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Bristol Post
Bristol Post
Entertainment
Maisie Lillywhite

Royal Family: Kate Middleton invited 'first love' that 'messed her around' to her wedding to Prince William

Kate Middleton may have found her Prince Charming, but the Duchess of Cambridge certainly experienced heartbreak on the road to finding true love. Before meeting Prince William at the University of St Andrews, the now 40-year-old had been romantically linked with several men, including one that broke her heart at school and left her yearning for him for some time after Leavers' Day.

During her time at prestigious Wiltshire boarding school Marlborough College, Kate met her 'first love', Harry Blakelock. According to a friend, Kate could not get over Harry for some time after she left school, and could not stop thinking about him even when she was on her gap year in Florence in 2001.

Kate's relationship with Harry, as Katie Nicholl wrote in her biography of Kate, is said to have lasted for about a year, and both Kate and Harry 'agreed they wanted the relationship to work' despite the burning pressure of exams. But heartbreak ensued when Harry decided to break up with Kate, take a gap year, and travel around the world.

Read more: Kate Middleton and Prince William's unusual sleeping arrangements at Kensington Palace apartment

Kate then opted to take a gap year herself in 2001. A friend told the MailOnline: "When Kate arrived in Florence, she was really hung up about Harry. She spoke about him all the time and he seemed to have messed her around quite a bit. He seemed to have blown hot and cold with her when they were at school and she was always talking about how she could get him back."

Kate Middleton and Prince William on the day of their graduation ceremony at St Andrew's University in St Andrew's on June 23, 2005 (Clarence House via GettyImages)

The pair never resumed their relationship, with Harry eventually marrying one of Kate's friends from school, Sarah Follett. Kate was so hung up on Harry, that she didn't date anyone for two years until she met Will at the University of St Andrews, which he attended after completing his Eton College education and enjoying a gap year.

Despite Harry blowing hot and cold with Kate throughout school and subsequently breaking her heart, Kate put aside any hard feelings she had towards her former love when she invited him to attend her and William's wedding in 2011. Kate's relationship with William began in 2001 when they were both students at the University of St Andrews, residing at St Salvator's Hall. They officially started dating in 2003, and got engaged in 2010 after a brief period apart in 2007.

Harry is not Kate's only ex that she has no hard feelings towards. Kate also dated Willem Marx, a reporter who has worked for various news outlets across the world, during her time at Marlborough College. The pair remained good friends after dating, with Kate spotted leaving Boujis, a South Kensington nightclub, with Willem in 2007.

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