#True Story of Kate Middleton Fashion Show Moment: See the Dress

On March 27, 2002, Kate Middleton walked in a charity fashion show at St. Andrews University.

Wearing a sheer brown dress over a bandeau bikini, Kate, 19, walked down the runway at St. Andrews Bay Hotel—with Prince William sitting in the front row. William reportedly leaned over to his friend Fergus Boyd and said, “Wow, Fergus, Kate’s hot!”

A snap of Prince William at the fashion show.

“It was clear to us that William was smitten with Kate,” one of their friends recalled years later. “He actually told her she was a knockout that night, which caused her to blush. There was definitely chemistry between them, and Kate had really made an impression on William. She played it very cool, and at one point when William seemed to lean in to kiss her, she pulled away. She didn’t want to give off the wrong impression or make it too easy for Will.”

Another classmate, Ben Duncan, also shared, “The moment in question, of course, is the Don’t Walk fashion show, It was the end of their first year. I was there, and in person there were a lot of attractive girls. She was in a very daring dress, in a sheer stocking-like dress. He was sitting front row and his eyes were like stalks.”

Meg Bellamy as Kate Middleton in The Crown season six.

This moment is recreated in The Crown season six, episode nine, titled “Hope Street” (named after the street where Will and Kate lived as roommates their second year at St. Andrews). In the show, Kate (Meg Bellamy) struts the runway confidently to the song “The Time Is Now” by Moloko, as Prince William looks on in awe. They make eye contact, and both have smiles on their face. After, William tells her, “That was quite the outfit earlier.” Kate asks, “Did you like it?” He replies, “Like? You looked incredible.”

She tells him, “I just felt like doing something drastic. To know, one way or another… if you were interested.” William says, “Of course I’m interested. I thought you weren’t interested!” adding, “I’ve always been interested, bordering on obsessed. To the point where I thought if I couldn’t be with you… I’d sooner not be here at all.” They then kiss for the first time.

Kate (Bellamy) and William (McVey) after the fashion show.

In the royal drama, the fashion show takes place on the same day as Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother’s death, and Prince William’s bodyguard interrupts his romantic moment with Kate to let him know “Operation Tay Bridge” is underway. In reality, the Queen Mother died three days later.

Neither Kate or William have ever really spoken about this moment, but at St. Andrews’s 600th anniversary charity event in 2012, Kate joked, “I hope you weren’t involved in the fashion show. You never know what you are going to be asked to wear!”

The Charlotte Todd dress at auction in 2011.

The hand-knitted silk dress, designed by Charlotte Todd, was put up for auction in 2011. It took £30 to make and sold at auction for £78,000. Todd was a fashion and textile student at the time, for a project called “The Art of Seduction.”

“If it is true that my design helped changed the Prince’s interest in Kate from platonic to romantic as has been reported, then I am pleased to have played a part—however minor,” Todd said. “I never would have imagined as I sat knitting this piece that one day it would be so important.”

Emily Burack (she/her) is the news writer for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.