07 December 2023 , 23:00
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Long before Prince William and Kate Middleton said I do in front of the eyes of the world at a fairy-tale wedding at St Paul’s Cathedral, the pair broke up - and it seemed for good.
The pair had met at the prestigious St Andrew's University in Edinburgh in their late teens and first started out as friendly flatmates before striking up a romance. But in April 2007 rumours began circulating the two of them were in different places after six years together, with the Princess of Wales ready to commit but Prince William reportedly wanted to make the most of his youth and freedom and they broke up.
Kate Middleton with Henry Ropner in 2007 (CAMERA PRESS)They would, of course, eventually get back together and finally married in 2011 before producing three children - including the future king. But during their break up another man caught the eye of the future Princess of Wales.
Although their time apart was short-lived, single Kate made the most of her time on the London dating scene. She was reportedly seeing Henry Ropner - another tall and handsome wealthy man whose family own a £33.7million shipping management firm and a school friend of Prince William’s.
Royal watcher Richard Compton Miller previously said: "I have no doubt William found it very difficult to replace Kate. He inhabits a world where women are very impressed by his status - and they often throw themselves at him. It's quite hard to find a girl who is as beautiful as Kate and who has also got her feet on the ground.
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Prince William reportedly wanted to make the most of his youth and freedom (AFP/Getty Images)"There were times when it was rumoured that he was getting up close and personal with girls in clubs but he never seems to have slept with them, as far as we know. We live in a world of kiss-and-tells and I think William is very frightened of that. The great thing about Kate is how beautifully she behaves."
The relationship with Ropner - now happily married himself to Natasha Sinclair - was short lived and Wills and Kate were back together by June 2007.
In 2010 Prince William said of their brief time apart: “We were both very young. it was at university, we were sort of both finding ourselves as such and being different characters and stuff, it was very much trying to find our own way and we were growing up. It was just sort of a bit of space and a bit of things like that, and it worked out for the better.”
Kate added: “I think at the time I wasn’t very happy about it, but actually it made me a stronger person.”