William was silent after Kate Middleton declined to spend Christmas at Sandringham

Kate Middleton and Prince William have been partners for a very long time. The couple initially connected while they were both attending college, but despite various ups and downs, including a split, they managed to stay together.

They now have three gorgeous children, and they celebrated Christmas with the rest of the Royal Family this year as usual.

While she was dating William, Kate reportedly enjoyed great popularity within the Royal Family. The Queen even extended her a rare favour by inviting her to Balmoral before William and Kate were wed.

Even though Kate was welcomed into the inner circle and was greatly respected, she occasionally declined their invitations. Years ago, when William requested her to join him for Christmas at Sandringham, she allegedly responded in a way that rendered him dumbfounded.

While attending St. Andrew’s University, Kate Middleton first met Prince William. They fell in love, and the future Princess became the talk of the town as soon as the media learned about their relationship.

In 2011, roughly six months after Kate and William wed and ten years after they first met at university, Kate celebrated her first Christmas with the Royal Family.

Unmarried partners often aren’t allowed to attend Sandringham’s Christmas festivities (admittedly, there are differing views on whether this is appropriate or not). The royals, however, made an exception in 2006. Tina Brown, a royal authority and novelist, claims that Kate was invited to the Sandringham Christmas dinner in 2006.

One could have expected that Kate would be pleased and would have immediately cancelled all other plans in order to go to Sandringham.

She replied “no” instead.

According to Tina Brown in the book The Palace Papers, “William had issued his girlfriend the coveted invitation to join him at the Queen’s traditional Christmas house party at Sandringham before graduation [from The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst].

Kate kept her vow that she wouldn’t attend such an important Royal Family meeting without a ring on her finger, echoing the self-assured spirit of her Philip Treacy hat.

She declined, Brown continued. William said nothing in response to her choice.

So, at the age of 24, Kate made the decision not to go to Sandringham to meet the royals and be with her then-boyfriend. She “retreated to Scotland to remain with her parents, who had hired a property in Perthshire for the holidays,” in place of that.