Prince William Once Broke Up With Kate Middleton Over the Phone While She Was at Work

Prince William broke up with Kate Middleton over the phone while she was at work back in 2007, historian Robert Lacey claims in new book Battle of Brothers.

dublin, ireland march 04 uk out for 28 days prince william, duke of cambridge and catherine, duchess of cambridge visit teagasc research farm’s on march 04, 2020 in carlow, ireland the duke and duchess of cambridge are undertaking an official visit to ireland between tuesday 3rd march and thursday 5th march, at the request of the foreign and commonwealth office photo by james whatlingpoolsamir husseinwireimage
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Well, this is a less than ideal way to be dumped! Back in 2007, Prince William reportedly broke up with Kate Middleton on the phone—while she was in the middle of a meeting at work. According to new book Battle of Brothers by royal historian Robert Lacey, William was "uncertain" about his relationship with Kate, who he'd then been dating for almost six years, and made the fateful call on April 11, 2007.

"Kate excused herself from a meeting at Jigsaw, the fashion store with which she’d recently started working, to take a call from William in a room out of earshot of the other buyers," Lacey writes, as Us Weekly reports. "She shut the door for more than an hour. When she came out, she was single." Ouch!

The split was the second for William and Kate after a previous separation back in 2004—and Kate was determined to show William she was doing just fine without him. The future Duchess of Cambridge, Lacey writes, was "sighted enjoying herself on the London party circuit. Ms. Middleton was not going to be seen as defeated." And it worked: William "got the message quicker than he or anyone else expected."

William reportedly missed not only Kate, but her family too. "One pillar of William’s year at Sandhurst [military academy] had been his regular Friday night escapes to [the Middletons’ home in] Bucklebury, where he could collapse and be mothered by [Kate’s mom] Carole— and also fathered by the quiet and affectionate Michael who, whisper it, could provide a better ear for confidences, on some issues, than [William’s own father] Prince Charles," Lacey wrote.

Ten and a half weeks after the breakup, Kate and William were spotted kissing at a party at the latter's barracks in Dorset, and three years later, they were engaged. Just goes to show not even a little mid-work dumping can alter true love's course, doesn't it?

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Emily Dixon
Morning Editor

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.