See inside Kate and William's high-security love nest – bullet-proof windows to humble furnishings
Long before Prince William and Kate Middleton set up home at their stunning Adelaide Cottage they lived in an incredibly humble - but very secure - student property. Not longer after they met as young students at the University of St Andrews, they moved into a small two-storey, four-bedroom Edwardian townhouse in the heart of the historic city.
While it was furnished with the usual student essentials - comfy sofas, big television, and an array of mismatched tables, lamps and the like - it also had some rather unique security features including bulletproof windows and even a bomb proof front door.
The home is situated on Hope Street, an Edwardian street in the middle of the town where many of the properties are worth seven figures. Prince William and Kate, who both signed up to study History of Art before William then changed to Geography, reportedly paid £100 a week each, along with their two housemates.
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The housemates in question were Fergus Boyd, who later became young Prince George’s godfather, and mutual pal Olivia Bleasdale. "We moved in together as friends because we were living together, we lived with a couple of others as well, it just sort of blossomed from there really," William said during the couple's official engagement interview. "We just saw more of each other, hung out a bit more and did stuff."
On what Fergus and Olivia made of their budding royal romance, William said they, "were a bit surprised that it had happened, then they realized it was really nice and it was good fun and we got on really well, they were good friends of ours as well so we had a good giggle with them as well."
Again, as is somewhat typical with student digs, the home had a small kitchen, with a single counter top running all around the room, and a small sink under a window with a counter-top stove on the right side. William reportedly used to knock-up the odd Bolognaise dish in an attempt to impress his then girlfriend.
While their university days were mostly drama-free, there was a a much-publicised but brief separation in 2007, which helped earn Kate the rather rude nickname Waity Katie. However, the time apart actually became a source of strength for the couple in the long term, an expert tells OK!.
“Their relationship started out as friendship, so everything is built on the foundation of friendship, trust, love and loyalty,” says royal author Katie Nicholl. “They have stuck together through thick and thin.”
