When news broke that Prince William had a new, serious girlfriend people were very, very excited.
Fans around the world wanted to know everything they could about the young woman who had captured his heart and could one day become his royal bride.
Wills met Kate Middleton at university but after they graduated and moved back to London she got a lot of attention, often facing cameras when she went shopping, worked out or went to work - even when she wasn't with him.
The Prince had seen his mum Diana being harassed by the paparazzi and was determined that the woman he loved wouldn't be put through the same thing - so he decided to do something about it.
He insisted that the Palace set up a hotline for Kate offering her support when it came to dealing with the press.
It went directly to Prince Charles's head of press Paddy Harverson.
In her book Kate: The Future Queen, royal expert Katie Nicholl writes: "William was aware of the situation and anxious about it.
"He had seen firsthand how his mother had been harassed by the paparazzi and was determined that Kate not be subjected to the same treatment."
A senior aide told Katie: "We had been introduced to Kate early on, and we were instructed from the outset to give her every support possible.
"She was obviously the subject of a lot of press interest and intrusion from the paparazzi.
"William said we had a duty of care to her and her family and so we advised her on how to deal with the cameras.
"We told her to smile at the photographers so that there would be a better picture.
"She was given advice on how to manager the media, and we were there to support her if there was a crisis."
Prince Harry took a different and more direct approach to the media when it came to protecting his future wife from unwanted attention.
He released an official statement, confirming their relationship and addressing the issue.
It said: “His girlfriend, Meghan Markle , has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment. Some of this has been very public, the smear on the front page of a national news, paper, the racial undertones of comment pieces, and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments.
“Prince Harry is worried about Ms Markle’s safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her.
“He knows commentators will say this is ‘the price she has to pay’ and that ‘this is all part of the game’. He strongly disagrees. This is not a game… it is her life and his.”
