REVEALED: The nickname Kate Middleton DESPISED before marrying Prince William
KATE MIDDLETON had to wait a long time before her husband, Prince William, proposed – and the uncertainty about her future in the days before the couple's engagement left her with a nickname she "absolutely despised", a royal expert claimed.
Kate & William chat about Prince George at sailing race
The Duchess of Cambridge met Prince William while she was a student at the University of St Andrews, in 2001. The following year, they moved into a student house with two other friends and, by Christmas 2003, romance reportedly blossomed when Kate split from her previous boyfriend. Their relationship became public after they were pictured skiing in Klosters together and, in June 2005, the Prince and his girlfriend looked very much in love on the day of their graduation ceremony.
However, it was not until 2010 that the Duke of Cambridge decided to propose, after dating Kate for almost seven years.
In the years leading up to her engagement, the Duchess was dubbed "Waity Katie" as it was claimed she was simply waiting for William to propose.
According to royal correspondent Katie Nicholl, the nickname “really stuck” with Kate.
Ms Nicholl told CBS news in 2009: “Kate has always been a model of what a royal princess should be: patient, loyal; when the prince has needed his time, she's given it to him.
“She's been exemplary, but 'Waity Katy' has stuck, and it's a nickname that she absolutely despises."
In her 2011 book “The Making of a Royal Romance”, Ms Nicholl talked again about the fraught lead-up to the engagement.
She wrote: “I do know that it was the Christmas of 2009 when [Kate’s mother] Carole was getting quite concerned.
“Kate was nearing 30, there was still no ring on her finger.”
She added that Mrs Middleton voiced her concerns to William, who then assured the anxious mother that he wanted to do the right thing by Kate.
The Prince finally proposed in 2010, while the two were on holiday in Kenya.
During an interview with CNN, William said he wanted the proposal to really "mean something" and explained why that time and location seemed the perfect opportunity.
He said: "I regularly daydream. Africa is definitely one of the places I go to.
"It does completely settle me down. [Kate] understands what it means to me being in Africa, and my love of conservation.
"I didn’t really plan it that far in advance. I just knew I wanted it to feel comfortable where I did it."
Billed as “the wedding of the 21st century”, Kate and William married at Westminster Abbey, London, on April 29, 2011.
They now have three wonderful children, Prince George, Prince Charlotte and baby Prince Louis.