Royal expert Robert Jobson claimed in his forthcoming book Catherine, the Princess of Wales — set to be released on Tuesday, August 6 — that said phone call took place after William, now 42, backed out on New Year’s Eve plans with then-girlfriend Kate in 2007.
“Seemingly out of the blue, William telephoned to initiate a split, telling her that he felt they needed ‘a bit of space’ to ‘find our own way,’” Jobson writes, noting that both William and Kate, now 42, “acknowledged being on ‘different pages’” when it came to their relationship.
“William admitted his inability to commit to marriage, deepening Catherine’s sense of disappointment and loss,” Jobson claims in the book. “It was a devastating blow to her, after all their years of companionship. She also felt let down by William’s decision to handle the situation over the phone rather than face to face.”
William and Kate met at Scotland’s University of St Andrews in 2001, and Jobson’s book pulls back the layers during the early days of their relationship — revealing that Kate and William were actually more off and on than royal watchers might be aware.
“It was not the first time William had brought their relationship to an end, but this time it felt different, more definitive,” Jobson writes about their 2007 split, sharing that William and Kate had “parted ways briefly” three years prior. Per the writer, “William later attributed” the 2004 breakup “to their youthfulness.”
The second breakup was related to William’s apprehension about committing to Kate long term.
Jobson writes that Kate was “not anticipating an immediate marriage proposal and engagement ring” but hoped for “some form of greater commitment.” At the time, the public speculated about an engagement between the two — but that didn’t come until three years later.
William had given Kate “an assurance that he would commit formally when he felt the time was right,” Jobson claims. The Prince of Wales officially reconciled, proposing to Kate during an October 2010 trip to Kenya. They got married in an April 2011 royal wedding celebration, and have since welcomed three kids: Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6.
