Prince William and Kate Middleton will celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary next year. The Prince and Prince of Wales have been through an awful lot together since meeting at St Andrew’s University in Scotland decades ago.
They broke up and got back together, and then had to face no end of rumors before eventually getting married. This year, if you can believe it, they celebrated their 14th wedding anniversary. Weeks later, Kate has now shared a new video with never-before-seen images, and it’s every bit as sweet as one can imagine.
Prince William and Kate Middleton’s love story goes back decades. The pair studied at St Andrews, and while they initially forged a relationship as friends, a fashion show in 2002 changed everything.
William had bought a front-row ticket to a charity fashion show that Kate was to feature in, reportedly splashing around £200 for the seat. In the now-legendary see-through dress, Kate took to the catwalk, revealing her underwear underneath. By that point, William felt she wasn’t just a friend anymore but someone he had developed feelings for.
In the fall of 2002, William and Kate moved into 13A Hope Street, an off-campus apartment, with friends Fergus Boyd and Olivia Bleasdale. However, it wasn’t a given that the prince would even be allowed to move into the apartment. In 2023, landlady Charlotte Smith recalled that when William was to move in, the apartment had a strict no-boys policy.
“We’d had an unfortunate experience with some boys in the flat once before, and we were determined not to have young men there again. Broken furniture, broken windows – there was a lot of damage, so that put us off, really. I said to this young lady we’d really rather not have more boys and she said, ‘What if I were to tell you that it was Prince William?’” Smith told the Daily Mail.
Prince William & Kate’s early love story
Smith’s husband convinced her that the future king could move into the flat. It turned out that William and Kate were “ideal tenants.”
“We arranged to meet Kate Middleton, Fergus, and Olivia before they moved in, but we thought we’d better not ask to see Prince William because we thought his credit rating must be quite good. But he insisted on meeting us,” she continued.
In April 2004, William and Kate’s romance became public knowledge. The now-Princess of Wales had joined her boyfriend on a family skiing holiday – and as they cozied up on the slopes, a camera caught them. The next day, pictures of the pair were all over the British newspapers, leaving William enraged.
Speaking on Channel 5’s documentary William & Kate: Too Good To Be True, royal expert Rebecca England said: “Unfortunately for them, a paparazzi photographer took pictures of William and Kate clearly very close on the ski lift together. A red top tabloid newspaper slashed it all over their front page.”
She continued: “William was furious, and he was also genuinely worried for Kate and her family about what this would now mean for them.”
In 2007, it appeared as if their love story had ended, as the couple split for a while. Luckily, it wasn’t long before their romance was back on. And with the couple having been dating for quite some time, Kate’s mom, Carole, reportedly began to worry that William wouldn’t propose to her daughter.
Tumultuous year
According to royal expert Katie Nicholl’s book Kate: The Future Queen, Carole decided to have a secret meeting with William to learn his intentions. Things went swimmingly, and four years later, in 2011, William and Kate tied the knot at Westminster Abbey.
On April 29, 2025, they celebrated their 14th wedding anniversary, and as for their marriage, it appears that nothing can dampen the flame of their love.
The last year has been an incredible test for William and Kate, what with Kate receiving a shock cancer diagnosis in February 2024. To everyone’s joy, she announced that she was cancer-free in September, and life is slowly returning to normal.
Royal fans worldwide have shown their loving support for Kate over the last year. At the same time, her family has been more crucial than ever, with William taking on greater responsibilities at home and her parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, helping to care for their grandchildren.
Prince William & Kate Middleton are like “two teenagers in love,” expert says
In the meantime, royal expert Hilary Fordwich has shed new light on William and Kate’s marriage. With Kate soon returning to royal duties, she explained how William will be at her side, supporting her fully. According to the expert, their love is greater than ever.
“A picture tells a thousand words, and there have been several times when their affection is reminiscent of two teenagers in love, which of course they initially were, well, in their early 20s,” Fordwich told Fox in December last year.
