From first dates to first kisses, the start of a new romance can be an exciting and equally nerve-wracking time – imagine then, what those early days of dating are like when you're the future King of England. Sounds intense, right? That's exactly the predicament Prince William found himself in when he started dating Kate Middleton after the pair met at university in the early 2000s. With the paparazzi (and the eye of the public) following their every move, what did the pair do to keep their romance on the down-low?
According to one royal expert, William and Kate used a number of "elaborate decoys" to avoid attracting too much attention at the start of their relationship. "Their bedrooms were on separate landings, but by this stage, it was nothing more than pretence," royal biographer Katie Nicholl told Vanity Fair. "William and Kate had fallen in love and were enjoying a conventional university romance, albeit one involving elaborate cover-ups and decoys."
Nicholl went on, "In a bid to keep their relationship below the radar for as long as possible, they would leave the house at different times and arrive at dinner parties separately, and made a pact never to hold hands in public." Erm, never holding hands in public? Pretty tricky in the honeymoon period, if you ask us!
But, by 2004 the lid had been lifted on the couple's romance, after they were photographed kissing on a ski trip. Two years later, Kate sent the public wild when she made an appearance at William's RAF graduation, commenting that the young Prince looked "so sexy" in his military uniform.
At the time, engagement rumours had started to circulate, with many royal experts recalling the event as the moment they knew she'd one day be Queen. In a Channel 5 documentary about the couple, royal journalist Rebecca English said: "We hadn't expected Kate and her family to turn up, and myself and a number of photographers and journalists were all standing on a press stand together."
She continued: "Suddenly out of the corner of my eye I saw Kate and her mother and father being ushered down to the front of the seating... I remember turning to the person next to me and saying that's it, it's a done deal. This woman is going to be our future Queen."
Young love, eh?
