The Biggest Red Flags In William And Kate's Relationship

Prince William and Kate Middleton's marriage is the stuff fairytale romances are made of. The dashing heir met the British beauty with a heart of gold, and they swept each other off their feet. The loved-up couple then tied the knot in 2011, marking their union as the real deal. But the storybook gods didn't stop there. See, even though Duchess Catherine hasn't been born into royalty, she has already become the United Kingdom's national treasure with her unassuming, down-to-earth nature. The lovebirds are parents to three of the most adorable kids and are always warm, kind, and affectionate in public. Yet, every now and then, rumors surface, which threaten their picture-perfect image. Tabloids and gossip mongers sometimes allude that not everything between the heir to the throne and the heir to a $50 million mail-order empire (via Celebrity Net Worth) is what it seems.

But what happens behind closed doors, away from the high-class fashion, palaces, and jewel-encrusted tiaras? Is the royal couple still the same Wills and Kate that we think we know? If you're intrigued about the machinations of a royal couple's more intimate moments, let's show you the receipts about The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's marriage and examine any warning signs. After all, the smoke may just be from the red-hot fire of their ever-burning love.

Prince William was not in a hurry to be tied down. Although the Duke is all over his bae now, there was a time in his life when he tried Kate Middleton's patience. In fact, the British press dubbed Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, "Waity Katie." Ouch! At the time, the public expected Wills and Kate to marry according to an imaginary timeline that had the lovers jumping through spinning hoops to tie the knot at record speed. Yet, as we all know, things aren't always so simple. Granted, they started dating each other at the end of 2003, per Grazia, and only got hitched in 2011, but there were other factors at play. Like, did the British public really expect a modern couple to get married in their early 20s? 

But it wasn't as if William was in a hurry to walk down the aisle, either. According to Vanity Fair, he was already getting cold feet early into their relationship. The story goes that in the summer of 2004, the firstborn prince declared that he was feeling "claustrophobic." After agreeing to take a break from their relationship, William felt he needed a boys-only sailing vacay to Greece. Bosom buddy Guy Pelly arranged for an all-female crew, and away they sailed. The outlet reported that Kate "was annoyed, if not surprised" to learn of Guy's tactics because, at the time, Guy had been a less than stellar influence on William. 

Prince William, occasionally, imbibed a little too much, especially in early adulthood. Sometimes, his drinking and partying ways got him in a lot of trouble. For example, snaps of a drunk William emerged online after a wild night of debauchery in England. On March 23, 2007, he was caught "seemingly" groping the breast of an 18-year-old Brazilian woman called Ana Ferreira, per Female First. The British press had a field day with the naughty pic. See, William had been knee-deep in his military tank warfare training in Dorset when he decided to have a night out on the town in a neighboring town called Bournemouth. He was partying in a nightclub when "word went round that William was there playing cheesy eighties music, so we went to take a look," Ferreira said (via Today). She continued, "He was dancing, looking a bit wooden — I don't think he would be any good at the samba! But there were lot of girls hanging around him." 

William, who was a youthful 24 years old at the time, posed for some pictures with Ferreira and her friend. She dished, "I was a little bit drunk myself but felt something brush my breast. I thought it couldn't be the future king – but now that I've seen the picture, it's no wonder he has a smile on his face!"

Kate Middleton was furious that her boyfriend had been caught groping another woman at a bar. According to Today, she opened up to her mother and sister and complained that Prince William had "changed." William, for his part, also sought paternal advice complaining that he was feeling "claustrophobic." Prince Charles thought it prudent if they part ways because leading her on would be "completely unfair to Kate." 

So, William snubbed an Easter celebrations invite from the Middletons and opted to meet Kate at her flat the following weekend. Kate wanted some kind of commitment because the press was already hounding her. He recalled his mother's relationship with the paparazzi and said, "I don't want you suffering the way my mother did." She didn't want to give up on their relationship and reminded him of what they had meant to each other. 

The next day, April 11, 2007, he called Kate at work. The Duke of Cambridge did not even have the decency to break up with Kate face-to-face. He swerved a confrontation and dumped her over the phone. At the time, Kate was working as a fashion accessories buyer for Jigsaw, per Vogue. Today reveals that she excused herself from her colleagues and went into a back conference room. William's sorry excuse was, "It just isn't going to work. It isn't fair to you ..." Thankfully, they made up a few short months later.

