All About Kate Middleton’s 2007 Affair With ‘Wealthy Heir’ Amid Split From Prince William

Pictures of Kate Middleton with a tall, handsome, and very rich new suitor once surfaced while Prince William was still unsure about tying the knot. Today, the Prince and Princess of Wales are the picture of a happy royal couple, blessed with three beautiful children. But when they were younger, things weren't always peachy. William was once rumored to have ended their six-year-long affair over the phone.

While speculation about his 2007 wedding raged on, he allegedly had second thoughts and called his then-girlfriend to suggest they 'find their own way' apart. Middleton, devastated by the loss of her royal aspirations, wasted little time in moving on. She jetted out to Ibiza with a friend and, after returning to London, was seen more often than ever before with her sister, Pippa, wearing far edgier outfits.

As reported by The Mirror, while the Princess was on her own, sightings of her with the handsome, wealthy shipping heir, Sir Henry Ropner, sparked speculation that the two were dating. As an Eton classmate of William's, Ropner was no ordinary suitor— his family boasted a £33.7 million shipping business— which may have irritated the Prince. 

According to Richard Compton Miller, another royal observer, who spoke with The Mirror, "I have no doubt William found it very difficult to replace Kate. He inhabits a world where women are very impressed by his status and they often throw themselves at him. It's quite hard to find a girl who is as beautiful as Kate and who has also got her feet on the ground." Additionally, the royal watcher said that rumors circulated about the prince becoming intimate with clubgirls on occasion. 

He stated, "There were times when it was rumored that he was getting up close and personal with girls in clubs but he never seems to have slept with them, as far as we know. We live in a world of kiss-and-tells and I think William was very frightened of that. The great thing about Kate is how beautifully she behaves." Shortly after their breakup, William and Middleton were back together again by June 2007, while Ropner had joyfully wed Natasha Sinclair. It turned out that Middleton's infatuation with Ropner and her short separation from Prince William was only a temporary setback in their love story. Their romance quickly blossomed again after a costume party revived their passion.

Robert Jobson reflected on this period in his recently published work, Catherine, Princess of Wales: The Biography. He stated, "She'd arrived dressed as a nurse and William had made a beeline for her. They then spent the first part of the evening deep in conversation before hitting the dance floor, where they ended up kissing. When friends joked they should get a room, they slipped off together."