Prior to their engagement, Prince William had doubts about whether he truly loved Kate Middleton. Although he tried to work through his feelings, Queen Elizabeth confronted her grandson about the status of his relationship.

After William and Kate got back together following a breakup in 2007, Queen Elizabeth wanted to make sure her grandson wasn’t wasting time in a relationship that had no future.

At the time, a Sunday Express report revealed the Queen forced William to make a decision about Kate. “Now they are back together, the Queen wants William to do the right thing – either marry the girl or let her go,” a source previously told Camilla Tominey.

“She would rather they broke up for good now than get married only to have it end in divorce if five years’ time. But if Kate is the one, then a five-year courtship is long enough. Prince Philip has told William he cannot keep stringing along Kate forever,” the royal correspondent added.

Kate and Prince William’s relationship faced its first obstacle in 2004 when the couple went through a trial separation. By 2007, William began feeling “claustrophobic” about the romance and ended the relationship. However, the two reconciled after a few months apart.

Following their split, a friend of the couple told royal biographer Andrew Morton that Kate used the paparazzi to manipulate William into reconsidering his feelings about their relationship.

“[William] realized what he really wanted in life. He thought he could do better, but realized very quickly what he had given up,” the source revealed.

Prince William proposed to Kate in 2011, and the couple married the following year. The two are now parents to Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

Kate Middleton
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge attend Easter Sunday service at St George's Chapel on April 21, 2019 in Windsor, England. Getty Images/Samir Hussein/WireImage
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