William ought to know. On July 17, as Harry bade farewell to his beloved, who had spent two weeks in England before returning to college in South Africa, William, 23, who's now in Kenya doing conservation work on a family friend's ranch, was welcoming his love of the past two years, fellow University of St. Andrews graduate Kate Middleton, 23. Last term the pair, who were housemates, dodged attention by going out for early dinners at favorite local spots like the Oak Rooms, where they especially enjoyed the chicken fajitas. "They're always very affectionate and smoochy," reports one observer. And, just like ordinary college kids, he adds, they "always go dutch on the check."
The princes' romantic styles—and objects of affection—may be as divergent as the boys themselves. But just as surely as their father finally wed the love of his life in April, Britain's most eligible bachelors are clearly getting more serious about the young women in theirs. When Chelsy, whom Harry first introduced to his dad last February, attended one of Harry's polo matches near Ascot on July 4, Charles stepped up to give her a kiss. "She's in," says royals writer Judy Wade. "That's very significant."
Kate, too, is beginning to seem like part of the furniture—scoring a berth on Prince Charles's bachelor party ski trip to Klosters, Switzerland, in March. Charles has even met Kate's parents: After their June 23 college graduation, William, Kate, the Middletons and Charles and Camilla had lunch at the farmhouse where the young couple lived this past academic year on the outskirts of their university town.
Does that mean another royal wedding may be in the works? William, for one, has scoffed at the idea, telling The Sun this spring, "Look, I'm only 22 for God's sake.... I don't want to get married until I'm at least 28 or 30." And veteran royal watchers caution against reading too much into recent developments. "When Charles kisses Chelsy on the cheek, he's publicly I accepting his son's girlfriend," says royal biographer Robert Lacey. "He's not bestowing his approval on a marriage."
Whether they turn out to be life partners or passing soulmates, the women William and Harry have chosen seem to match their men. For impetuous party boy Harry? An equally fun-loving girlfriend, the daughter of a safari company owner, I described by one pal as "popular, vivacious, pretty, intelligent and strong-willed." On June 25, the University of Cape Town student hopped off an 11 hour flight from South Africa in a dark sweatshirt, and by the time she arrived by cab at London's K Bar Club not long afterward, had changed into a low-cut, floaty top. (Harry, stuck at Sandhurst that night, has nothing to worry about: Chelsy left the club at 3:30 a.m.—with two girlfriends.) Chelsy "loves partying, the outdoors, and she cares about Harry," says Wade. "Exactly the right sort of girl for him."
For intensely private and low-key William—ever aware of his status as future King of England—it's Kate, a pretty, sensible, English-rose type "who has no airs and graces," says a friend, and, like William, "loves the countryside and loves to play sports." During the March Klosters trip, "they were slightly guarded in public," says Emily Nash, a reporter who spent several evenings undercover with the princes and their posse, then wrote an exposé in The Daily Mirror. "There were other young girls there doing what a lot of British youngsters do, getting drunk and going off and kissing people. But Kate was very dignified. She was very aware of what was expected of her."
And still is. True, she and William weathered a brief wobble a year ago when, says a friend, "like any relationship, they had their ups and downs. They needed a bit of breathing space." But the details were never blabbed—least of all by Kate. "She doesn't speak to anyone about their relationship. It's between the two of them," says a friend of both. "It's great for him that he's got such a solid girl with a head on her shoulders."
The daughter of Michael and Carole Middleton, who run a mail-order company that sells children's party goods, Kate attended a $38,000-a-year private boarding school but was hardly bred for the position of royal-girlfriend-to-be. At 14, recalls one classmate, she joined other girls mooning boys from their dorm window. At night, during girl talk about the fantasy of marrying a royal, "we all fancied William," says the friend. Kate snagged the object of their affection through friends at St. Andrews, where she majored in art history. She and William began dating their second year and moved into a flat in town with friends.
For his part, Harry, who met Chelsy when she was a student at Cheltenham College high school in England, heated things up when he visited her at her home in Cape Town on his gap year trip in April 2004. Four days later he was pining for her on a safari with family friends. "We were all sitting around the fire chatting," says Gary Robinson, who was touring the area too. "He was musing about a certain young lady he met. He sounded like he was in love."
Last fall Chelsy joined him for a brief trip to a polo horse farm in Argentina; he followed her back to southern Africa for a December vacation with her family in Mozambique. Just how smitten is Harry? When he broke a love token from Chelsy—a wooden beaded necklace—at a nightclub in Klosters in late March, he wouldn't rest until friends tried to fix it. "It's so special," he told them. "My girlfriend gave it to me."
The pressure to wed is greatest on William, as heir to the throne. "The Queen and Prince Philip want him to be settled by 30," says veteran royals author Brian Hoey. But no matter how heavily weighs the future crown, says royals writer Wade, "I'm sure he will not do anything unless he's one thousand percent sure. He'll marry for all the right reasons."
In the meantime, says a pal, "everyone would love to think William has already found his princess. But they're young kids still trying to find their feet in life. The great thing is that they're great friends. Romance apart, let's see what happens."
Susan Schindehette and Allison Adato. Simon Perry, Bryan Alexander, Ellen Tumposky and Sara Hammel in London and Ulla Plon in Denmark
- Contributors:
- Simon Perry,
- Bryan Alexander,
- Ellen Tumposky,
- Sara Hammel,
- Ulla Plon.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
