Prince William once broke up with Princess Catherine in 2007; royal photographer reveals he wanted to be sure their marriage would last forever, recalls what William told him after their 2010 engagement

Prince William once ended his relationship with Kate Middleton, now Princess Catherine, after nearly five years of dating, but the brief separation in 2007 reportedly had a specific reason: he wanted to be certain before committing to marriage. Royal photographer Arthur Edwards has now shed light on the future king's explanation, revealing what William told him after announcing his engagement to Catherine in 2010.In an interview on Hello!'s A Right Royal Podcast, Edwards recalled asking William directly why he had broken up with Catherine. According to the photographer, the Prince of Wales said he wanted to be sure that their marriage would last forever.Prince William wanted to be sure before marrying Princess Catherine"When they got engaged, there was a couple of us invited in to meet Catherine," Edwards recalled. "I asked him, 'What did you break up for?' He said, 'Because I wanted to be sure. Because I want this marriage to last forever.'"Edwards suggested that William's experience of his parents' troubled marriage had influenced his approach to relationships."And I think it will," the photographer said of the couple's marriage, adding that William had learned from his parents' broken marriage.William and Catherine first met as students at the University of St. Andrews in 2001. Their friendship eventually developed into a relationship, and they began dating before moving in together. However, after around five years together, they briefly separated in 2007.Royal biographer Robert Jobson described the breakup as an "emotionally-charged 30-minute conversation" over the phone. In his 2024 biography Catherine, The Princess of Wales, he wrote that the split was devastating for Catherine, who felt particularly hurt by being told over the phone. The couple reportedly acknowledged at the time that they were on "different pages".Princess Catherine and Prince William addressed their breakupDuring their engagement interview with ITV's Tom Bradby on November 16, 2010, William and Catherine spoke openly about their brief separation.William said they were both young and still discovering themselves when they decided to take time apart."We were both very young, it was at university, we were both finding ourselves as such and being different characters and stuff, it was very much trying to find our own way, and we were growing up," he explained.He added that the time apart gave them some space and ultimately worked out for the better.Catherine, meanwhile, admitted that she had not been happy about the breakup initially, but felt the experience made her stronger and helped her understand herself better.Royal photographer recalls spotting the couple together after their splitEdwards also recalled an incident at Sandringham when he photographed a group of William's university friends, without realising that Catherine was among them."I was standing around the back where William was out there with some mates from university," he said, explaining that he only recognised Catherine in the photograph years later.He added that she was not someone people would have immediately identified as the woman who would one day become Princess of Wales.The photographer also recalled noticing the couple together at the Concert for Diana in the summer of 2007, just months after their separation. His wife, Ann, spotted Catherine sitting with William in the Royal Box and suggested that the relationship was back on."She said, 'I think it's back on, you know.' And it was," Edwards recalled.William and Catherine announced their engagement in November 2010 and married at Westminster Abbey in April 2011. They marked 15 years of marriage in April 2026.Arthur Edwards praises William and Catherine as a teamReflecting on the couple's journey, Edwards said he believed they had grown into a strong team and praised the way William had handled life in the public eye.He also spoke about William's efforts to protect his children from the media attention he experienced growing up, saying that the Prince of Wales had ensured that his children would not face the same level of intrusion.Edwards described William as having grown into a statesman and praised both him and Catherine for their roles as ambassadors for the country. He also expressed confidence in William's future as king.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.