Prince William, Kate Middleton Didn't Meet At University: Here's What 'Changed Everything'

Many who follow the royal family have heard the story of Prince William and Kate Middleton meeting each other for the first time at the University of St. Andrews in Fife, Scotland, in 2001. However, royal biographer Katie Nicholl doesn't believe that's entirely factual.

According to Express, Nicholl, who has written books such as "William and Harry: Behind the Palace Walls" and "Kate: The Future Queen," thinks that their initial encounter happened even earlier. In 2013, while speaking to Katie Couric on her talk show, Nicholl described how she believed the meeting actually took place.

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"She had actually met William before college?" Couric asked the author at the time.

"Yeah, this was really fascinating for me," answered Nicholl, adding, "I was speaking to some of her friends at Marlborough school, which was where she went before St. Andrews. They said, nuh-uh, she didn't meet him at St. Andrews. She met him before she got there."

Continuing, she said, "While she was at school in her sixth form, through some of her friends, they knew Prince William and Prince Harry. So there was an early meeting. That, for me, that changed everything."

The Duchess left Marlborough College in Wiltshire in 2000, after achieving her A-Levels in Maths, Art and English, per Express. Following her exit, she took a gap year, which is when she traveled to Chile and Italy. Then, in 2001, she began university. The gap year also coincides with William's trajectory as he too took one year before beginning his studies.

Royal author Marcia Moody wrote in her 2013 book "Kate: A Biography" that since the campus was small, it was inevitable that they would run into each other, especially since they lived in the same building. Recounting the meeting, the Duke of Cambridge once said that he "knew there was something very special about her" upon their initial interactions.

Nicholl's interview with Couric can be viewed below.