Olivia, Rose, Carly, Arabella … Prince William left several
exes in his wake before settling down with Kate,
but why didn't these relationships pan out? Keep watching for a rundown of the Duke's old flames.
Prince William dated women with some pretty impressive resumes over the years,
but his ex-girlfriend Jecca Craig may have the best CV of the bunch.
Craig is an environmental conservationist and animal activist. According to the Daily Mail,
she's been affiliated with a number of nonprofits aimed at conserving wildlife,
including Stop Ivory, which works to protect elephants from the ivory trade.
Craig comes from an influential family. Her father owns Lewa Downs,
a conservation ranch in Kenya, which the future King of England once visited,
prompting his love for conservation. Prince William and Craig met while he was visiting
Kenya in 2000, and the trip's impact seems to have had a lasting effect on him.
“We cannot let our children grow up in a world where our
most iconic and endangered species are no longer left to fight for.”
In 2003, William's staff issued a statement insisting that the Prince and Craig were just
close friends. There must not be bad blood, though. Prince William attended Craig's 2016
wedding to Jonathan Baillie, which was held at Lewa Downs. Craig is still married to Baillie,
a fellow conservationist, and they share two children.
Dating someone who's dated a royal is a tough act to follow — just ask Olivia Hunt's husband,
Nicholas Wilkinson. According to the Daily Mail, Wilkinson, who landed on a
"best-looking barristers in England" list from a UK legal blog in 2014, once said,
"I'm trying not to be intimidated by having a girlfriend who used to be with Prince William."
Hunt and the royal dated while attending St.
Andrews — she was his first girlfriend at the University,
in fact — but it sounds like it wasn't a long or serious thing. As a source told the Daily Mail,
"William was seeing Olivia when he met Kate and when Kate came
on the scene Olivia moved off pretty quickly."
“So it did take a bit of time for us to get to know each other, uhm, but we did become,
you know, very close friends from, from quite early on.”
Though their romantic relationship didn't stand the test of time,
Hunt and the Duke of Cambridge seemingly kept an amicable relationship afterward,
and Hunt was invited to Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding.
Hunt returned the favor by inviting William and Kate to her own wedding,
though they reportedly did not attend. The couples may have run into each other at
Pippa Middleton's wedding, though, as all were present that day, according to the Daily Mail.
In 2016, Prince William's ex-girlfriend Rose Farquhar auditioned for "The Voice
UK," entertaining the audience and judges, which included Boy George and will.i.am,
with her cover of "Anyone Who Had a Heart."
“I-I loved the song. I loved your performance.”
Unfortunately the judges didn't turn their chairs for Farquhar,
meaning she didn't make it to the next round.
"My name's Rose, I'm from London."
According to "William and Harry: Behind the Palace Walls," Farquhar and Prince William
grew up together, and the two dated after he finished at Eton College. A source described
their relationship as "innocent," adding that "They are still good friends and speak all the
time." These days Farquhar stays out of the limelight, but she does have a Twitter account
with a link to her SoundCloud page, where you can hear some of her original recordings.
A former college girlfriend of Prince William's with seemingly zero public social media presence,
Carly Massy-Birch once allegedly made both her ex-boyfriend and Kate Middleton
uncomfortable with a remark made during a party game in 2002. In other words,
rumor has it that Carly Massy-Birch is a Massy-Birch who loves drama.
According to Katie Nicholl's "The Making of a Royal Romance," the drama supposedly
unfurled at a dinner, where the prince, Middleton,
and Massy-Birch played the drinking game "Never Have I Ever." At the time of this
party, Prince William and Middleton were secretly dating, and Massy-Birch knew it.
We met at University, St. Andrews, and we were friends for over a year first."
When it was her turn, Massy-Birch reportedly said, "I've never dated two people in this
room," knowing the prince would have to drink, as he had dated Massy-Birch and was dating Middleton.
Massy-Birch's dramatic play outed the two lovers who were trying to keep
their relationship a secret. According to the source, Prince William responded by whispering,
"I can't believe you just said that." Despite the dramatic evening, Massy-Birch's mother told
the Daily Mail that there was "absolutely no fall-out" between the three of them.
Okay, this one's technically a former crush, not a former girlfriend. If you had a chance to date a
prince you'd do anything to make that relationship work, right? Well, not if you’re Isabella
Calthorpe. Prince William pursued Calthorpe in the mid-2000s while on a break from his relationship
with Kate Middleton, according to the Daily Mail, but apparently the feelings were not mutual.
"I'm way out of your league."
A royal insider told the Daily Mail,
"He had fallen for her in a huge way and wanted to be with her.
He propositioned her several times that summer and although Isabella was single,
she knocked William back and said it would be too damaging for her and her career."
According to "The Making of a Royal Romance," Middleton was not exactly thrilled with
William's crush on Calthorpe. Before the future Duchess of Cambridge reunited with
the future Duke of Cambridge, she supposedly told him he had to sever ties with Calthorpe.
Calthorpe wanted to be an actor, the career she worried wouldn't happen if
she were to enter into a relationship with Prince William. She's currently
married to Sam Branson, the son of billionaire businessman Richard Branson.
Since they've gotten married, we've seen Prince William act like a future
king and a devoted father and husband, making it difficult to remember how
he behaved before fully stepping into his duties and becoming a family man.
His past included some dating around, including falling in love with Arabella Musgrave,
whom he had a relationship with prior to attending the University
of St Andrews. The two split up, but according to "The Making of a
Royal Romance," they stayed in contact while he was at school in Scotland.
Evidently, the royal did not take to college life like a duck to water, at least at first.
Per "The Making of a Royal Romance," Prince Charles and Lady Diana's eldest son was ready
to come home for good right after he started — but then met someone who would change his mind:
Kate Middleton. The two struck up a friendship and, well, you know the rest of the story.
As for Musgraves? She married investment banker George Galliers-Pratt in a Gucci dress, per Vogue,
and is Head of Communications for North Europe for the fashion house, per her LinkedIn profile.
Historically it's not uncommon for royal families to intermarry,
and the Duke of Cambridge once dipped his toe in that pond,
going on a cruise in 1999 with Davina Duckworth-Chad, to whom he's distantly related.
Duckworth-Chad is a second cousin to the late Princess Diana,
Prince William's mother. According to People, her brother, James Duckworth-Chad,
was once hired by the palace to act as one of Queen Elizabeth's aides during her Golden Jubilee.
According to Tatler, Duckworth-Chad is now married to Tom Barber,
with whom she shares twin girls. Her life is largely spent outside the spotlight,
a fate she wouldn't have had had she married her second cousin.
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