The Princess of Wales's decision to attend the University of St Andrews raised her parents' eyebrows when she first filled them in on the news following her ten-week trip to Chile.
She was in South America on a volunteering expedition with the Raleigh International Programme and returned home to Berkshire with an idea. The young student revealed she intended to enrol in the Fife-based institution.
However, her news was supposedly not well-received by her parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, as they feared she was only keen to attend St Andrews to follow her love interest, Prince William, who announced he would be studying there in August 2000.
Kate was originally due to start an Art History degree at the University of Edinburgh before her change of mind led her to graduate with an honours degree in History of Art from St Andrews in 2005.
© WireImageIn his tell-all book, William & Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story, about the royal couple, Russell Myers revealed why the princess's parents were "dead set" against Kate attending William's university initially.
He said: "At first, Carole and Michael were dead set against the idea, with Carole in particular worried about her daughter losing academic momentum, but after listening to Catherine explain that she believed she would be suited to the quieter surroundings of St Andrews rather than the city life that Edinburgh would provide, they agreed to her decision."
The royal journalist revealed the real reason behind Kate's change of heart, and explained: "The timing of Catherine’s announcement to her parents would, years later, result in accusations that she changed her mind about Edinburgh because she wanted to follow the dashing young Prince William to St Andrews, where in August 2000 he had announced he would be studying.
© Getty Images"But the truth is that during the trip she had met a fellow student, an 18-year-old girl from Somerset who was set to go to the University of St Andrews, in Fife on the east coast of Scotland, to study engineering. The two hit it off so well that Catherine decided to explore the option of changing her course while she was still away."
A life-changing encounter
Ultimately deciding three years in the coastal town of Fife was the right move for her, Kate followed her heart and started studying at the prestigious university in 2001.
An 18-year-old Kate ran into Prince William while they were both students living in St Salvator's Hall and studying on the same course.
© RexTheir relationship started as friends and blossomed into a romance after the mother-of-three famously caught his eye during a charity fashion show in 2002.
Describing their first interaction, Kate said to William in their engagement interview: "Well I actually think I went bright red when I met you and sort of scuttled off, feeling very shy about meeting you. Actually, William wasn't there for quite a bit of the time initially, he wasn't there for Freshers Week, so it did take a bit of time for us to get to know each other but we did become very close friends from quite early on."
The pair started dating in 2003 and even moved in together for their final year at university. However, the pair split in April 2007 due to being on "different pages". They reconciled some months later and their rekindled romance was confirmed when Kate was spotted on a skiing break in Klosters, Austria with the royal.
Their relationship went from strength to strength, with Kate relocating to Anglesey with William when he was stationed in north Wales while working as a search and rescue pilot.
© Getty ImagesTheir engagement was confirmed by the palace on 16 November 2010, following the Prince's proposal to his long-term girlfriend during a holiday in Kenya.
Kate later said in their engagement interview: "I think at the time I wasn't very happy about it, but actually it made me a stronger person, you find out things about yourself that maybe you hadn't realised, I think you can get quite consumed by a relationship when you are younger and I really valued that time for me as well although I didn't think it at the time."
William and Kate tied the knot on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in a beautiful ceremony watched by a staggering 162 million viewers.
