Royals' forgotten first loves before their fairytale weddings – including Princess Kate's university ex

Prince William first met Kate in 2001 when they were both students at the University of St Andrews.

But before her fairytale romance, Kate reportedly dated Rupert Finch, a fourth-year student whom she also met during her university studies. 

The couple reportedly split after a year together. But the pair appear to have remained on good terms, with Rupert and his wife, Lady Natasha Rufus Isaacs, attending Kate's wedding to William in 2011.

Meanwhile, Prince William's reported first love was singer and childhood friend Rose Farquhar.

The pair reportedly dated briefly in 2000, around the time William graduated from Eton College. 

Rose has also found love since, marrying an old family friend, George Gemmell, in December 2022. William was even at the wedding!

Before marrying Meghan Markle in 2018, Prince Harry's first long-term relationship was with on-and-off girlfriend Chelsy Davy.

The couple famously dated for roughly seven years, starting in 2004 after they crossed paths in Cape Town during Harry's gap year.

They eventually went their separate ways in 2011. Chelsy, who was in her twenties at the time, admitted she struggled with the royal spotlight, telling The Times: "It was so full-on: crazy and scary and uncomfortable."

"I found it very difficult when it was bad. I couldn't cope… I was trying to be a normal kid, and it was horrible."

These days, Chelsy runs a jewellery business from Mauritius and is a mum to three children.

The Princess Royal has been married twice in her life, first to Captain Mark Phillips from 1973 to 1992, and then to her current husband, Sir Timothy Laurence, since 1992.

But the royal never made it down the aisle with her former flame, Andrew Parker Bowles. 

Andrew was Anne's first boyfriend, whom she dated in the 70s when she was in her twenties. Their romance came to an end as Andrew was not Catholic, making him an unsuitable partner in the eyes of the Church of England.

He went on to tie the knot with Camilla Shand in 1973, but their marriage was over by 1995. Camilla would later become Anne's sister-in-law through her marriage to King Charles.

Meanwhile, Anne has retained a friendship with her ex, and was seen alongside him at the Cheltenham Festival last year.

Prince Edward has been married to Duchess Sophie since 1999 and shares his daughter, Lady Louise Windsor, with her.

Back in the late 80s, Edward had his first high-profile relationship with West End star Ruthie Henshall.

The pair first met in 1988 when Edward was working as a production assistant for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Theatre Company.

They had an on-off relationship for around five years before they split for good. Their romance fizzled out as Ruthie wasn’t prepared to sacrifice her acting and singing career.

Speaking to HELLO! recently about their romance, Ruthie, who has penned a memoir titled The Showgirl and the Prince, told us: "I don't think I would have been a very good royal and I could never have sat there watching other people do what I love."

Sophie, called Sophie Rhys-Jones before her marriage to Edward, reportedly worked as a ski representative years before meeting and falling in love with the Duke of Edinburgh. 

But her career on the slopes reportedly came to an end when she found love with an Australian ski instructor and left Switzerland.

"I think she was hoping to get married and settle down in Aussie,"  late royal writer Garth Gibbs claimed in the 1999 documentary, Prince Edward & Sophie Rhys-Jones: The True Story. 

Sophie reportedly went to Australia after her ski season, but ultimately ended up back in the UK, where she would meet Edward at Capital Radio in 1987.