Prince William's First Words to Kate Middleton Were Very Awkward

dublin, ireland march 04 embargoed for publication in uk newspapers until 24 hours after create date and time prince william, duke of cambridge and catherine, duchess of cambridge visit the teagasc animal grassland research centre in grange, county meath on march 4, 2020 near dublin, ireland the duke and duchess of cambridge are undertaking an official visit to ireland at the request of the foreign and commonwealth office photo by max mumbyindigogetty images

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published 15 June 2020

Prince William and Kate Middleton's relationship had an ever so slightly awkward start, according to a new documentary about the couple. The future Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met at the University of St Andrews in Scotland in 2001, where they lived in the same halls of residence and often shared classes together, as the Mirror reports. But William's introduction to Kate didn't go as smoothly as he might have hoped; in fact, it was kind of hilarious.

According to royal memoirist Tom Quinn, who spoke in the British documentary William & Kate: Too Good To Be True?, the future Duke came close to hitting the ground as he approached Kate for the first time. "One of the funny stories is he was so desperate to meet her that as he walked towards her, he apparently tripped and said, 'Oh that's a terrible start, you're going to think I'm a complete clot,'" Quinn said. How quaint!

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Evidently, Kate was charmed by William all the same—and he went on to impress her with his student cooking, as People reports. Speaking to Mary Berry in their holiday special A Berry Royal Christmas, Kate said, "In our university days he used to cook all sorts of meals. I think that’s when he was trying to impress me." And his dishes of choice? "Things like bolognese sauce and things like that."

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Emily Dixon is a British journalist who’s contributed to CNN, Teen Vogue, Time, Glamour, The Guardian, Wonderland, The Big Roundtable, Bust, and more, on everything from mental health to fashion to political activism to feminist zine collectives. She’s also a committed Beyoncé, Kacey Musgraves, and Tracee Ellis Ross fan, an enthusiastic but terrible ballet dancer, and a proud Geordie lass.