Kate Middleton ‘Could Not Stand’ This Woman From Prince William’s Past

Kate Middleton couldn’t stand a particular woman from Prince William’s past.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met in 2001 at the University of St. Andrews. At the time, the future king was dating Carly Massy-Birch. According to Katie Nicholl in her 2010 book “William and Harry,” Prince William’s ex was a sticking point in the early days that Middleton “could not stand” her.

Prince William and Middleton started as friends and fell for each other. However, it wasn’t easy for Middleton because the duke was sending “mixed signals.”

“William was giving off mixed signals, including the romance with Carly, who Kate could not stand,” Nicholl wrote.

To make matters worse, Carly and Prince William had a close living situation because she lived across the road he occupied when she was in her third year.

“They could literally wave to William from her sitting room where she would sit knitting by the window, which rather grated on Kate,” the royal biographer added.

One time, Carly provoked a “thunderous” reaction from Prince William when they played the game “Never Have I Ever.” When it was reportedly Carly’s turn she said that she never dated two people in the room and everyone knew that she was talking about William who was sitting beside Middleton at the time.

Meanwhile, according to Victoria Arbiter, Middleton was actually dating another man when she first got to St. Andrews. The Duchess of Cambridge was with Rupert Finch, whom the royal expert described as a “nice man.” However, he was already in his final year studying law when the two met.

Middleton and Finch only dated for less than a year. Arbiter added that Prince William “kind of expressed a bit of interest” in Middleton who was playing hard to get. She wasn’t sure if she was really interested in dating a royalty.

One time, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended an extravagant Harry Potter-themed birthday party during their first term at the university. On the same event was an auction where Prince William initiated a move to date Middleton.

According to Marcia Moody in her 2013 book “ Kate: A Biography,” the future king paid $263 to take Middleton out. Prince William confessed that he knew there was something very special when he met Middleton for the first time and he wanted to explore it, but they ended up becoming just friends for a while.