Kate Middleton, then 20, captured Prince William’s heart at a charity fashion show in St Andrews on 27 March 2002, appearing in a black Charlotte Todd dress that glowed under the spotlights! The 19-year-old William, sitting in the front row, whispered to his friend Fergus Boyd, ‘Wow, Kate is hot,’ according to Katie Nicholl’s book Creating a Royal Romance. Their friendship, which began at university, blossomed into a romantic relationship, marking the beginning of a love story that led to their vows at Westminster Abbey in 2011 and to the future king and queen. X fainted from #KateWilliamOrigin, and fans exclaimed, ‘A modern fairy tale!’
St Andrews, Scotland — Spring 2002
The air was crisp, with hints of North Sea salt. Cobbled streets wound through the sleepy seaside town of St Andrews, where history whispered within the ancient walls of the famous university. But on this evening, something magical was about to happen in the grand ballroom of the St Andrews Bay Hotel — a student charity fashion show called “The Art of Seduction”.
The hall was dimly lit. The catwalk was not glamorous, just a narrow strip of light running through the rows of seated students. The models were not professionals — they were classmates, volunteers helping a good cause. The audience buzzed with anticipation, drinks in hand, laughter echoing softly under the chandeliers.
In the front row sat a tall young man with distinctive features — light hair, sharp eyes and an appearance that made heads turn. Nineteen-year-old Prince William was still a freshman studying geography at St Andrews. The future King of England was trying his best to fit in with the crowd. But today he was not here as royalty. He had come to see his girlfriend take to the catwalk.
That girlfriend was Kate Middleton.
The true story of Kate Middleton’s unforgettable catwalk appearance at St Andrews
Then she took to the stage.
The hall fell silent.
Kate glided across the catwalk in a black mesh dress that left nothing to the imagination. Beneath it, she wore black lingerie. In the spotlight, the fabric shimmered like smoke. Elegant. Bold. Effortless.
To everyone else, she was a beautiful girl in a daring outfit.
But for William, something had changed.
He leaned over to his friend Fergus Boyd and whispered the words that would become legendary:
‘Wow, Kate is hot.’
It wasn’t just a comment. It was a realisation. A spark. The moment when friendship ignited and turned into something more.
The dress, rumoured to have cost only £30, was designed by student Charlotte Todd. Years later, she recalled with disbelief:
‘I never imagined that this dress would play a part in royal history.’
The show had a light-hearted theme — seduction — but no one expected it to actually seduce the heart of the future king. William paid £200 for a front-row seat. That evening, he didn’t just get a view — he got a new perspective.
From that moment on, he saw Kate not just as ‘one of the gang,’ but as a woman who captivated him.
Until then, William and Kate had been friends. They attended the same art history lectures (before William changed his major), had lunch with the same group of students, and sometimes ran into each other at university parties. Kate was known for her poise, quiet confidence, and genuine warmth.
But after the show, William’s behaviour changed. At first, it was subtle.
He began to appear more often — whether it was breakfast in the dining hall, walks around campus, or hanging out at the cinema with friends. He was looking for her. He began to linger longer in conversation. His smiles became warmer, and his questions more personal.
Kate, for her part, did not rush things. She remained calm. She did not flirt or act coy — she was just her usual self: balanced, kind, stable. This, more than anything else, attracted William.
When whispers about their relationship began to spread across campus, close friends noticed an unmistakable spark. By the end of 2003, their friendship had quietly blossomed into a full-fledged romance.
It all started with one glance, one walk, one proposal.
Years later, Prince William recalled that time:
‘I knew from the very beginning that she was special. But that evening… something changed.’
Kate’s walk down the catwalk didn’t just turn heads — it changed destinies.
On 29 April 2011, millions of people around the world watched as Kate Middleton walked down another aisle — this time in a breathtaking Alexander McQueen gown, arm in arm with her father, to marry the man who once whispered: ‘Wow, Kate is hot.’
As she approached the altar at Westminster Abbey, William stood waiting — not just as a prince, but as a man who had fallen in love almost ten years earlier, in a hotel ballroom lit by student dreams and a sheer dress that changed everything.
- It’s funny how love begins.
- Not with fanfare.
- Not with crowns and cameras.
- But with one simple, unfiltered moment of wonder.
And sometimes, all it takes is…
one glance to start eternity.
