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Kate Middleton, Prince William Did Not Meet at St. Andrews as Believed, Biographer Katie Nicholl Reveals

Kate Middleton, Prince William and Prince George
Kate Middleton and Prince William did not meet at St Andrews

Everyone thinks they know the story of how Kate Middleton and Prince William fell in love: They met at St. Andrews University, became friends and, later, roommates, and then started dating. But that's not actually how it happened, royal biographer and Vanity Fair contributor Katie Nicholl divulges in her new book, Kate: The Future Queen.

Related: PHOTOS: Kate Middleton through the years

In fact, Nicholl says, the Duke and Duchess actually crossed paths long before they enrolled at St. Andrews University in 2001. Speaking about her discovery in an interview with Katie Couric on the Sept. 17 episode of Katie, Nicholl revealed that she talked with some of Middleton's pals, who shared the story of how the brunette beauty really met her prince.

"This was really fascinating for me," Nicholl told Couric. "I was speaking to some of her friends at Marlborough School, which was where she went before St. Andrews, and they said, 'Uh uh, she didn't meet him at St. Andrews. She met him before she got there…through some of her friends. They knew Prince William and Prince Harry.'" 

Related: PHOTOS: Prince William's funniest moments

She continued, "So there was an early meeting. And that for me changed everything."

It's especially interesting, Nicholl says, given Middleton's last-minute change-of-heart about school. She reports in her book that the future Duchess of Cambridge originally wanted to attend Edinburgh, not St. Andrews. After getting her Edinburgh acceptance letter, though, she made the sudden decision to drop her place, take a gap year, and reapply to St. Andrews. 

Related: PHOTOS: Prince George's first days

"It was a big risk — applicants to St. Andrews had shot up by nearly 50 percent when the Palace announced that Prince William was going there," Nicholl writes in her book.

Middleton got in, of course. And the rest, as they say, is history. She and William married in 2011 and welcomed their first child, Prince George, in July.

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