“Their displays of public affection nowadays demonstrate they have no hesitation or reservation in letting the world know exactly how they feel about one another when they deem it appropriate to do so,” Fordwich shared.
Kate Middleton has been praised repeatedly for how she handles her role of the Princess of Wales. She and William have been on many royal outings together in recent years, and when they celebrated their 14th wedding anniversary, they decided to do something special together.
William and Kate marked their 14th anniversary by making an official visit to Scotland and the Isle of Mull. Besides the fact that Scotland is close to their hearts, William is actually a part of the land he inherited from his father, King Charles, when he became king. While in Scotland, William and Kate are known by their Scottish titles, the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay.
Prince William & Kate Middleton celebrated their 14th anniversary in Scotland
The couple began their visit in Scotland on their wedding anniversary day, April 29, in the town of Tobermory. They visited a community hub, the local harbour, and the market. They spoke to town hall committee members and volunteers about how 25 years ago, while students at St Andrews, they had visited Tobermory.
“It was 2003 when we were here. We had a lovely time here – it’s wonderful,” William said, per BBC, adding that they were “trying to find out what challenges there are, what we can do to help,” in Scotland.
Moreover, Kate said that they had “brought home some watercolor” from the 2003 trip, which they have kept as decor in one of the bedrooms of their country home of Anmer Hall in Norfolk.
A source told Hello! that the visit to the Isle of Mull was very significant. Moreover, William and Kate “appeared more natural and comfortable with each other than ever.”
“They were constantly touching one another, nudging each other to point things out and sharing lots of jokes,” the source added. “Their newfound appreciation of life after everything that has happened seems to have made them even happier together.”
“They really love the simple things in life”
Royalty will be royalty, and it’s not a big surprise that senior royals reside at some of the most luxurious locations when they’re out on duty. William and Kate, however, are different. As per Vanity Fair, they decided not to spend the night in Scotland at a five-star hotel, but instead chose a modest lodge in the countryside. The overnight stay was also the first time Kate hasn’t slept at home during an official engagement since her cancer treatment started.
“They really love the simple things in life,” a family friend told Vanity Fair. “A little cottage in the middle of nowhere is their idea of heaven.”
Of course, the trip to Scotland also produced an abundance of pictures. On their official Instagram account, Prince William and Kate Middleton shared a photo marking their 14th wedding anniversary. The couple held their arms around each other while taking in the incredible scenery.
“Wonderful to be back on the Isle of Mull. Thank you to everyone for such a warm welcome,” the caption read, signed off with “W & C” for William and Catherine.
“It looked like them reconnecting with a place of which they clearly have happy memories,” a source told Hello!. “They were in their element.”
Kate Middleton shares unseen pictures
While fans loved the picture shared by the Kensington Palace account, Kate Middleton wanted to give royal supporters even more content. Through their X account, the Princess of Wales shared a video from she and William’s Scotland visit to honor the first day of Mental Health Awareness Week.
The brand new video featured many lovely moments, including one where Kate crawls beside a field of purple flowers, walks in the forest with William, and the couple stand together in a field.
“Over the past year, nature has been my sanctuary,” Kate Middleton wrote. “The natural world’s capacity to inspire us, to nurture us and to help us heal and grow is boundless and has been understood for generations. Spring is here, so let’s make the most of it together.”
Mental Health Awareness Week has always touched Kate and her husband’s hearts. In a personal message, Kate wrote that this year, “we are celebrating humanity’s longstanding connection to nature, and its capacity to inspire us and help us to heal and grow in mind, body and spirit.”
The Princess of Wales continued: “As we confront the challenges of an increasingly complex and digital world, the importance of the connection between humanity and nature takes on even more significance. The Mother Nature series is a reminder and reflection of the beauty and complexity of the human experience. It is a tribute to the lessons we can learn from nature, helping us to foster our own growth, strengthen our bonds with the world around us and each other,” Kate concluded, signing off with “C,” for Catherine.
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