The six episodes of the final season of The Crown will feature many stunning moments inspired by real events, but one of the most astonishing is the participation of a young Kate Middleton in a charity fashion show, which, both in the Netflix series and in real life, is rumoured to have changed the trajectory of her relationship with her future husband, Prince William. But what really happened at this event and how does it compare to what we see on screen? Below, we separate fact from fiction.
What was Kate and William’s relationship like before the catwalk show?
According to The Crown, the current Prince and Princess of Wales were interested in each other from the start and felt attracted to each other, although their relationships with other people prevented them from being together. However, in the ninth episode, entitled ‘Hope Street,’ the bachelor Prince William (Ed McVey) is informed that Kate Middleton (Meg Bellamy), whom he has a crush on, is now also unmarried — and not only that, she is planning to become a model at a university fashion show, the tone of which is ‘risky.’ We see Bellamy’s Kate excitedly telling her mother that, according to her sources, William will be attending the show to watch her walk the runway.
However, it seems that the reality was quite different. According to accounts from that time, when a charity student fashion show called ‘The Art of Seduction’ was held at the St Andrews Bay Hotel on 26 March 2002, both Kate and William were still dating other people and saw each other only as friends. Rumour has it that since they met at university six months earlier, they had got on well, and it is believed that William sought Kate’s advice when he was going through a difficult period in his personal life and was considering dropping out of university.
In The Crown, the story unfolds somewhat differently: Kate sends William a message saying, ‘Please don’t leave university,’ but it becomes clear that the couple wants to be more than just friends. In real life, by that spring, William had apparently already decided on Kate as his potential flatmate for his second year. In the series, however, this conversation takes place much later, when the couple are already dating.
What happened at the catwalk show?
In The Crown, we see Kate arrive at the show, spot William in the audience, and then look for an outfit on the catwalk. What did she choose? A stunning strapless dress with blue trim. She walks onto the catwalk wearing it, shining in the spotlight and leaving William speechless.
In reality, everything happened if not exactly, then roughly as shown. First, there is the dress: the image shown in the series is very similar to Kate’s ensemble in real life, albeit with slight differences in the materials and the pattern of the blue trim at the top. ‘We always have legal issues with things like this,’ costume designer Amy Roberts recently explained to Vogue. ‘We didn’t get permission to copy it from the designer, which is fair enough, so we had to recreate it, and it’s a delicate balance — we want people to know that it’s the same dress, but we don’t want to offend the designer.’ The most important elements of this dress are its transparency and strapless silhouette. We used different fabrics than the original and a different ribbon thread, but everything was close enough that everyone would recognise it.
As for whether Kate chose this look for herself, as she does in the episode, it’s unclear if that’s actually the case, but Todd said the decision to have Kate wear it wasn’t hers. ‘I didn’t know who Kate Middleton was, and I didn’t dress her,’ she said in an interview with People. ‘It was pure coincidence. I made it as a skirt, but other people put it on Kate, and she wore it as a dress.’ Make of that what you will.
However, William’s reaction seems quite accurate. By all accounts, he was shocked. The prince’s friends at the time recall that this event made him see Kate in a different light, and it is widely believed that it was a turning point in their relationship and, at least in part, contributed to them becoming more than just friends. Two things that weren’t shown in the show, however? William is believed to have paid £200 for a front-row ticket, and rumour has long had it that during the show he turned to one of his friends and uttered the immortal words: ‘Wow, Kate is hot.’
What happened at the afterparty?
Shortly after the scene on the catwalk in The Crown, we see William and Kate at a party, where he tells her she looks incredible. She asks him if he is really interested in her, he promises that he ‘has always been interested, bordering on obsession,’ and they share a kiss, which is quickly interrupted by William’s security officer, who informs him that his great-grandmother has passed away.
This is perhaps where the series deviates most significantly from what actually happened. Accounts of what transpired at this particular party vary, although it is generally accepted that William and Kate had a few drinks, after which he made his move. Some recall that he simply kissed her hand, while others say he leaned in for a real kiss. However, as they were both seeing other people at the time, Kate apparently rebuffed him. A few weeks later, though, those relationships ended, and the couple began dating a few months later. And one thing we can say with complete certainty.
Their kiss was not interrupted by the news of the Queen Mother’s death — she passed away four days later, on 30 March 2002.