Kate Middleton has always been a stickler for displaying the right image. According to Vanity Fair, she even had to ream Prince William when he was acting like a child instead of the future monarch. Unfortunately, Guy Pelly always seemed to bring out the mischievous side of the prince (think: the trip to Greece with the all-female crew that Pelly arranged) and Kate wasn't always down for that.

Apparently, Wills and the "court jester" were on holiday in Ibiza in 2006. The pair discovered the thrill of mopeds and were showing off in front of a rented house, having some testosterone-fueled guy time. However, Kate was mortified and came out of the house and demanded that they stop. Reportedly she blasted them, "Anyone could be watching! Go out the back and stop behaving like this!" They seemingly complied and listened to the schoolmarm in Kate and dutifully stopped preening about. The Vanity Fair author, Vicky Ward, wrote, "William may not have liked it, but Middleton's judgment was almost certainly right." While Kate's decision was in Will's best interest, it probably wasn't the best for his ego to be called out in front of his friend. Nevertheless, their relationship survived the hurdle and Pelly would later play an important role in their lives. Per Hello!, Pelly is one of Prince Louis' godfathers.

Princess Diana left her 12-carat oval Ceylon sapphire ring to her second son, Prince Harry. However, The "spare" felt that the ring should go to the future queen, and gave  Prince William the exquisite piece of jewelry when he learned that he wanted to propose to Kate Middleton, per Marie Claire. When the prince and his bride-to-be announced their engagement in 2010, via ABC News, he shared that the ring had been on a journey of its own. The prince proposed in Kenya and revealed, "I had been carrying it around with me in my rucksack for about three weeks before that and I literally would not let it go, everywhere I went I was keeping hold of it ..." He continued, "It's my mother's engagement ring ... obviously she's not going to be around to share any of the fun and excitement of it all — this was my way of keeping her sort of close to it all."

However, many know that Princess Diana and Prince Charles' marriage was nothing to write home about. Riddled with affairs, insecurities, and the nastiest of rumors, their union ended in a scandalous divorce. According to Marie Claire, many thought that it wasn't a good idea to propose with a ring that came from a failed marriage. They felt that it was a bad omen. A decade later, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's marriage is stronger than ever.

Anybody up for a party? Apparently, Prince William wanted to let down his hair (back when he still had some) when the Duchess of Cambridge was expecting their first child, Prince George. Wills had left a pregnant Kate at home and had attended the nuptials of his close friend Tom van Straubenzee and Lady Melissa Percy, per Daily Mail. The "Royal Wedding of the North" would go down as the event where William lost his tooth.

Apparently, the young duke was "tearing up the dancefloor" alongside his friend Tom Inskip. One thing led to another, and Inskip struck William in the face. Reportedly, he lost most of his front tooth, thanks to their wild dance moves, and he had to seek medical help immediately. However, Wills still had a sense of humor. A guest alleged, "William was joking that if Kate went into labor that night, he'd have to smile for the cameras with a missing tooth." Well, if Kate knew about the accident, she may have gone into labor. As another guest pointed out, "William made sure the tooth was repaired because he was worried Kate was going to go completely spare." On the other hand, it would have been very funny to see the pics of a sheepish William and a ticked-off Kate if he hadn't been able to get to a dentist in time.

In 2017, Prince William found himself in hot water once again when he was snapped partying up a storm with two women, per Australia's The Daily Telegraph. The Duke of Cambridge gave the Commonwealth Day services a miss and decided to hit the Swiss ski slopes with the boys instead. He also left his wife home alone with the kids. The media had a field day when footage emerged of the British royal doing some dad dancing at an establishment. William got down and dirty with Aussie model Sophie Taylor and "gyrated" with her, per The Sun. He grabbed the model's cowboy hat and placed it on his own balding head while enjoying her company. Later, Taylor reportedly did the "slut drop," a particularly wicked dance move, while entertaining the future king.

Yet again, William allegedly got handsy and placed his digits on another's woman's waist while bending low to talk to her. A partygoer later told the press, "He was dancing so wildly that I did a double-take when I first saw him and thought it must be a lookalike." They continued, "But before long everyone realized they really were partying with Prince William." Katie Nicholl, a well-known royal expert, felt, "It's safe to assume Kate will be far from happy." Wonder if he has learned his lesson yet?

