Prince William's first words to Kate Middleton have been revealed - and he didn't get off to a great start

Prince William's first words to his now-wife Duchess Catherine have been revealed.

• According to a royal expert, Prince William and his now-wife's introduction didn't go too smoothly.
• The pair met when they both attended the University of St Andrews in 2001.
• This royal news comes after it was revealed a royal family member was fined over £9,000 for flouting lockdown rules.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge share three gorgeous children and almost a decade of marriage.

But there once was a time when they were both single students at the University of St Andrews in Scotland.

The long term couple met at uni back in 2001 - the pair lived together in halls and attended the same classes in their first year.

Before their fairytale love story began, Prince William reportedly suffered an embarrassing blunder when he first met the Duchess, who was then the non-royal Kate Middleton.

According to royal memoirist Tom Quinn, who spoke in the British documentary William & Kate: Too Good To Be True?, Prince William's keen introduction wasn't very smooth.

Quinn explained, "One of the funny stories is he was so desperate to meet her that as he walked towards her, he apparently tripped and said, 'Oh that's a terrible start, you're going to think I'm a complete clot'."

Oh, dear!

Luckily, Prince William's red-faced moment wasn't enough to put Catherine off dating the future King.

The loved up couple's relationship ran smoothly until 2007 when they briefly split up, reportedly leaving Kate devastated.

However, the pair soon rekindled their romance and they both admitted the break up played an important role in strengthening their relationship.

Speaking about the short separation ahead of their lavish 2011 wedding day, Prince William said, "We were both very young, it was at university and we were both finding ourselves and being different characters and stuff.

"It was very much trying to find our own way and we were growing up."

Catherine agreed, confessing she had enjoyed the time of independence, "At the time I wasn't very happy about it but actually it made me a stronger person.

"I really valued that time, for me as well, although I didn't think it at the time."