Kate Middleton's Heart Was Broken by 'Downton Abbey' Actor Andrew Alexander

When she was a kid, Kate Middleton had a huge crush on her classmate Andrew de Perlaky.

Kate and Andrew starred together in a class production of My Fair Lady. Andrew de Perlaky grew up to be a professional actor (he now goes by Andrew Alexander) who is well known for his work on the stage in London and for his notable role on Downton Abbey.

According to royal biographer Katie Nicholl, Kate was so into Andrew when they were kids that he qualifies as the first boy to ever break her heart.

Kate Middleton has always had immaculate taste in men. ALWAYS. Like, since fourth grade, at least.

Proof: The very first boy Kate ever fell for grew up to be a famous actor in London and even did a stint on Downton Abbey. Does she know how to pick 'em or what?

The boy in question was Andrew de Perlaky (who goes by "Andrew Alexander" as an adult actor man), and he starred alongside Kate in their grade school production of My Fair Lady, in which Kate played the lead role of Eliza Doolittle, complete with an adorable cockney accent.

Watch some of Kate and Andrew's My Fair Lady performances yourself (it's adorable, all around):

According to royal biographer Katie Nicholl, Kate had a huge crush on Andrew at the time. In her book Kate: The Future Queen, Nicholl writes:

"Andrew played the role of Freddie, who falls for Eliza, but she rebuffs him. There was a twist of irony to the tale, for in real life, Kate had quietly fallen for Andrew, the blond-haired, blue-eyed chorister with the voice of an angel. He was the best-looking boy in her year, and Kate had gotten to know him well as they were both in the school choir, but sadly for her, Andrew was already 'dating' her friend Fiona Beacroft."

When confronted with news of Kate's childhood crush years later, Andrew said he knew she liked him back in the day, but that Kate was too shy in school to tell him herself.

"It was funny because it was passed on to me, as happens at school, that Catherine liked me. She never told me that herself, she didn't have the confidence," he said. "One of her friends, Fiona Beacroft, was my girlfriend at the time. She was more of a chatterbox and a bubblier character, but these were very innocent relationships, and very fleeting—sometimes they lasted a matter of days.

Andrew also shared some details about what these early "relationships" entailed among Kate's childhood friends—and the fact that Kate never took part in any of it, really.

"I do remember we would go off to the woods to play spin the bottle, and we even staged pretend marriages and had a quick kiss, but Catherine was never a part of that," he said. "She was on the outskirts and much shier than the other girls."

Andrew on Downton Abbey.

BBC

Andrew grew up to be a successful stage actor in London and had a memorable role as Sir John Bullock on Downton Abbey in 2013.

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