September 2001: William enrolls at St. Andrews University in Scotland, where he meets Kate — a fellow art history student.
March 2002: Kate models a transparent dress over clearly visible black lingerie at a charity fashion show at St. Andrews. It’s widely reported that William paid for a front-row seat at the show.
September 2002: William and Kate move into a shared student house with two other friends.
May 2003: The couple is pictured deep in conversation at a rugby match, sparking rumors of a romance.
June 2003: Kate is a guest at William’s 21st birthday party at Windsor Castle; in an interview he denies he has a steady girlfriend.
March 2004: William and Kate’s romance becomes public when they are pictured together on a Swiss skiing holiday. Later that year, media reports that the couple split briefly as William complained of feeling claustrophobic.
April 2005: Kate does not attend the wedding of William’s father the Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles in Windsor.
June 2005: William and Kate graduate in the same ceremony at St. Andrews.
December 2006: William is commissioned as an army officer in front of the queen at Sandhurst and joins the Household Cavalry as a second lieutenant. Kate attends the ceremony.
April 2007: British newspapers report that William and Kate have split up. Prince Charles’ Clarence House office refuses to comment, but does not deny the report.
July 2007: Media in the U.K. report that William and Kate have rekindled their romance.
April 2008: Kate is seen at William’s side at his graduation ceremony from the Royal Air Force, taken as a signal by royal watchers that their relationship is now serious.
June 2008: Kate attends the Order of the Garter service at Windsor Castle, the first time she has appeared at a formal royal public event.
February 2010: Asked by a member of the public about the prospect of a royal wedding, William says: “You’ll have to wait a while yet.”
October 2010: Prince William proposes to Kate Middleton on a private holiday in Kenya.
November 2010: Clarence House officially announces the engagement.
December 2010: Kate and William attend a charity event to raise money for cancer research, Kate’s first official event as a royal fiancée.
February 2011: First wedding invitations sent out.
February 2011: William and Kate revisit St. Andrews University, where they first met. The university created a scholarship in the couple’s honor, as a wedding gift.
April 2011: William and Kate visit Lancashire on their last official trip before the wedding.
