Prince William and Kate Middleton met while studying at the university, but at one point, it appears someone else would become the future queen as they split in 2007. Fortunately, it didn’t last long, and according to a former royal butler, William managed to win Kate back. He did so through a special ‘romantic move.”

Prince William and Kate Middleton fell in love while they studied at the university. She was thought to be the one for William, and from the outside, William and Kate’s relationship appeared to be perfect.

It seemed like the future king had found his future queen, but sadly, that was not the case at the time. In 2006, their relationship declined. The year after, the couple split, and many believed it was the end of the love story.

But things changed, and Prince William and Kate found their way back to each other. So what did happen? Grant Harrold, who was King Charles’ butler, reveals in his memoir The Royal Butler: My Remarkable Life in Royal Service, that William was longing to get Kate back.

He made the move with a romantic gesture that proved how much he meant it.

“When they got back together, it was fresh, it was like a double boost,” Harrold said. “They both were making more of an effort. … [They had] this romantic dinner for Valentine’s Day, which they asked me to do, which they had never done before. They hadn’t done anything like that before. Suddenly, they wanted to do that. I felt that [William] was saying, ‘Look, I’m serious. This is going to up a level.’ That’s what I felt.”

How Prince William won Kate back with ‘romantic move’

“And, of course, a few years after that, they carried on. It was almost like a reset button, but this was serious. The first time around, it was boyfriend-girlfriend, ‘Oh, let’s eat here, let’s chill here, let’s do that.’ Suddenly, it was a bit more, ‘I’m serious, and I’m going to show you I’m serious.’ That’s how it came across, which was amazing.”

Harrold had suggested to William and Kate that it would be a pleasure to serve them formal dinners. However, they both “laughed it off,” telling the butler that they didn’t want to make a fuss. But one day, leading up to Valentine’s Day 2008, William had changed his mind.