Kate, the Princess of Wales once received some bombshell news from then-boyfriend Prince William – something that could have wreaked havoc on her royal future.
At the time, in 2007, Catherine Middleton was 25 and working as a fashion buyer for Jigsaw.
With Prince William, who was also 25, working away a lot after pursuing a career in the military, the couple were seemingly spending less and less time together.
During one day at her office job, William called his girlfriend with some devastating news that the pair should split up.
According to author Tina Brown, who wrote on her best-selling book Palace Papers: “In an awful ‘let’s get it over with’ phone call in April [2007] to Kate while she was at the Jigsaw office, [William] dropped the break-up bomb.”
Ms Brown added: “She had to excuse herself from a meeting and pace around the parking lot for an hour-long heart-to-heart that left her in pieces.”
Her office job granted her compassionate leave and Kate then travelled home to her family in Bucklebury.
Fortunately, both her mum, Carole and her sister, Pippa were on hand to be there for Kate.
Carole took her daughter to an art show in Dublin and Pippa later took control and suggested that her sister let her hair down.
According to Ms Brown, the sisters would be “exuding the vibes of ‘girls just wanna have fun'”, with Kate ready to show everyone – including William – that she was living life to the fullest.
By June 2007, Kate had caught the eye of her ex and William began his plan to win her back.
Ms Brown suggested that William began to realise that Kate was as much of a catch as he was.
She wrote: “[She was] beautiful, self-assured and embossed now with a royal sheen, Kate could have become a wife of a duke or a billionaire in a Highgrove minute.”
Thankfully, the couple’s break-up only lasted for a few months and by June, they were back on. The couple reportedly shared a passionate kiss at Sam Waley-Cohen’s birthday party at his family’s Oxford mansion.
Princess Kate was also spotted at a memorial service for William’s late mother Princess Diana the following month.
By 2010, at the time of their engagement, Kate reflected on their split and stated that it made her “a stronger person”. William also stated that, in the time of the split, the pair needed “just a bit of space”.
The pair got married in 2011, and now share three children together. Kate and William celebrated their 12-year wedding anniversary back in April.
