Kate Middleton and Prince William actually crossed paths when they were just nine years old

Kate Middleton and Prince William were actually just nine years old when their paths first crossed very closely, according to a royal expert.

• A royal expert has revealed that Prince William and Kate Middleton crossed paths when they were just school pupils.
• The future King and Queen consort's schools came together for a hockey match when they were just nine years old.
• This royal news (opens in new tab) comes after the Queen went mask-free for her first public engagement, having 'had her second Covid jab' (opens in new tab).

While this year marks an entire decade since the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge tied the knot, one royal expert has claimed that the royal pair actually met years before they officially hit it off at university.

Turns out Kate and William's love story (opens in new tab) could have started way, way back!

Royal biographer Katie Nicholl explained that Kate and William's school hockey teams played each other twenty years ago when the two of them were just nine.

William's school, Ludgrove Prep school came to St. Andrew's Prep where Kate was a pupil, to play a hockey game, reportedly causing lots of excitement - however it's unknown if Kate and William actually spoke during the visit.

In her book Kate: The Future Queen, Katie wrote, "Although she wasn't especially interested in boys, the arrival of one particular young man had caught her attention.

"Nearby Ludgrove Prep school would often play matches against St. Andrew's Prep, and there was much excitement when Prince William, a left back on Ludgrove's Colts team, came to St. Andrew's to play a hockey match when he was nine years old.

"William, like Kate, loved sports and was one of the best hockey and rugby players in his year. Of course, the arrival of the prince generated a flurry of excitement."

The couple really sparked romance when they were both students at St. Andrews University in Fife, Scotland.

They started off just being friends but soon blossomed into something more and William has since revealed the spaghetti bolognese recipe (opens in new tab) he used to woo Kate with in their halls.

William proposed to Kate (opens in new tab) during a romantic trip to Kenya in 2010 and the couple married in their globally-watched wedding ceremony at Westminster Abbey in April 2011.

Not long to go until their ten year wedding anniversary!