Kate Middleton had clever trick to stop women flirting with Prince William

A close friend revealed what Kate Middleton would do to stop girls flirting with William in the early days of their relationship at uni.

It's well known that Kate and William were good friends long before they ever started dating.

The couple met in university at St Andrews in Scotland in their first year, and lived with each other every year after.

As you can imagine, girls would flock to William in some kind of attempt to become the future Queen, but Kate was always there to save the day.

According to their close friend, Prince William was often 'too polite' to reject girls when they made advances.

The pair met in university. (Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

Speaking to royal expert Katie Nicholl for her book Kate: The Future Queen, their mutual friend Laura Warshauer said: "Will was getting really hit on by this girl at a party and it was getting quite uncomfortable because he couldn't shake her off.

"He was being really polite, but this girl just didn't get the hint. All of a sudden Kate came up behind him and put her arms around him.

"He said 'Oh, sorry, but I've got a girlfriend', and he and Kate went off giggling."

She added: "Kate was the only girl in the room who could have done that. And that was just a month after we started university."

In their second year, they shared a house with some friends which reportedly cost £100 a week each.

They lived together for four years while at university. (Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

But in their third and final years, William and Kate moved into a private house off-campus that belonged to one of William's distant cousins.

Balgove House at Strathtyrum was patrolled by unmarked police cars, and was safe for the young royals to live in.

But it hasn't all been roses for the couple, as the pair ended up briefly splitting after dating for five years, with Prince William saying they needed 'just a bit of space'.

According to Rob Jobson in his new book Catherine, The Princess of Wales: A Biography of the Future Queen, William brutally dumped Kate in a 30-minute conversation.

"He told her they both needed 'a bit of space' to 'find our own way', and he was unable to promise her marriage," Jobson said.

"In an emotionally charged 30-minute conversation, they both acknowledged they were on 'different pages'."

But according to Jobson, it was Kate's resilience throughout the obviously heartbreaking situation that seemingly made William realise he'd f***ed up big time.

And the rest, as they say, is history.