Kate Middleton’s Parents Were Initially “Dead Set Against” This Decision That Changed Her Life—and Led Her to Prince William
Kate Middleton’s Parents Were Initially “Dead Set Against” This Decision That Changed Her Life—and Led Her to Prince William
Rachel BurchfieldWed, July 29, 2026 at 12:36 PM UTC
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Michael Middleton, Kate Middleton, and Carole Middleton on December 15, 2006.Credit: GettyThe Gist -
Kate Middleton was initially headed to the University of Edinburgh before switching to the University of St. Andrews—which is also where Prince William was set to attend.
Despite rumors that Kate’s mother Carole Middleton was the mastermind behind the transfer, a royal biographer wrote that Carole and husband Michael Middleton were initially “dead set against” Kate changing schools.
Eventually, the Middletons “agreed to her decision,” Russell Myers wrote.
While the Netflix series The Crown may attempt to make viewers believe that Carole Middleton masterminded the plan for her eldest daughter Kate Middleton to attend the University of St. Andrews to meet Prince William, it turns out that she and husband Michael Middleton were actually “dead set against” Kate going there.
Kate was initially headed to the University of Edinburgh to continue her studies, but switched to St. Andrews after a change of heart. After spending her gap year in Chile, Kate’s decision to switch schools “raised her parents’ eyebrows when she first filled them in on the news,” according to Hello!.
Kate Middleton on March 16, 2007.Credit: Getty
In fact, rather than Carole being the brains behind any so-called operation for Kate to meet William at St. Andrews, it seems that she and Michael were apprehensive of the move. In his book William & Catherine, royal biographer Russell Myers wrote, “At first, Carole and Michael were dead set against the idea, with Carole in particular worried about her daughter losing academic momentum.”
“But after listening to Catherine explain that she believed she would be suited to the quieter surroundings of St. Andrews rather than the city life that Edinburgh would provide, they agreed to her decision.”
Carole Middleton and Michael Middleton on November 16, 2010.Credit: Getty
Myers added, “The timing of Catherine’s announcement to her parents would, years later, result in accusations that she changed her mind about Edinburgh because she wanted to follow the dashing young Prince William to St. Andrews, where in August 2000 he had announced he would be studying. But the truth is that during the [gap year] trip she had met a fellow student, and 18-year-old girl from Somerset who was set to go to the University of St. Andrews, in Fife on the east coast of Scotland, to study engineering. The two hit it off so well that Catherine decided to explore the option of changing her course while she was still away.”
Both William and Kate began as first-year students at St. Andrews in the fall of 2001, almost exactly 25 years ago. The future Prince and Princess of Wales met when they were both living at the same residence hall on campus, St. Salvator’s Hall. They also both studied art history, though William eventually changed his course of study to geography.
During their engagement interview in 2010—nearly a decade after meeting—Kate admitted, “actually, I think I went bright red when I met you and sort of scuttled off, feeling very shy about meeting you.”
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“It did take a bit of time for us to get to know each other, but we did become very close friends from quite early on,” she continued.
Kate Middleton and Prince William on March 13, 2007.Credit: Getty
Interestingly, Kate’s younger sister Pippa Middleton ended up studying at Edinburgh herself. Kate’s switch from Edinburgh to St. Andrews wasn’t the only overlap she shared with William, by the way—both William and Kate spent part of their gap year in Chile, though weren’t known to cross paths at that time, as William attended the same program a mere few weeks earlier. Royal biographer Tina Brown said that “Kate had a Zelig-like ability to keep appearing on the edges of William’s life.”
Kate wasn’t the only one to change course for St. Andrews after William announced his intention to study there—applications to the school shot up 40 percent after the announcement.
“It seemed every girl in America wanted to come to St. Andrews to search out the prince,” royal biographer Katie Nicholl wrote. “Kate would have read the papers. She would have known that William was going and that there was every chance they could be in the same program at the same time if she got a place to study there.”
Kate Middleton graduating from the University of St. Andrews on June 23, 2005.Credit: Getty Images
Nicholl added in her book Kate: The Future Queen, “It was a bold move and very risky, and rather out of character for Kate. There was no guarantee that she would get a place in the history of art program at St. Andrews, which was oversubscribed now that William had confirmed his place.”
After meeting a quarter century ago, the two became friends, then roommates, then romantically involved. Ahead of their royal wedding on April 29, 2011, William said in their engagement interview in 2010, “When I first met Kate, I knew there was something very special about her. I knew there was possibly something that I wanted to explore there. We ended up being friends for a while and that just sort of was a good foundation. Because I do generally believe now that being friends with one another is a massive advantage. And it just went from there.”
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
