When Prince Harry met Kate Middleton for the first time: His reaction was not what you’d expect.He Described Kate Middleton in 3 Words When He First Met Her…See More

Prince Harry Described Kate Middleton in 3 Words When He First Met Her
The Duke of Sussex first met the Princess of Wales in the early days of her relationship with Prince William.

Prince Harry and Kate Middleton used to be extraordinarily close, with the Duke of Sussex describing the Princess of Wales as “the big sister he never had.”

In Spare—Harry’s 2023 memoir—he describes the three words that first came to mind when he met Kate in the early 2000s.
Harry and Kate’s once close relationship has cooled amid the ongoing rift between Harry and his older brother, Prince William.

In the past, Prince Harry referred to sister-in-law Kate Middleton as “the big sister he never had,” and the two were extraordinarily close.

“There was no filling the hole left by [Princess] Diana’s death, and Harry seemed to be growing up without someone emotionally available he could lean on,” Newsweek reported of the late Princess of Wales’ death in a Paris car accident on August 31, 1997, when Harry was just 12 years old. “Kate has helped fill some of that gap.”

Now, though, as the relationship between Harry and his older brother Prince William has cooled to the point of a nonexistent relationship between brothers, his relationship with Kate has become strained, as well.

But let’s think back, shall we, to a different time—when Harry first met Kate, when both William and Kate were college sweethearts at the University of St. Andrews. Upon meeting the woman who would one day marry his brother, Harry described her in three words: carefree, sweet, and kind.

That’s how the Duke of Sussex put it in his 2023 memoir Spare, recalling that he “liked his new girlfriend” when he met her. Harry noted in the book that she’d done a gap year in Florence, Italy, “and had an interest in photography, art, and clothes,” according to Hello!.

“Harry, who admitted to disliking both fancy-dress parties and themes, was particularly unenthusiastic about this one,” according to Hello!. “However, William’s new girlfriend, Kate, offered to help them find outfits.”

Harry also wrote about how he enjoyed making Kate laugh and how he connected with her “heavily disguised silly side.” When speaking about William and Kate’s wedding on April 29, 2011, Harry wrote about how much he loved Kate and how he found in her the sister he’d never had and always wanted. “He added that he was pleased that she’d forever be by William’s side and how she was a good match for his older brother,” Hello! reported.

Royal biographer Christopher Andersen said of the two that “Harry was always close to Kate, and he always said she was the sister he never had.”

“They always had this banter,” he added, per The Daily Express. “They had similar senses of humor.”

It’s unclear the last time that the formerly close Harry and Kate have spoken, but Harry said recently in a BBC interview earlier this month that “There have been so many disagreements, differences between me and some of my family.”

Of Spare, he continued, “Of course, some members of my family will never forgive me for writing a book. Of course, they will never forgive me for lots of things. But I would love reconciliation with my family.”

How Prince William Almost Didn’t Marry Kate Middleton
The couple’s relationship could have ended before it had even truly begun had the future king made a different call.

Prince William and Kate Middleton’s love story—which has now lasted over 20 years—almost didn’t have the chance to develop at all.

The future king went far away for college, to the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where Kate also attended.
After his first semester there, he very nearly transferred, meaning that his romantic relationship with Kate would have never gotten the chance to grow legs.

A key decision while in college could have ended Prince William’s relationship with Kate Middleton before it even started.

Both William and Kate chose to attend the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where they met as first-year students in 2001—though they didn’t start dating until some time later, likely 2002 or 2003, depending on who you ask. The two eventually became friends, then platonic roommates, and then romantically involved—but it almost didn’t happen at all.

Young Kate Middleton and Prince William
Kate Middleton and Prince William on March 13, 2007.

In his book Battle of Brothers, veteran royal biographer Robert Lacey wrote of William’s “nerves” as the 19-year-old arrived at school far away from home in 2001.

“I think he was really nervous when he arrived,” said Colleen Harris, former press secretary to King Charles (via Hello!). “All the press were there—cameras from all over the world—and it suddenly hit him. He was very unsteady for a while after that.”

After all, it’s difficult for any teenager to move away to college, let alone if you’re a future king. Hello! reported that William became further unnerved while at university when “an overly amorous female admirer pinched him on the bottom while he enjoyed a drink,” and the hits kept coming during his first term at school.

Prince William
Prince William in 2003.
Tim Graham Picture Library/Getty Images
“As the term progressed, the winter weather soon grew cold, gray, and austere, and he found it difficult to make new friends,” Lacey wrote. “He missed his brother [Prince Harry], too.” (Oh, how we remember those days…)

William’s dislike for university life got to the point that he would often retreat back to London and Highgrove, where his father’s country home was. Over Christmas break, William told Charles he intended to leave St. Andrews in favor of the University of Edinburgh, but Charles’ private secretary Stephen Lamport feared that William’s transfer could allow him to be seen as a “quitter” and even seen as a “snub by the Scottish people.”

King Charles Prince William 2004 Ski Trip
Prince Charles and Prince William in 2004.
John Stillwell

Prince William attends his graduation ceremony at the University of St. Andrews
After a father-son heart-to-heart, Charles encouraged William to stay at St. Andrews, which he did—though he did change his major from art history to geography. He—along with Kate, who was by then his girlfriend—graduated from there in 2005.

Kate and William Graduation
Kate Middleton and Prince William at their 2005 college graduation.
The Middleton Family / Clarence House / Getty Images
“I don’t think I was homesick,” William later said of his heart-to-heart with Charles. “I was more daunted. My father was very understanding about it and realized I had the same problem as he had probably had. We chatted a lot and in the end we both realized—I definitely realized—that I had to come back.”

On the other side of that decision was his future wife. Had he not returned to St. Andrews after that first semester, he likely never would have developed a romantic relationship with Kate, as the spring of 2002 was when that infamous fashion show happened—you know, the one with Kate in a sheer outfit that caught William’s attention. Kate’s former roommate Laura Warshauer previously spoke about William and Kate’s instant chemistry, claiming that “they’d already fallen for each other before Kate took to the runway for the charity gala,” according to Hello!.

Kate Middleton on the catwalk wearing a sheer black lace dress over a bandeau bra and black bikini bottoms St Andrews University Charity Fashion Show
Kate Middleton at the famous charity fashion show in 2002.

“We went to a party at a castle,” she said. “It was a Harry Potter theme, and they did an auction for charity where people were bidding to win a date. Will bid £200 to win a date with Kate.”

While Warshauer can’t remember exactly what the future king and queen did for their first date, she did note that “Kate was unfazed and effortlessly casual about the situation,” Hello! reported.