These days, Kate Middleton has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons as she updates the world about her cancer diagnosis. On one hand, it’s obviously great that her chemotherapy treatments are going well. On the other hand, we can all remember when headlines featuring Kate were speculating more on the occasional fashion faux pas than the future Queen of England’s health.
All of this made us nostalgic for Kate’s earlier days, including her time at college. Interestingly, this is a time period that Kate has said very little about over the years. Fortunately, her old classmates had plenty to say about the princess. Keep reading to discover the most surprising things Kate Midleton’s college classmates have said about her!
The princess stays quiet about college
Like most of the Royal Family, we know quite a bit about Kate Middleton’s life, both before and after she met Prince William. That’s part of why The Crown was able to dramatize much of her early relationship with the prince, even though the show doesn’t get every detail correct.
What we know of Kate’s life often comes directly from what she chooses to share with us. However, her time in college is something that this future Queen of England has said relatively little about. Fortunately, we still have a way to know what Kate’s college days were like…all we had to do was listen to her previous classmates!
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Kate was a previous victim of bullying
Kate Middleton famously attended college at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. By all accounts, she had a really great time in her university years. However, her schooling experience before that was decidedly negative.
Originally, she attended secondary school at Downe House, but she eventually transferred to Marlborough College. The reason for the transfer is rather shocking: bullying! As Good To Know reports, her childhood friend and Marlborough classmate Gemma Williamson revealed that Kate “had been bullied very badly and she certainly looked thin and pale” and “had very little confidence” when she arrived at her new secondary school.
Adjusting to life as a small fish in a big pond
Once Kate married Prince William, she became a household name around the world. Before she was a big deal on the world stage, though, Kate was someone who had trouble fitting in when she transferred to a larger school.
That’s what Kate’s former house tutor Joan Gall had to say, at least. On the subject of Kate transferring from the smaller Downe House to the larger Marlborough College, Gall revealed to the Daily Mail that Kate initially had a hard time after moving to a bigger school. Fortunately, she stopped being a small fish in a much bigger pond pretty soon, especially because of her tendency to turn boys’ heads.
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She always turned the boys’ heads
Kate didn’t meet Prince William until the two attended the University of St Andrews together. There, she did what countless other girls dream of: caught the eye of a future King. However, this task might have been easier than you think because turning heads was something Kate had quite a bit of experience with.
Her friend and Marlborough College classmate Gemma Williamson told the Daily Mail that Kate eventually blossomed into an “absolute beauty” who often turned boys’ heads. It seems she may have been a late bloomer, as former tutor Joan Gall told the same publication that when Kate first arrived at Marlborough, some boys cruelly ranked her a 2 out of 10 in terms of how attractive she was.
Kate (mostly) avoided drinking
Those hoping for some juicy gossip on Kate’s school days are often curious as to whether the future princess liked to party. Generally, the answer is “no”…unlike many of her Marlborough College classmates, she was never busted for booze.
One of her former classmates told the Daily Mail that Kate never joined them in sneaking off to Reading for nights of illicit drinking. On one memorable occasion, though, the future royal did have too much champagne while dancing the night away and ended up making a “royal” mess by vomiting on the train taking her home.
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Kate met Prince William in college
The one aspect of Kate’s college years that almost everyone knows about is that she met Prince William while attending the University of St Andrews. The two lived in the same dormitory, and someone else who lived in the dorm claimed that she captivated William almost from the beginning.
Laura Warshauer later told People that “Whenever Kate was in the room, Will was obviously paying attention to her.” Kate was likely flattered by the attention of the future King of England, but this former roommate said their relationship quickly went beyond flattery as they demonstrated serious chemistry together. “Looking back, there were all these small moments,” she said. “Certainly moments where I was like, ‘Wow, this could really be something.”