Kate Middleton and Prince William have been married for 13 years, tying the knot in 2011, a decade after first meeting in 2001, but it wasn’t always smooth sailing and there were many ‘raised eyebrows’ along the way. It's well known that they struck up their romance while both students at St Andrews University. It all ended in a fairy tale wedding that the entire nation watched and has led to the pair welcoming their three children - Prince George , Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
But, things weren’t always easy and Kate has had to deal with her fair share of paparazzi and media nonsense especially when the Princess of Wales was labelled Waity-Katie after attending Prince Williams's military graduation in 2006. Weeks later things would get much worse when the Sunday Times published a lengthy article under the headline, “The Girl Who Would be Queen.” With no engagement in sight there were "raised eyebrows" in the Royal Family over her frequent trips to Mustique in the southern Caribbean.
Kate’s then-boss at Jigsaw had allowed her the use of her luxurious villa on the island for private romantic holidays with the Prince. Probably not a perk other employees shared. Kate’s love for the Caribbean was even criticised by the late Queen.
The couple's fondness for holidays reportedly wasn't pleasing for the late monarch and she was said to have wished that Kate would settle in a job before any announcement of their engagement was made in 2010. Kate was initially criticised for first working for her mother's Party Pieces business rather than starting a career, then taking a part-time job as an accessories buyer at Jigsaw. As things came to a head, William broke up with Kate in their now infamous phone break up of 2007 but righted itself in 2008 when they got back together.
In her 2010 book, 'William and Harry', Vanity Fair’s royal correspondent Katie Nicholl talked about how bothersome Kate’s travelling had become in the couple's dating days, she said: “If she [Kate] was not with William at Balmoral then the couple were skiing or holidaying on Mustique. Kate was there so often the press dubbed her ‘Queen of Mustique’, a title that had previously belonged to Princess Margaret.” However, Kate and William have not let that stop them from travelling in the Caribbean, and there is one Caribbean island located just south of St Vincent and the Grenadines that is a particular favourite of couples.
The idyllic holiday spot has long associations with the late Queen's sister, Princess Margaret, who had her own home on the island. It was reported earlier this year that Prince William and Kate Middleton made a private donation to support victims of Hurricane Beryl which swept through areas of Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Jamaica..
