Prince William and Kate Middleton briefly broke up in 2007 amid pressure from the public, the press and the royal family to get engaged. Photo / Getty Images
Prince William and Kate Middleton briefly broke up in 2007 amid pressure from the public, the press and the royal family to get engaged. Photo / Getty Images
Prince William ended his relationship with Kate Middleton in 2007 in a 30-minute phone call - then headed to a nightclub with friends where he was heard shouting “I’m free!”
That’s according to a new biography of the now-Princess of Wales by Rob Jobson, reports the Independent UK.
WIlliam, 25 at the time, thought he was too young to tie himself down and reacted to pressure from the press and senior royals by ending their relationship.
The couple started dating while they were both studying at St Andrew’s University in Scotland, which soon led to rumours that the prince would propose.
By January 2007, Kate sensed from William’s behaviour that something was off, according to the royal writer.
“[William] told her they both needed ‘a bit of space’ to ‘find our own way’, and he was unable to promise her marriage,” Jobson writes.
“In an emotionally charged 30-minute conversation, they both acknowledged they were on ‘different pages’. It was a devastating blow to Catherine, who felt doubly let down at being dumped over the phone. William, of course, simply got drunk at Mahiki and started yelling about being ‘free’.”
He continued, “He slipped into a drunken version of the robot dance ... he then told his friends that they should all ‘drink the menu’ which they more or less ended up doing.”
William also reportedly tried moving on with socialite Isabella Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe, who turned him down because she wasn’t keen on royal life.
The couple announced their engagement in 2010. Photo / Getty Images
Jobson writes that William reportedly kept visiting her but was “rebuffed”, adding, “few could have predicted that he’d return to Catherine - or that she’d ever agree to take him back”.
Kate’s reaction couldn’t have been more different - she travelled to Ireland for a holiday with her mother Carole Middleton and a break from the prying press.
When she came back, she re-entered public life and was photographed countless times, including leaving nightclubs with her sister Pippa. At a costume party, she wore a nurse’s outfit that caught William’s attention and it wasn’t long before they were on the dance floor together kissing.
At first they kept their reconciliation secret, though William did promise her marriage and a future with him.
He proposed in Kenya in 2010 and the rest is history. The pair now have three children together and became the Prince and Princess of Wales on Queen Elizabeth II’s death and the accession to the throne of William’s father King Charles.
