[Image: Wikimedia Commons]
Kate Middleton’s pre-princess days are having a viral moment on Reddit, and honestly, it’s a vibe.
A series of throwback photos showing a young, carefree Kate – before the tiaras and stiff royal wave – have resurfaced, and people cannot get enough. In these snapshots, we see her living her best early 2000s life: chatting on a retro phone, enjoying a big night out with friends, and rocking some, let’s say, bold fashion choices that she probably cringes at now.
One standout image features Kate with a hands-on-hips power pose and a fringe that screams experimental phase. Another pic captures her pulling a goofy face in a very early-aughts-looking room. The rest? Just a young Kate, loose waves cascading down, laughing it up with her friends in the backseat of a car – classic post-party energy.
Reddit, of course, had thoughts.
“Imagine looking that beautiful after a drunken night out. My 3 hairs could never,” one user lamented, while another said “Imagine being god’s favourite”.
Someone else then declared: “Kate was for real a party girl back in the day.” (Not quite a wild party girl, but definitely the kind who knew how to have a good time.)
Others gushed about how radiant and effortlessly stunning she looked. “She has a glow about her… and she’s absolutely gorgeous,” one commented. Someone else noted that her son, Prince Louis, is practically her mini-me: “I really see Prince Louis in her.”
And despite her evolution from fun-loving university student to future queen, some fans pointed out that Kate’s signature goofiness is still very much intact—just in a slightly more polished, duchess-approved way.
“She’s still really animated and kind when she talks to people. You just have to watch her on engagements,” one user said. “Just that she doesn’t get drunk in public now lol. She knows how to behave depending on the occasion.”
Oh, how times have changed.
Kate’s journey from small-town girl to literal royalty is basically a modern fairy tale. Born in Reading and raised in Bucklebury, she attended top-tier schools like St. Andrew’s and Marlborough College before landing at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland—where fate (and a rather memorable sheer dress) brought her and Prince William together.
When they first met, things were… awkward, to say the least.
“I think you said I actually went bright red when I met you and sort of scuttled off,” Kate admitted in their 2010 engagement interview.
William confirmed it: “We were friends for over a year first… It just sort of blossomed from then on. [We] realized we shared the same interests and just had a really good time.”
By 2002, their friendship had turned into something more, with Kate catching William’s eye at a university fashion show in a daring, see-through number.
After dating for nearly five years, the couple hit a rough patch and split in 2007. But, as they say, true love finds a way. They reunited in 2009 at one of William’s army barracks parties, and the next year, he proposed during a romantic trip to Kenya with his mother’s iconic sapphire ring.
“We’d been talking about marriage for a while, so it wasn’t a massively big surprise, but I took her up somewhere nice in Kenya, and I proposed,” William said. Kate later described the moment as “really romantic.”
The world watched in awe as they tied the knot in 2011 at Westminster Abbey—an event so grand that 17.6 million people tuned in to witness the magic. Fast forward a decade, and the couple now shares three adorable kids: Prince George, born in 2013; Princess Charlotte, born in 2015; and Prince Louis, born in 2018.
Life as a royal hasn’t always been easy, though. In March, Kate shared a deeply personal message about her battle with cancer and how much William’s support has meant to her.
“Having William by my side is a great source of comfort and reassurance, too. As is the love, support, and kindness that has been shown by so many of you. It means so much to us both,” she said.
By September, she announced that her cancer was in remission, taking a moment to reflect on what truly matters.
“This experience has reminded William and me to reflect and be grateful for the simple yet important things in life, which so many of us often take for granted. Of simply loving and being loved.”
From carefree college nights to palace life and everything in between, Kate Middleton has lived one big life. At this rate, I’m surprised there’s not a doccie about her yet.
[Source: BordedPanda]
