William expected Kate to 'give up' on him due to royal restrictions

Kate Middleton was left with questions after Prince William kept delaying their engagement during the course of their courtship.

The now-Prince and Princess of Wales were only passionate students at the time they met at St. Andrews University in Scotland.

The twosome struck a close bond and shortly began dating for years until their shock split in 2007.

However, the lovebirds couldn’t stay apart for long, and reunited only months later.

During their engagement interview in 2010, William explained the reason behind pushing back on popping the question to the future Queen for so long, revealing he wanted to make sure she had every chance to "back out" prior to the commitment.

"Her and her family, I really want to make sure that they have the best, sort of, guidance and chance to see what life has been like - or what life is like - in the family," he told interviewer Tom Bradby at the time.

"That's kind of why I have been waiting this long as I wanted to give her a chance to see and to back out if she needed to," he added, prompting a laugh from the mom of three.

Kate admitted that she "wasn’t very happy" about the whole debacle, including their short-lived breakup, noting it "actually made me a stronger person."