By DUNCAN LARCOMBE
Royal Correspondent
APRIL 14, 2007
PRINCE William’s romance with Kate Middleton was doomed when he decided to put Army life first, pals claimed last night.
Last month the pair seemed happier than ever as they skied down a Swiss mountain together, stopping only to kiss and hold each other close.
From the outside all the signs seemed to suggest the young lovers were just weeks away from announcing their intention to wed.
But in reality, it is understood they had been on a downward spiral since Kate saw the 24-year-old future king passing out from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in December last year.
Friends say William, now a fully-fledged officer in the Blues and Royals, has engrossed himself in Army life — preferring to go out drinking with his colleagues than drive back to London to see Kate.
When he began his 2½-month tank commander course at the Army’s school of armoury in Bovington, Dorset, on March 16, the relationship was in freefall.
The course means the Prince is stuck on an isolated base from Monday to Friday each week.
Romance ... but Kate has split with Wills, pictured passing out at Sandhurst
The fact that his time has been taken up has put further strain on 25-year-old Kate.
One close friend of the couple said: “As far as Kate is concerned, William simply hasn’t been paying her enough attention.
“She is stuck in London while he is living in an officer’s mess in Dorset. Kate feels hugely frustrated that their relationship just seems to be going backwards at a rate of knots.
“At university they were living together. Now, nearly three years on, they are lucky if they see each other once a week.
“When he does get a night off, it appears to Kate that William would rather spend time drinking with his new-found Army pals.”
While millions of people will be shocked to read that the world’s most eligible bachelor is back on the market, friends of the couple will be equally surprised.
Any cracks in their relationship were hidden from all but the couple’s closest circle.
But the friend said William and Kate had found it impossible to cope with the extraordinary pressures placed on their relationship.
And at 24, the Prince is said to feel he is too young to marry. The last time the pair were seen together was on March 13, when they dressed in matching tweeds to spend the day at the Cheltenham Racing Festival.
Last month William ended up on the front pages when The Sun revealed he grabbed a girl’s boob during a night out with Army pals in Bournemouth.
Saucy Wills slipped his hand around Brazilian student Ana Ferreira, 18, as she partied with a pal in the Elements Club.
And on the same night the Prince was snapped with leggy blonde Lisa Agar, 19.
He invited her back to his barracks for a nightcap and she left at 4.15am when he said he had to go to bed.
Then last week William and his pals were accused of wrecking an acoustic guitarist’s dream gig. A pal stormed the stage to tell Dan Baker: “Please stop playing these c**p songs — the Prince wants dance music.”
Tipsy Wills guffawed and raised his glass. But 200 fans who had been enjoying the gig at the upmarket Bliss wine bar in Bournemouth were left stunned.
Tender ... they share romantic moment
on Swiss ski trip last month
According to the friend William’s recent antics have been a major blow for Kate, who has had to cope with being at the centre of a media storm.
The friend added: “The sheer amount of attention Kate was getting put an unbearable strain on William. He, more than anyone else, will not be pressured into marriage by a media scrum hungry for an announcement.
“But Kate suddenly found herself at the centre of intense speculation. And, for the first time in their long relationship, she really became the story.
“Kate was seen as fair game for photographers and there was very little William could do to protect her. His only option would be to bring her in from the cold as it were — to ask her to be his bride and make it public.
“But this is simply not an option for William. He will not be rushed and whatever the papers say — he still feels too young.”
It is understood that following the amicable decision to split, Kate has left London to spend time with her loyal and loving parents Carole and Michael Middleton. She will spend the weekend talking through the decision with them at the family home in Bucklebury, Berks. It will be a particularly bitter blow for the Middleton family.
Kate’s parents adore William and have really brought him in as one of the family.
Day out ... Kate with Wills and Harry at rugby match
While at Sandhurst, William often made the short journey from the Surrey academy down to Berkshire to visit the Middletons.
They were happy to allow him to sleep at the family home whenever he wanted. And in many ways the Middletons represented the kind of normal loving family William was denied as a child.
Prince William met pretty Kate in his first year at Scotland’s St Andrews University in 2001.
She was also in her first year — having left the posh Marlborough College public school the previous year.
Although she had attended one of the top public schools and the private prep school St Andrews in Berkshire, Kate’s family background was modest.
Dad Michael, 57, and mum Carole, 52, were self-made millionaires who quit their jobs with an airline to set up the children’s mail order firm Party Pieces.
Kate, who was said to have had a poster of William on her wall while at school, famously caught his eye as she strolled down the catwalk wearing a see-through top and lace bra during a charity fashion show at the university.
As their romance blossomed in October 2002, the couple decided to rent a flat together, along with two male friends of the couple.
In 2004 Kate’s relationship with William became public knowledge when The Sun published pictures of them skiing in Klosters with the rest of the Royals.
Both finished their degrees in June 2005, when the Queen and Prince Philip joined William’s dad Prince Charles, Charles’ wife Camilla and Kate’s parents at the graduation ceremony.
Within a month of leaving university Kate flew to Kenya, Africa, to spend a month with her lover on a safari ranch.
Since then Kate has moved to London to be near William. And last autumn she began work as a part-time buyer for the high street fashion firm Jigsaw.
Meanwhile William has been busy since beginning his Army career in January last year.
During his time at Sandhurst he would drive to see Kate straight from sleeping in ditches on exercise.
A spokesman for Clarence House said: “Prince William’s personal life is private and as such we do not comment on it.”
all over The Sun newspaper this morning...
