When Princess Kate’s friends told her that she was lucky to have Prince William, long before their marriage, she had a five-word comeback that is the kind of energy we should all emulate.
Long before she became a Princess and the future Queen, Kate was simply an undergraduate who started up a romance with a friend and fellow student: Prince William. Their love story is the same that many people around the country have enjoyed, only with the added catch of a massive spotlight.
Kate and William dated for many years after university before they finally settled down – and even broke up for a time. In the very earliest days of their relationship, pals are reported to have told Kate that she was seriously lucky to have bagged William, but Kate’s confident comeback shows just the kind of energy she brought to her relationship.
Per Claudia Joseph, author of Kate Middleton : Princess in Waiting, Kate kept her reply short and sweet with just five words and a smile, saying: “He’s lucky to have me.”
The couple has now been together for over two decades and married for thirteen years, and share three children: Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six. In YouGov popularity rankings, Kate comes in third, with the late Queen Elizabeth taking the top spot, and Anne, Princess Royal coming in second – showing just what an asset Kate has turned out to be for the Firm, and that her words in the early days of her relationship were indeed prescient.
However, it hasn’t been smooth sailing for the couple recently, with this last year presenting William, Kate, and their young family many challenges. When Kate announced in an emotional video message straight to the nation back in March that she had begun a course of preventative chemotherapy and would have to temporarily step back from public life – it came only weeks after King Charles had announced that he had also been diagnosed with cancer. This left Prince William having to juggle being one of the only senior royals able to conduct official engagements, along with his responsibilities to his family.
In an official interview given by the couple to mark their engagement, they provided sweet insight into the early days of their paths crossing, with William saying: “We obviously met at university – at St Andrew’s we were friends for over a year first and it just sort of blossomed from then on. We just spent more time with each other had a good giggle, had lots of fun, and realised we shared the same interests and had a really good time.”