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QUEEN OF HEARTS

Kate Middleton Gives Perfect Reaction to Being Called ‘Lucky’ to Date William

It appears that Princess Kate has always been secure in her relationship.

Annabella RosciglioneReporter

PublishedApr 3, 2026, 6:11 PM EDT

UpdatedApr 3, 2026, 6:12 PM EDT

Updated Apr 3, 2026, 6:12 PM EDTPublished Apr 3, 2026, 6:11 PM EDT

Kate Middleton expressed confidence after friends told her she was “lucky” to be dating Prince William early in their relationship.

The couple first met in their first year, studying at the University of St. Andrews in 2001. While Kate had originally rejected William because she was in another relationship, she later found herself single and gave the Prince a chance at her heart.

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In a newly resurfaced quote from Katie Nicholl’s book The New Royals: Queen Elizabeth’s Legacy and the Future of the Crown, the author recalls that, even at the very beginning of the royal couple’s relationship, Princess Kate appeared secure in who she was.

“William loved her breezy confidence as much as her looks, and the fact that she treated him just like anyone else,” Nicholl said.

“Indeed, when a friend told Kate she was lucky to be dating the prince, she retorted: ‘He’s lucky to be going out with me!’” she recalled.

In another reported instance, Kate expressed a similar confidence about her relationship when told she was lucky to be dating a prince, saying with a smile, “He’s lucky to have me,” according to Claudia Joseph’s book Kate Middleton: Princess in Waiting.

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William, 43, and Kate, 44, continued dating after graduating from St. Andrews in 2005, and although they briefly separated in 2007, they have been together since.

A quarter-century later, the gamble clearly paid off: In 2011, after a six-month engagement, William married Kate in one of the most widely watched wedding ceremonies in history, and the pair now share three children. They will celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary on April 29.

The royal couple now have three children together: Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7.

The Princess of Wales has largely stayed out of the public eye as she has battled cancer following abdominal surgery in January 2024. She underwent preventative chemotherapy and announced last year that she was in remission and focused on recovery.

Family members have said that Kate has blended seamlessly into the royal family. An impressed royal relative told Vanity Fair in 2008 that “in all these years, without any training, quite simply she has never put a foot wrong. It’s remarkable.”

Nicholl is also quoted in the 2008 Vanity Fair piece, where she described Kate as “very self-assured—Kate has always been buoyed by her mother’s confidence in her."

Annabella RosciglioneReporter

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