Prince William reportedly had just four words to say when his future wife Kate Middleton stepped out onto the catwalk at a St Andrews University fashion show more than 20 years ago.
The seductive transparent dress that Kate wore that night has become notorious as the outfit that made the Prince fall for her, however the pair were good friends for about a year before things ever became romantic.
Kate later admitted she was shy around William and blushed when she saw him around their Scottish university campus, however in March 2002 she donned the sheer dress for a fashion show titled, rather appropriately, ‘The Art of Seduction’.
William watched the show from his £200 seat, giving him a prime view, but once he saw Kate he turned to his pal Fergus Boyd and said: “Wow, Fergus, Kate’s hot!”
Another friend of his, Pat Duncan, spoke to E! News about the occasion in 2011, the year William and Kate finally tied the knot at Westminster Abbey.
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They recalled: “She was in a very daring dress, in a sheer, stocking-like dress. He was sitting front row and his eyes were like stalks.”
Apparently the then-19-year-old was so taken with the 20-year-old Kate, he even went in for a kiss at the after-party, although she shot him down.
One party-goer told Vanity Fair’s Katie Nicholl: “It was clear to us that William was smitten with Kate. He actually told her she was a knockout that night, which caused her to blush. There was definitely chemistry between them and Kate had really made an impression on William.”
According to the insider, Kate rejected William’s advances on that night because she “didn’t want to give off the wrong impression or make it too easy on Will”.
The following year the pair moved into a houseshare together with their friends Fergus and Olivia Bleasdale, which is when their romance really blossomed.
In spite of a brief break-up in 2007 when the Prince of Wales was making some decisions about his future, the pair have been happily together ever since, and now have three children of their own.
The dress itself, originally fashioned out of a skirt and worth just £30, was auctioned off in 2011 for a staggering £65,000, earning cult status thanks to its significance to the Royal Family.
Design student Charlotte Todd, who crafted the garment, admitted she had no idea who Kate was at the time of the show but has been thrilled by the success of the dress.
She told People magazine at the time: “I’m thrilled. Everyone says that the fashion show was when the romance started, so a small part of me will always be part of royal history. It’s madness!”
