of the couple told Royal biographer Andrew Morton, Kate’s mission to get her ex-boyfriend back was successful.

“[William] realized what he really wanted in life. He thought he could do better, but realized very quickly what he had given up,” the insider revealed.

Kate and Prince William married in 2011 and are now parents to Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.