ahamednishadh
04-14-2007, 09:33 PM
Future king Prince William and his long-term girlfriend Kate Middleton have parted.
The couple, who were widely tipped to marry, decided to split earlier this week, but separated amicably with no one else involved, a source said.
William, 24, and 25-year-old Kate, who had been together for several years, had faced huge pressures in the public spotlight, with Kate looking likely to one day be Queen.
A "close friend" of the Prince and Miss Middleton told The Sun newspaper: "As far as Kate is concerned, William simply hasn't been paying her enough attention.
"She is stuck in London while he is living in an officer's mess in Dorset. Kate feels hugely frustrated that their relationship just seems to be going backwards at a rate of knots."
A source confirmed the relationship had broken down, adding simply: "That's life."
William passed out from Sandhurst as an Army officer last December and started his training to be a armoured troop commander in Camp Bovington, Dorset, on March 16, leaving the couple seeing each other no more than once a week.
Kate has endured intense media interest and recently made her first official complaint about harassment to the Press Complaints Commission over an image that appeared of her in the Daily Mirror. She settled the matter after the paper apologised.
On her birthday in January, she faced a media scrum outside her London flat on her way to work and her lawyers said she was being followed on a daily basis.
News of the split will merely intensify the focus on Miss Middleton, who will be left without the security she enjoyed when out on the town with William and his accompanying police protection officers.
With the Prince now back on the market as one of the world's most eligible bachelor, there will be immense press interest on who will be the next woman to catch his eye.
Speculation had mounted that Kate, who works as an accessories buyer for Jigsaw, would be the one he would marry after she attended his graduation parade at Sandhurst in December.
It was the first time she had attended such a high profile event where the Queen and other senior members of the family were present.
But with news of their split, royal fans' hopes for a William and Kate wedding have been dashed.
Clarence House refused to discuss the matter. A spokesman for the Prince said: "We don't comment on Prince William's private life."
Meanwhile, psychologist Dr Linda Papadopoulos said Prince William and Miss Middleton must have been under "horrible" pressure from constant public scrutiny.
"They've been scrutinised constantly, comments made, editorials written about a relationship they themselves are probably trying to figure out," Dr Papadopoulos said.
"Most people at that age are thinking about things like, we need to look for a mortgage, but she's got MI5 helping her with bodyguards, and when they look into the future, it must be surreal, particularly for her, as he at least has been born into it.
"We talk about how difficult it is for people who become a celebrity overnight, but for her, it was worse. It wasn't what she was looking for, she just fell in love with a boy she met at college."
Dr Papadopoulos said the couple met during their formative adult years.
"People are working out what they want from life, where they are going, who they are, and it is not surprising if one road diverges rather than converges with their partner.
"Five years later, it may have had a different outcome."
Dr Papadopoulos said that when people meet at a young age, "they wonder how much they are in love, and they wonder if they should have fooled around more".
"Also they are not able to step away from it and look at it. A lot of people break up and then get back together, but the idea of them getting back together...
"Already they will be reading hundreds and hundreds of stories about them breaking up."
Dr Papadopoulos thought William would be able to cope better in future.
"The difference will be that he personally will be more used to this, he will be more used to handling the pressure.
"And the girlfriend may be older than Kate herself, and will have had a chance to figure out who she is."
The couple, who were widely tipped to marry, decided to split earlier this week, but separated amicably with no one else involved, a source said.
William, 24, and 25-year-old Kate, who had been together for several years, had faced huge pressures in the public spotlight, with Kate looking likely to one day be Queen.
A "close friend" of the Prince and Miss Middleton told The Sun newspaper: "As far as Kate is concerned, William simply hasn't been paying her enough attention.
"She is stuck in London while he is living in an officer's mess in Dorset. Kate feels hugely frustrated that their relationship just seems to be going backwards at a rate of knots."
A source confirmed the relationship had broken down, adding simply: "That's life."
William passed out from Sandhurst as an Army officer last December and started his training to be a armoured troop commander in Camp Bovington, Dorset, on March 16, leaving the couple seeing each other no more than once a week.
Kate has endured intense media interest and recently made her first official complaint about harassment to the Press Complaints Commission over an image that appeared of her in the Daily Mirror. She settled the matter after the paper apologised.
On her birthday in January, she faced a media scrum outside her London flat on her way to work and her lawyers said she was being followed on a daily basis.
News of the split will merely intensify the focus on Miss Middleton, who will be left without the security she enjoyed when out on the town with William and his accompanying police protection officers.
With the Prince now back on the market as one of the world's most eligible bachelor, there will be immense press interest on who will be the next woman to catch his eye.
Speculation had mounted that Kate, who works as an accessories buyer for Jigsaw, would be the one he would marry after she attended his graduation parade at Sandhurst in December.
It was the first time she had attended such a high profile event where the Queen and other senior members of the family were present.
But with news of their split, royal fans' hopes for a William and Kate wedding have been dashed.
Clarence House refused to discuss the matter. A spokesman for the Prince said: "We don't comment on Prince William's private life."
Meanwhile, psychologist Dr Linda Papadopoulos said Prince William and Miss Middleton must have been under "horrible" pressure from constant public scrutiny.
"They've been scrutinised constantly, comments made, editorials written about a relationship they themselves are probably trying to figure out," Dr Papadopoulos said.
"Most people at that age are thinking about things like, we need to look for a mortgage, but she's got MI5 helping her with bodyguards, and when they look into the future, it must be surreal, particularly for her, as he at least has been born into it.
"We talk about how difficult it is for people who become a celebrity overnight, but for her, it was worse. It wasn't what she was looking for, she just fell in love with a boy she met at college."
Dr Papadopoulos said the couple met during their formative adult years.
"People are working out what they want from life, where they are going, who they are, and it is not surprising if one road diverges rather than converges with their partner.
"Five years later, it may have had a different outcome."
Dr Papadopoulos said that when people meet at a young age, "they wonder how much they are in love, and they wonder if they should have fooled around more".
"Also they are not able to step away from it and look at it. A lot of people break up and then get back together, but the idea of them getting back together...
"Already they will be reading hundreds and hundreds of stories about them breaking up."
Dr Papadopoulos thought William would be able to cope better in future.
"The difference will be that he personally will be more used to this, he will be more used to handling the pressure.
"And the girlfriend may be older than Kate herself, and will have had a chance to figure out who she is."