KATE Middleton pined for her childhood boyfriend who “messed her around”, before she met Prince William at university, it has been claimed.
Before she headed to St Andrews where she would meet her future husband, Kate was said to be hung up on Harry Blakelock, her first love from her school, Marlborough College.
When Kate deferred her university place to take a gap year, some people questioned if this was deliberate so she could join university at the same time as Prince William.
However, a pal told the Mail on Sunday that Kate was still pining for Harry during her three-month trip to Florence, where she signed up to study Italian and History of Art.
The friend claimed: “When Kate arrived in Florence, she was really hung up about Harry.
“She spoke about him all the time and he seemed to have messed her around quite a bit.
“He seemed to have blown hot and cold with her when they were at school and she was always talking about how she could get him back.”
Read our Royal Family live blog for the latest updates
The friend said that Harry was also in Florence at the same time but “nothing happened” between the pair.
The pal also claimed that Kate attracted a lot of “male attention” but was always “shy around boys” and would get “embarrassed and bashful.”
Prince William also did a gap year, which involved travelling through Kenya, teaching English in a Patagonian mountain village and “roughing it with the Welsh Guards in the Belize jungle.”
Coincidentally, Kate did the same Patagonian trip with Raleigh International just a month apart from William – so they could have met a bit earlier if the stars had aligned.
Despite meeting at university in 2001, it wasn’t until two years later that Kate and Will fell in love for the first time and began dating.
Then came the shock 2007 break-up – which, fortunately, only lasted a matter of months.
FABULOUS BINGO: GET A £5 FREE BONUS WITH NO DEPOSIT REQUIRED
During the split, it was rumoured that she was dating Henry Ropner, who was on hand to cheer her up.
The wealthy hunk is the son of baronet Sir John Ropner and the family own a £33.7 million shipping management firm.
He is now married to a businessman’s daughter Natasha Sinclair, according to Tatler, and lives in Thorp Perrow, an impressive Yorkshire estate, with their young family.
Kate and William ended up back together, and a happy engagement came in 2010, followed by the fairytale wedding a year later.
They now have three kids together: Prince George, eight, Princess Charlotte, six, and three-year-old Prince Louis.
We revealed how Kate ‘didn’t have the energy to bond with Meghan Markle’ before she married Prince Harry, author claims.
And we shared inside ‘normal’ Kate Middleton’s bargain wardrobe from her £16 Zara dress to her £1.50 Accessorize earrings.
