Inside the basic St Andrews terraced house where Kate Middleton and Prince William fell in love at uni
KATE Middleton and Prince Harry fell in love after meeting in their university halls while they were studying.
The young students became “instant companions” according to a friend, and Kate especially caught the prince’s eye when she modelled that daring, sheer outfit on a charity catwalk.
When they returned for their second year at the University of St Andrews, Prince William, Kate and two pals opted to live off campus in a quaint two-storey home in the city.
They moved into 13A Hope Street, which cost just £100 per week each, with housemates Etonian Fergus Boyd and Olivia Bleasdale.
The group would frequently hold dinner parties for their classmates after lessons.
The pad included a small kitchen, where William is said to have tried to impress Kate with his culinary skills.
Despite him being the future king of England, William is said to have pitched in with cleaning duties when he wasn’t studying for his Geography degree.
The royal couple were friends at first but things soon turned romantic after discovering they had the same naughty sense of humour.
Although the home has now been put on the map due to its famous residents, landlady Charlotte Smith said she nearly refused Prince William staying there.
Speaking to , she said that prior to William, she had a “no-boys” policy when it came to renting.
She said: “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?’.”
Charlotte said she chatted the situation over with her husband and he eventually persuaded her to accept.
She added: “We were really quite surprised that they should choose my flat, but it was very nice with ample living space in the centre of town and it had the reputation for being one of the best flats for comfort in St Andrews.”
Despite any initial concerns, she said William and Kate turned out to be “ideal tenants”, and described the prince as a “very friendly, very charming … thoroughly nice man”.
She added that William didn’t try and haggle on the “very reasonably priced” rent.
The landlady said: “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.”
Speaking of Kate, she said: “She was very friendly. She had her younger brother there at the time – I think just visiting – and she was very caring, making sure that he knew what was going on. They came across as a very nice group of people.”
After meeting at St Andrews in 2001, Prince William and Kate dated for a number of years after their studies.
In 2007, the couple did briefly split but reunited shortly after and married in 2011.
Speaking about their mutually agreed break-up in their engagement interview the couple admitted it was for the best.
William said: "We were both very young, it was at university and we were both finding ourselves and being different characters and stuff.
"It was very much trying to find our own way and we were growing up."
Although now they both realise it did their relationship some good, the Duchess put her hands up and came clean about the fact she wasn't happy about their decision to part ways at the time.
She said: "At the time I wasn't very happy about it but actually it made me a stronger person.
"I really valued that time, for me as well, although I didn't think it at the time."
The couple have now welcomed Prince George, six, Prince Charlotte, four, and Prince Louis, one.
The family live in the plush Apartment 1A residence at Kensington Palace, which has a gym, grand piano and lift to the staff quarters.
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