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Although Kate Middleton and Prince William first met at the start of St. Andrews in 2001, it wasn’t until the spring semester—when Kate walked in a charity fashion show for the school—that the young prince started to view Kate as more than a friend. Based on photos that Netflix and the official Instagram account for the hit series released on November 28, 2023, the second part of season six of The Crown—which will air on December 14, 2023—will recreate that turning point in the royal couple’s relationship.
In 2002, after a semester of being friends, Kate was modeling a sheer strapless dress with turquoise panels, designed by fellow student Charlotte Todd, for the function. William reportedly paid over $200 for a front-row seat. Rumor has it, while William was watching Kate strut down the runway, he turned to his friend and said, “Wow.” That moment sparked the beginning of their romantic involvement. In one of the newly released preview images for The Crown, Kate (played by Meg Bellamy) is donning a similar see-through dress while walking down the runway, so viewers will probably get to relive how William fell for Kate.
According to Todd, the young designer created the piece—which was originally supposed to be a skirt—for a project called “The Art of Seduction” while she was studying for her degree in fashion and textiles at the University of the West of England. Todd said she made the gown from a delicate netted fabric, and it only cost less than $50 to execute. In 2011, the design was sold at an auction for nearly $125,000, Harper’s Bazaar reported. “Everyone says that the fashion show was when the romance started, so a small part of me will always be part of royal history,” Todd told People.
In addition to Kate’s famous catwalk, Netflix also teased the second part of the season with several other images. Only one other photo seems to capture the romance between young Kate and William, with the two of them gazing into each other’s eyes. Other pictures reveal King Charles (played by Dominic West) and Queen Camilla’s (played by Olivia Williams) 2005 nuptials and Queen Elizabeth (played by Imelda Staunton) standing next to Prince Philip (played by Jonathan Pryce). “A first look at the epic conclusion,” Netflix captioned the Instagram post.
Season six of The Crown has been split into two parts, with the first four episodes hitting the streaming service on November 16, 2023. While the first installment took place over the summer of 1997 and ended with the death of late Princess Diana (played by Elizabeth Debicki) and its aftermath, part two will focus on how young William (played by Ed McVey) and young Kate first met and fell in love at St. Andrews.
