“The Crown” took a few liberties when retelling the modern-day romance between Kate Middleton and Prince William.
Netflix’s “The Crown” has caught up with the modern age, focusing on recent romances that sparked pop culture from a decade ago. While “The Crown” has not touched on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s romance and troubles with the royal family and British media, Kate Middleton and Prince William have become the focus of the latest seasons.
Since its debut in 2016, “The Crown” tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II’s life from the 1940s to modern times, featuring many shocking moments such as the unraveling of King Charles and Princess Diana’s marriage. The hit series is coming to an end, and has decided to take a look at the early days of William and Kate’s relationship, which blossomed at the University of St Andrews in Scotland.
In the second part of the sixth and final season, a young Kate and her mother, Carole Middleton, run into Princess Diana and Prince William while Christmas shopping. However, this meeting is entirely fictional. According to royal biographer Katie Nicholl, she documents that the future Princess and Prince of Wales first met during their secondary school days in the ’90s before heading off to St Andrews.
“The Crown” depicts a teenage Kate hanging posters of the young Prince William in her room, but Middleton has already stated that this depiction isn’t accurate.
“He wishes! No, I had the Levi’s guy on my wall,” Kate admitted during her engagement interview. “Not a picture of William. Sorry.”
The official story states that the two met while crossing paths for the first time in their dorm, St. Salvator’s Hall, in September 2001. “I actually think I went bright red when I met you and sort of scuttled off, feeling very shy about meeting you,” Kate said to William years later in their engagement interview. The two did bond during their first year of college over their gap year experiences. Both did charity work for the same organization, barely missing each other.
Kate and William were close friends throughout their first year of college, dating others as they went through their studies. But it was Kate’s walk down the runway in a sheer black dress that caught Prince William’s attention. Eyes fixed on the catwalk, Prince William, seated front row, witnessed 20-year-old Kate Middleton take the stage in a stunning creation by fellow student Charlotte Todd.
The skirt-turned-dress sold at auction for $125,000 in 2011, despite Todd only spending $50 to make it (via Time).
“Everyone says that the fashion show was when the romance started, so a small part of me will always be part of royal history,” Todd told People in 2020.
During their second year at St Andrews, Kate and William moved in together, living at 13A Hope Street with two friends. It was there that their romance began, and the rest is well-documented history.
No one masterminded the love story between a young Kate and Prince William. It was natural and became a simple love story that the royal family couldn’t be more excited to see unfold. The same can’t be said for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s relationship.
The sixth and final season of “The Crown” is now streaming on Netflix.
