Princess Catherine and Prince William’s royal wedding wasn’t the only fairytale-worthy moment of their romantic love story.
The happily married couple almost ran into each other months before they actually first met at St. Andrews College, and the incident could have come straight out of a Hollywood movie.

Photo: Getty Images
William attended Eton College, and Catherine attended Marlborough College after attending the best private schools in the nation. The two then took separate gap years, which included a ten-week Raleigh International expedition to Patagonia in Chile.
Catherine began her stay at the foreign location in January 2001, while Prince William did so just a few months earlier in October 2000.
Malcolm Sutherland, who was in charge of guiding the Prince and Princess’ groups at the time, told the Evening Standard about the nearly chance encounter.

Photo: Pool / Tim Graham Picture Library
In contrast to Catherine, who was like you and me, William was clearly understood in the context of the expedition he was on. She didn’t have a profile; she was just like everyone else.
“Like most people, she was by herself. She was undoubtedly among the group’s fitter and stronger members, which helped her. It could be physically taxing at times. She was quite laid back.”
There are not many showers and no hair dryers to be found. Even if you are a princess, acting like one is very difficult.
They worked extremely hard on both of their trips. Catherine’s 10-week assignment included wilderness hiking, assisting scientists on a marine survey for three weeks, and working on a fire station. While William’s involved sleeping in tents outside or crammed in with 15 other people, renovating a fire station, and fixing a wooden walkway used by villagers.

Photo: Pool / Tim Graham Picture Library
In September 2001, the royal couple enrolled at St. Andrews. Although they shared a residence at St. Salvator’s Hall, things between the two didn’t really take off romantically until the following year, in 2002.
In their second year together, they shared a flat, but it’s thought that Catherine first won the Prince’s heart after she participated in a charity fashion show in March 2002. The Prince spent £200 to get a front-row seat to see his future wife walk the runway in a black bikini and sheer dress.

Photo: Anwar Hussein Collection / ROTA
William had to wait until their relationship ended because the brunette beauty was seeing another student at the time, which was unfortunate for him.