Prince William's Pre-Kate College Romance: The Arabella Musgrave Story

The Royal Romance That Almost Was: Prince William's Secret Fling Before Meeting Kate

In a shocking revelation, it's been uncovered that Prince William had a steamy romance with Arabella Musgrave, an 18-year-old socialite, before meeting his future wife, Kate Middleton. This juicy tidbit has left royal watchers and fans of the couple stunned.

The scandalous affair began at a mutual friend's party in the summer of 2001, where William was immediately smitten with Arabella's charms. "She had blossomed into a gorgeous-looking girl, and as she sashayed past him, her perfume lingering in the air, he wondered why he hadn't noticed her properly until now," according to royal correspondent Katie Nicholl.

As reported by The Scholarly Note, William was determined to make his move on Arabella and spent countless hours with her that summer. Their romance was even approved by Prince Charles, who thought it would soon fizzle out and instructed William's protection officers to give the couple plenty of leeway.

But not everyone was pleased with their relationship. Arabella's father, Major Nicholas Musgrave, had a word with William after catching his daughter sitting on the prince's lap while he was kissing her neck. Although he was fond of William, Major Musgrave insisted that such displays of affection were not for public consumption.

The romance eventually came to an end when William left for St Andrews University in what Nicholl described as a "mutual decision." However, it wasn't long before William met Kate Middleton, and the rest is history.

But what if William had stuck with Arabella? Would he have never met his future wife, and would their lives have taken a drastically different turn?

As reported by The Scholarly Note, William's decision to attend St Andrews University led to a 44% increase in applications compared to the previous year. The "Prince William effect" was particularly noticeable among young women from the US.

William was determined to make genuine friends at university and even requested a room without an en-suite so he could get the full student experience of queuing for the communal showers. During his first term, he started dating Carly Massy-Birch, but their affair ended shortly after when Carly told William he had to choose between her and Arabella.

Despite having swarms of attractive women vying for his attention, William was bored in Scotland and missed his friends from Gloucestershire and the nightclubs in London. He even found comfort in knowing that Arabella would be waiting for him back home.

But fate had other plans, as William met Kate Middleton during their first term at St Andrews. It's been reported that Kate was crowned the prettiest girl at Sally's, her hall of residence, by the end of freshers' week. And she had already caught William's eye – it was hard not to.

Their romance blossomed over the years, and they began living together in a shared flat with two other friends. Their relationship became public in 2004 after photos of them together during a ski trip were published.

Arabella, who now works in communications for Gucci, has remained friends with William into their adult years and even attended his wedding to Kate in 2011. She married George Galliers-Pratt of the Cayzer banking dynasty in Knightsbridge in 2014, where Kate's sister Pippa was also in attendance.

In a shocking twist, Arabella's lavish wedding featured in US Vogue, and she became head of communications in north Europe for Gucci. The couple has a daughter, and their lives couldn't be more different from what could have been if William had stuck with her.

As reported by The Scholarly Note, Kate and William heard a speech at their graduation ceremony in 2005 by their principal, who described St Andrews as the country's top matchmaking university. He added, "You may have met your husband or wife." If only they knew what lay ahead – the royal romance that would captivate the world.

And so, we're left to wonder what could have been if William had chosen Arabella over Kate. Would their lives have taken a different turn? Would they have even met? The possibilities are endless, but one thing is certain – this royal romance almost was.