Kate Middleton’s School Crush Revealed—and You Probably Recognize Him

Royals—they’re just like us. How so? Well, it turns out that you’re not the only one whose first crush was the lead in the school play. 

Before Prince William, there was Andrew de Perlaky, the duchess’s classmate and co-star in a class production of My Fair Lady. While Kate went on to become the Duchess of Cambridge, Andrew stayed on the theater track and is now a professional actor, best known for his appearances as Downton Abbey’s Sir John Bullock in 2013. 

According to royal biographer Katie Nicholl, Kate Middleton had a huge crush on Andrew at school.

In her book Kate: The Future Queen, Nicholl writes: “Andrew played the role of Freddie, who falls for Eliza, but she rebuffs him. There was a twist of irony to the tale, for in real life, Kate had quietly fallen for Andrew, the blond-haired, blue-eyed chorister with the voice of an angel. He was the best-looking boy in her year, and Kate had gotten to know him well as they were both in the school choir, but sadly for her, Andrew was already ‘dating’ her friend Fiona Beacroft.”

Catch the two budding thespians in action here: 

How adorable is that cockney accent? We may not be seeing Kate tread the boards again anytime soon, but Andrew (who goes by the name Andrew Alexander) often appears on the London stage in addition to his television work. 

According to The Express, Andrew found out about Kate’s crush, but the future royal was too shy in school to ever tell him.

“It was funny because it was passed on to me, as happens at school, that Catherine liked me. She never told me that herself, she didn’t have the confidence,” he said. 

“One of her friends, Fiona Beacroft, was my girlfriend at the time. She was more of a chatterbox and a bubblier character, but these were very innocent relationships, and very fleeting—sometimes they lasted a matter of days.”

And we thought that Downtown Abbey had its share of drama. Kate might not have won over her school crush, but we’re pretty sure that it all worked out for the best, anyway.  

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