Pop lore has long told us that Prince William and Kate Middleton’s connection bordered on romantic the moment she stepped out in a sheer dress at a fashion show. But according to Middleton’s former college roommate, that’s not entirely true.

Laura Warshauer roomed with the would-be Princess at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland somewhere between the years of 2001 and 2005. Warshauer says she and Kate attended a Hogwarts-themed party inside a castle one evening, when a charity auction began taking place.

“We went to a party at a castle. It was a Harry Potter theme, and they did an auction for charity where people were bidding to win a date,” Warshauer says. “Will bid £200 (AU$400) to win a date with Kate.”

While the roommate kept mum on the details of the actual date, she did say the now Princess of Wales remained composed and that the pair had “instant chemistry.”

The Prince and now Princess met at university in 2001 and moved in together with friends the following year. According to accounts from the time, Kate piqued the Prince’s interest when she walked in a charity fashion show in March of 2022. In a strapless, sheer dress with a blue trim and with a visible black bikini underneath, Kate was the star of the show. Both Prince William and Kate were seeing other people so it wouldn’t be until a few months later that their love blossomed.

That designer of the dress was a fellow St Andrews student, Charlotte Todd, who spent just £30 (AU$60) making it. She didn’t realise at the time it would go on to become a piece of fashion history—much less the fact it would become the beacon for taking the now couple from friends to something more.

“I didn’t know who Kate Middleton was and I didn’t put her in it,” she told People. “It was just pure chance. I made it as a skirt, but others pulled it up on Kate and she wore it as a dress.”

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LONDON – FEBRUARY 10: Prince Harry (L) and Prince William (C) and Kate Middleton (R)cheer on the English team during the RBS Six Nations Championship match between England and Italy at Twickenham on February 10, 2007 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Cut to ten year later, in 2010, and Prince William proposed to Kate with his late mother Princess Diana’s engagement ring. They were married six month later and today share three children: George, Charlotte and Louis.