Prince Philip ‘warned William about royal curse’ before he proposed to Kate

Prince Philip reportedly issued a warning to his grandson, Prince William, before the future king popped the question to Kate Middleton.

According to royal biographer and editor Russell Myers, the former Duke of Edinburgh advised William not to rush into things too quickly and urged him to give Kate the opportunity to adjust to royal life to avoid the ‘same curse’ that plagued other marriages.

Myers claims in his new book William & Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story: ‘Philip had warned his grandson against succumbing to the same curse that saw the marriages of his own children, Charles, Anne and Andrew ending in separation and divorce, which had marked both their lives and those of his grandchildren.’

To unpack, then-Prince Charles married Princess Diana in a fairytale wedding in 1981.

However, things soon started to unravel, with incompatibility, a large age gap, intense media pressure, and rumoured mutual infidelity being the catalyst for their 1992 separation.

The pair — who shared childrenWilliam and Harry — eventually divorced in 1996.

As for Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips, they divorced in 1992 after 19 years of marriage and two children together (Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall).

The couple’s relationship officially ended in 1989 and was also dominated by rumours of infidelity. In 1991, a DNA test proved Phillips fathered a child in 1985 with New Zealand art teacher Heather Tonkin.

In terms of the disgraced former Prince Andrew and Sarah ‘Fergie’ Ferguson, the pair started dating in 1985, announced their engagement in 1986, and married the same year.

Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie were born in 1988 and 1990, respectively. The couple then separated in 1992 and officially divorced in 1996.

Side note: 1992 was a big year for royal breakups, hey? It was actually something the late Queen Elizabeth acknowledged, dubbing it ‘annus horribilis,’ which is Latin for ‘horrible year.’

But the common thread in all three relationships? All got engaged, married, and had children not long after getting together.

Achieving this trio of life ‘milestones’ so quickly was common back then — royal or not. However, Myers suggested that Prince Philip — who was famously married to Queen Elizabeth for 73 years — was ahead of his time when it came to matters of the heart.

The royal expert alleged that Prince Philip had ‘been a huge supporter’ of his grandson’s decision to ‘delay taking on full-time royal duties.’

He also ‘reportedly backed him in taking his time while he considered whether he had absolute confidence in his relationship with Catherine before making the biggest decision of his life.’

Prince William eventually proposed to Kate in 2010, nine years after they first met, and seven years after they transitioned from friends to partners.

During their engagement interview, William explained his reasoning, admitting that he wanted to allow Kate time to ‘back out.’ After all, marrying Prince William wasn’t just marrying into the royal family — it was also taking on the responsibility of being with the future monarch.

William added: ‘Her [Kate] 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.

‘That’s kind of almost why I’ve been waiting this long is that I wanted to give her a chance to see and to back out if she needed to before it all got too much.’

In the same interview, Kate respected her future husband’s honest admission, noting she was ‘so glad’ she had the time to learn the ropes and decide if a royal and public-facing life was what she truly wanted.

Fast forward 15 years, and the Prince and Princess of Wales — who now share three children, Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, seven — are still happily married.

They’re also the greatest example of a successful royal love story, according to the public. A 2026 YouGov poll confirms they are the most popular royals, with 74 to 77% of Brits having a positive opinion of them.

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