ROYALSCarole Middleton Played a Key Role in Caring for Kate Middleton After Her 'Heartbreaking' 2007 Breakup From Prince William
Carole Middleton took Kate Middleton to Ireland after Prince William dumped her in 2007.
Before Kate Middleton and Prince William became a global power couple, the lovebirds briefly called it quits in 2007. Although their separation was short-lived, a new biography about the Princess of Wales highlighted how Carole Middleton was an integral part of her daughter's life after being dumped.
Carole Middleton is often praised for being a caring mother to Kate Middleton.
"As Catherine approached her 25th birthday in January 2007, [William] unexpectedly canceled plans to attend a New Year gathering in Dundee, arranged by the Middletons," Robert Jobson wrote in Catherine, the Princess of Wales.
"She sensed something was wrong. It certainly wasn't helping that newspapers were confidently predicting a royal engagement," he added.
Kate Middleton and Prince William split in early 2007 for a few months before rekindling their relationship by that summer.
William decided to end things with his then-girlfriend over the phone.
"Soon afterward, seemingly out of the blue, William — now a 2nd Lieutenant in the Blues and Royals — telephoned her to suggest that they split up. He told her they both needed 'a bit of space' to 'find our own way,' and he was unable to promise her marriage," Jobson noted.
According to the author, the conversation was "emotionally charged" and they were on "different pages."
"It was a devastating blow to Catherine, who felt doubly let down at being dumped over the phone," he noted. "Though it wasn't the first time William had called time on their relationship, it felt final."
Carole Middleton has a close bond with Prince William.
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Kate was sad about William's decision, so Carole quickly went into mom mode.
"Carole Middleton acted swiftly, taking her heartbroken daughter for a break in Dublin — a welcome respite from media scrutiny," Jobson penned.
Shortly after traveling to Ireland, Kate decided she wouldn't "sit around moping" and went on vacation to Ibiza with a friend — but the trip became public fodder.
Kate Middleton and Prince William celebrated their 13th wedding anniversary this year.
Kate and William first met in 2001 while attending St Andrews, and the future queen took a gap year after deciding to transfer to the future king's school of choice.
“Kate was very strategic,” royal historian Robert Lacey wrote in his 2020 book Battle of Brothers: William and Harry—The Inside Story of a Family in Tumult. “She gave up her place at one of Britain’s premier universities, Edinburgh, and opted for another one [St. Andrews] that probably didn’t have the same academic standard."
"She had already been to Edinburgh to get her flat accommodations sorted out, but switched universities and switched her courses to history of art because that was William’s. She delayed her own education by a year and took the chance of not getting into St. Andrews," Lacey continued.
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In the pair's engagement announcement, they acknowledged their time apart.
“We were both very young, it was at university, and we were both sort of defining ourselves as such and being different characters," William told Tom Bradby. “It was very much trying to find our own way and we were growing up.”
“I at the time wasn’t very happy about it, but actually it made me a stronger person. You find out things about yourself that maybe you hadn’t realized," Kate added. "I think you can get quite consumed by a relationship when you’re younger, and I really valued that time for me, as well.”
