Way back in 2007, Prince William and Kate Middleton (opens in new tab) took a short detour on their route to happily ever after in the form of a short-lived breakup (opens in new tab).
Obviously, as all royal fans (and pretty much anyone with internet access) know, Will and Kate walked down the aisle in 2011 and have been going strong ever since. But, before they were ready for a 'til-death-do-you-part level commitment, they did take some time apart.
While Prince William was notoriously the instigator of the couple's break, he was also the one who fought the hardest to get back together, apparently. In her book Kate: The Future Queen (opens in new tab), royal expert and biographer Katie Nicholl (opens in new tab) describes how Will and Kate's reconciliation played out—and it involved Will "pleading" with Kate for another chance.
According to Nicholl, Will and Kate (opens in new tab) decided to split in early April of 2007 and by the end of May, Will knew the breakup was a mistake and told Kate (opens in new tab) as much. Per Nicholl:
The turning point came in June, when Will invited Kate to a costume party at his barracks in Dorset. Kate dressed as a sexy nurse (opens in new tab) for the party (the cringe-y theme of which was apparently "Freakin' Naughty"). "Will pleaded with Kate to give their relationship another go," Nicholl wrote.
At the party, he reportedly followed Kate around "like a lost puppy" and danced with her all night before giving her a very public kiss at midnight.
"They couldn't keep their hands off each other," a fellow partygoer told Nicholl. "William didn't care that people were looking. His friends were joking that they should get a room."
Will and Kate were officially back together by the end of the party and have been an inseparable team ever since. Modern love, right?
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