Even though Prince William was embroiled in many scandals through the years, nothing captured the media's attention the way that his alleged affair with Rose Hanbury did. In Touch (via The Daily Beast) first broke the news that Wills may have cheated on Kate Middleton with the Marchioness of Cholmondeley. Apparently, the affair occurred when the Duchess of Cambridge was expecting Louis in 2018 and only came to light in 2019. The outlet alleged that Kate confronted her husband, but he reportedly laughed off the accusations. A prominent staff writer at The Times of London, Giles Coren, then seemingly confirmed the rumors (via Parade) when he tweeted, "It is an affair. I haven't read the piece but I know about the affair. Everyone knows about the affair, darling." He later deleted the message.

However, Kate was apparently concerned enough to make a few demands of her own. The In Touch source alleged that she didn't want William to continue their friendship with the Cholmondeleys and told him that all socializing had to stop. The outlet reported that their source claimed, "They come across as a perfect couple who can do no wrong." However, the source continued, "But the reality is, most couples have their issues and William and Kate are no different." The world was shocked to hear that the alleged affair "rocked the palace and their marriage." The Daily Beast claimed that the royal family uncharacteristically tried to suppress the allegations of the affair.

It seemed only natural that Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, and the Marchioness of Cholmondeley would strike up a friendship. They are nearly the same age, have children of similar ages, and move in the same circles, so they soon became apparent close friends, per Town and Country. But then rumors started flying when Kate apparently cold-shouldered her bestie, with both houses remaining tight-lipped about what was happening. In the meantime, In Touch (via Daily Beast) reported, "Kate sees their friendship in an entirely different light now." 

It seemed as if their entire friendship was shaded by the alleged incident as The Sun (via Closer Weekly) alleged that Kate ordered William that the Cholmondeleys needed to be "phased out." The insider also divulged, "It is well known that Kate and Rose [Hanbury] have had a terrible falling out. They used to be close but that is not the case anymore." Apparently, William was reluctant to let go of the friendship, particularly because he was reportedly close to David Rocksavage, Rose Hanbury's husband. The source claimed, "William wants to play peacemaker so the two couples can remain friends, given they live so close to each other and share many mutual friends." But it seemed as if the duchess had the final say as the insider continued, "Kate has been clear that she doesn't want to see them anymore and wants William to phase them out, despite their social status."

An interesting bit of gossip hit the tabloids during the Rose Hanbury scandal. Apparently, Kate Middleton could not cope with the news of the alleged affair. The Globe (via Micky) was the only tabloid that reported that Kate was heartbroken amid Prince William's cheating scandal. They claimed that she wept and fled to her parents' home in Berkshire, away from the spotlight. However, her mother came across her darling daughter as she lay "crumbled" on the bathroom floor after she collapsed. Mama knew best and called a doctor and her son-in-law. After all, things just couldn't go on this way. However, when Wills arrived, Kate allegedly tore into him, and he left the Middleton family's home.

For the record, no mention is made of what happened to the kids amid all the drama. And photos during Kate's pregnancy and directly thereafter show no hostility between her and William. So, what really went on behind closed doors is really between the Cambridges. Good for them!

It's no secret that the Fab Four didn't last very long. Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince Harry, and Meghan Markle were going to revolutionalize the British monarchy. And when they started out, it seemed as if they were a dream team who would actually modernize the royal institution. Unfortunately, the vision failed and, with it, family ties were broken. As far back as 2018, The Times reported that William and Harry had decided to part ways. A source told the outlet, "The brothers have leant on each other and looked after each other since their mother died."  But even their relationship had to change, and the source revealed, "They have become different people with different outlooks on life," particularly since they each had their own families to consider.

Then, Megxit occurred in 2020, and things spiraled out of control. Harry and Meghan spoke to Oprah in a controversial tell-all interview where the Duchess of Sussex accused Kate of making her cry before her wedding. Apparently, Wills was furious after the interview because it put his wife in a bad light, and he then became "very protective" over Kate, per People. Will they ever be able to come together again as a family and stop airing their dirty laundry? As for Kate and Wills, they have faced so many challenges together. Surely, they will overcome this one too.