Prince William and Kate Middleton are one of the most beloved royal couples in history.
Prior to becoming the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the pair had built a strong foundation as friends while they were students at St. Andrews University.
"When I first met Kate, I knew there was something very special about her, and then I knew there was possibly something I wanted to explore there,
As it turned out, it was the strong bond they formed as friends that made their union so solid. "That was a good sort of foundation,
William said. "I do genuinely believe now that being friends with [each other] is a massive advantage."
Though the pair dated for much of their college careers, they took a break following graduation for some self-exploration.
"I at the time wasn't very happy about it, but actually it made me a stronger person," Kate said in the couple's engagement interview.
"You find out things about yourself that maybe you hadn't realized — I think you can get quite consumed by a relationship when you're younger — and I really valued that time for me, as well."
They didn't stay apart for long, however, reuniting in the summer of 2007 with a series of secret dates.
Three years later, they announced their engagement to the world, and by 2011, they had officially tied the knot with a fairy tale ceremony at Westminster Abbey in London.
According to a friend of the pair, the couple's marriage is an "old-fashioned" one. "They look after each other but in different ways,"
the friend told PEOPLE of their relationship. Explained another source in 2012, "[Kate] brings a sense of ordinariness that William has always craved."
She also made the prince a father. Kate and William share three children: Prince George, born in 2013, Princess Charlotte, born in 2015 and Prince Louis, born in 2018.
William later spoke of their early days as roomies during the pair's engagement interview. "We moved in together as friends,"