Kate Middleton was left in tears when Prince William cancelled ‘big plans’

After more than a decade of marriage and three children, the Prince and Princess of Wales are a rock-solid couple, so it’s easy to forget that things weren’t all plain sailing for the couple in the years before they got married.

Although the couple has always tried to keep their relationship private, a report emerged claiming that Prince William tearfully left Kate Middleton by canceling an important plan while they were dating.

In her book, The Making of a Royal Romance, royal author Katie Nicholl wrote that William and Kate had been unable to spend Christmas together in 2006 because, even though they had been dating for five years, only married couples were invited to the Queen’s Sandringham . celebrate.

To make up for Christmas Day’s absence, the couple made “big plans” for the new year.

William and Kate were a good couple, but didn’t spend Christmas together in 2006. Pictured: Will and Kate leaving Bouji’s nightclub on September 7, 2006

But that all changed when William called Kate on Boxing Day and told her he would be staying with his own family instead – despite promising he would spend time with the Middletons.

The pair met in 2001 at St Andrews University, where they both studied art history, although William switched to geography.

It was Kate, who is six months older than William, who convinced him to continue his studies as he struggled to adapt during his first year.

William would have been wary of making a commitment to his girlfriend, aware of his own parents’ troubled marriage.

Katie Nicholl wrote: ‘William had second thoughts and sat down with his father and his grandmother to have a frank conversation about his future with Kate. Both advised him not to rush into anything.”

In April 2007, news broke that Kate and William had split, according to Queen’s sources was ‘disappointed’ by the news.

However, there was nothing to worry about and they were seen kissing at an army barracks party in Bovington, Dorset just weeks later and the rest is history.

The royal couple announced their engagement to the public in 2010 and married in 2011

They now have three children together: Prince George, nine years old (William’s left), Charlotte, seven (middle), and four-year-old Louis (far left). They are pictured on the balcony after Trooping the Color last year

Kate then moved into William’s Clarence House flat, where they would spend weekends together after he returned from his military duties on Fridays.

The royal couple announced their engagement to the public in 2010 and in her first TV interview, Kate admitted she was ‘not very happy’ with their split at the time.

“But it actually made me a stronger person,” she said. ‘You discover things about yourself that you may not have known before.

“I think you can get quite wrapped up in a relationship when you’re younger, and I really appreciated that time for me too, even if I didn’t think so at the time.”

Meanwhile, William agreed that a timeout in their relationship had been valuable.

“It was a lot of trying to find our own way and we were growing up, so it was just a bit of space, and it turned out for the better,” he added.

Their magical spring wedding ceremony was watched by 162 million people worldwide.

The Prince and Princess of Wales expressed their love for each other in front of 2,000 specially invited guests, including David Beckham and Sir Elton John, at Westminster Abbey.

They now have three children together: nine-year-old Prince George, seven-year-old Princess Charlotte and four-year-old Prince Louis.