Prince William Paid for a Table to See Kate Wear a Racy Dress at Uni Fashion Show

‘Wow. Kate’s hot!’

Those were the words Prince William shared with his friend Fergus Boyd upon seeing his future wife, Kate Middleton, walk down a catwalk in a daring outfit.

Kate, a student at the University of St Andrews where both she and William were studying, participated in the DONT WALK charity gala in March 2002.

In Robert Lacey’s 2020 book “Battle of the Brothers,” it is revealed that William discreetly secured his £200 front-row seat through a friend, allowing him to attend without much attention.

Backstage, Kate had reconsidered her fashion choice, wearing what was originally a skirt – designed by textiles student Charlotte Todd – as a mini-dress.

The transparent garment revealed her black underwear and slim figure, immediately capturing William’s attention.

This look was a departure from Kate’s usual style, which a friend described as ‘a very public school look of Ralph Lauren shirts, V-neck jumpers, and jeans.’

The gala was organized to raise funds for the families of victims of the 9/11 attacks that had occurred six months earlier.

Both Kate and William were dating other people at the time, but William is rumored to have made an awkward pass at her during the show’s after-party.

Though Kate supposedly rebuffed him initially, they remained friends and soon became a couple.

The pair eventually moved in together with friends, including Boyd, and later into a farmhouse near the university campus.

While they kept their relationship quiet, there was a minor slip-up when Kate’s mother Carole shared the news with her brother Gary Goldsmith during Christmas in 2003, according to Lacey.

Gary Goldsmith reportedly passed a note to a colleague during a meeting that read: ‘I think I’m going to be the uncle of the future Queen of England!!!’

Nevertheless, their relationship stayed under wraps until March 2004, when photos of the couple on a skiing holiday emerged.

In 2007, the couple experienced a brief breakup. William had begun a new job as an Army officer with the Blues and Royals and was keen to avoid the mistake his parents made by marrying prematurely.

William dealt with this by visiting the Mahiki club in Central London, while Kate traveled to Dublin with her mother.

By mid-May, they were back in touch by phone, and by June, Kate was seen at a themed party at William’s barracks.

Their relationship flourished thereafter, with their engagement announced in November 2010. They married in a lavish ceremony at Westminster Abbey in April the following year.

As for Kate’s catwalk ‘dress,’ Charlotte Todd sold it at auction to a private buyer for £78,000 in 2011.

The outfit had originally cost only £30 to create using scraps of material for a project, as reported by the Daily Mail at the time.

Charlotte Todd later launched her own short-lived fashion brand, which featured 12 updated versions of Kate’s tube dress in six different colors.