A royal expert claimed that Kate Middleton “felt taken for granted” during the early years of her dating relationship with Prince William.
Royal biographer Andrew Morton wrote in his biographical work, William & Catherine: Their Story, that Kate endured relationship issues while dating William after meeting at the University of St Andrews in Scotland.
They met in 2001 and started dating soon after. Their relationship continued after they graduated in 2005 and they got married in April 2011.
Morton, who is also the author of Diana: Her True Story, claimed that Kate “felt taken for granted” because William was often domineering, “obstinate and strong-willed.”
Kate reportedly found William’s domineering behavior overwhelming and felt she was being unfairly treated.
“William could be an overwhelming presence at times, Kate felt taken for granted,” Morton wrote, according to Express.
Michael Chong, a friend of William and Kate, said the Duke of Cambridge would sometimes “flip and be curt” with Kate.
Kate reportedly felt hurt by William’s apparent disregard for her feelings.
“She didn’t like it when he ignored her and got into conversation with someone as though she wasn’t there,” Chong said.
William and Kate dated on and off for several years before tying the knot
Kate and William kept their relationship private when they first started dating.
They avoided being seen together in public and when they had to attend a public event, they would arrive separately to avoid attracting attention.
They dated on and off for several years, breaking up in 2004 and again in 2007, before tying the knot in April 2011.
According to royal biographer Katie Nicholl in her book William and Harry, Kate split with William in 2004 after she questioned William’s commitment to their relationship.
Nicholl traced the tensions between the couple leading to their split, to Kate’s experience when she attended William’s 21st birthday at Windsor Castle.
“At William’s 21st birthday party at Windsor Castle, it seemed as though Kate was barely registering with William; he seemed preoccupied with a very pretty girl named Jecca Craig,” Kate Nicholl wrote, according to Express.
They broke up again in 2007 after paparazzi photographs emerged showing the future king partying with girls at a club.
The tabloid media nicknamed Kate “Waity Katie” because of the long years she dated William before he proposed to her.
William and Kate recently celebrated their 10th anniversary
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary earlier in the year. British media outlets praised the couple’s harmonious relationship since they tied the knot back in 2011.
They appeared to have put the rocky early phase of their relationship behind them and built a strong bond.
William and Kate share three children — Prince George, 7, Princess Charlotte, 6, and Princess Louis, 3.