Prince William and Kate Middleton's relationship has been a public talking point since they started dating back in 2001. From their first year at St Andrews university to their break up in 2007, their entire relationship has played out on the front pages of the papers, and now they are first in line to be the next King and Queen.
But was it nearly someone other than Kate Middleton? Did they both date other people at university? And what other girlfriends has Prince William had? As their courtship plays out in season six, part two of The Crown, we've done some research into Prince William's love life so you don't have to.
Who did Prince William date at university?
In The Crown, Prince William is seen to have another girlfriend before he starts dating Kate Middleton. In the show, she’s called Lola Airedale Cavendish Kinkade (she's very posh) and she ends up breaking up with William because he's too 'outdoorsy' and keeps flirting with Kate in the library.
In real life, William's first year girlfriend was called Olivia Hunt. The pair briefly dated before he started seeing Kate and Olivia is said to have been one of their St Andrews classmates.
Who are Prince William's other girlfriends?
Who is Rose Farquhar?
Apparently, Prince William's first love is Rose Farquhar, who he dated before he went to university. Despite things not working out between the pair, they have remained close friends and Rose was even a guest at William and Kate's wedding in 2011.
Who is Davina Duckworth-Chad?
In 1999, William is said to have briefly dated Davina Duckworth-Chad after joining him on a cruise along the Aegean Sea. She also has royal ties and is the heir of Norfolk landowner Old Etonian Anthony Duckworth-Chad.
Who is Jecca Craig?
Rumour has it William met his former flame Jecca in Africa during his pre-college gap year in 2000, while visiting her family's Kenyan wildlife reserve. Apparently there was a brief overlap period between his relationship with Jecca and his relationship with Kate.
Who is Arabella Musgrave?
It seems William had quite a few girlfriends before attending university, another one of which is Arabella Musgrave – daughter of Major Nicholas Musgrave, of course.
Apparently the pair had a 'passionate' relationship the summer before university (he seemed to have a few of those). William and Arabella were rumoured to be so in love that William thought about dropping out of St Andrews after his first term – something that is depicted in The Crown – to be with her. He's even thought to have driven home most Friday nights to see her, and it was only when Kate persuaded him to try another term that the Prince's head was turned.
Arabella went to on to have a serious relationship with William's good friend James Tollemache, before marrying George Galliers-Pratt in 2014 and landing a top job at Gucci.
Who is Carly Massy-Birch?
William also briefly dated Carly Massy-Birch at university. She even spoke about their romance during an interview with Vanity Fair in 2010 and said they connected over being 'country bumpkins'.
She said, 'I think that was why we had a connection. William was in the year below, and we just happened to meet through the general St. Andrews melee. It's such a small place that it was impossible not to bump into William, and after a while there was nothing weird about seeing him around.'
Before adding, 'We got on well, but I think we would have got on well even if nothing had been going on romantically. It was very much a university thing, just a regular university romance.'
Who is Isabella Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe
When William and Kate broke up in 2007, he is said to have fallen for someone else. And that person was Isabella Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe.
They met on holiday in Greece but apparently Isabella called things off as she was an aspiring actress and was worried that a relationship with Prince William would hurt her career prospects.
'He had fallen for her in a huge way and wanted to be with her,' a source told the Daily Mail at the time. 'He propositioned her several times that summer and although Isabella was single, she knocked William back and said it would be too damaging for her and her career.'