LONDON >> Prince William and Kate Middleton met when they were students at St Andrews University, in Scotland, from 2001 to 2005. Here is a timeline of their romance:

—September 2001. Prince William and Kate Middleton meet at St Andrews University in Scotland, where they are both studying art history.

They have rooms close to each other in student halls of residence.

When William struggles with university life, Kate persuades him to stay on. William later switches to geography.

—March 2002. William pays 200 pounds (about $325) for a charity ticket to watch Middleton modeling a see-through dress over a black bra and bikini bottoms, an event said to have sparked the romance.

The dress, made by a fellow student for 30 pounds (about $50), was sold at auction in March this year for a staggering 78,000 pounds (about $127,000).

—April 2002. William and Kate go flat-hunting together to find a house for their second year. They move into a student house with two other friends in September. Kate is dating another student.

—May 2003. William and Kate are pictured deep in conversation at a rugby match.

—June 2003. Kate attends William’s 21st birthday party at Windsor Castle.

—September 2003. William, Kate and their two flatmates move into a cottage for their third year of university. William and Kate become an "item" around Christmas 2003.

—March 2004. The romance becomes public with official pictures of William and Kate on the ski slopes of Klosters, Switzerland. There is no denial of a romance.

—June 2005. William and Kate graduate in the same ceremony at St Andrews University and attend the celebratory lunch together joined by their families.

—July 2005. The pair enjoy a romantic holiday at the Lewa Downs game reserve in Kenya, owned by the parents of Jecca Craig, a friend of William’s for many years.

—October 2005. Kate’s lawyers ask newspaper editors to leave her alone, claiming she is being hounded by photographers.

—January 2006. William is photographed kissing Kate in public for the first time during a skiing break in Klosters. William begins his army training at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.

—March 2006. Kate is invited into the Royal Box at the Cheltenham Gold Cup horse race.

—April 2006. The pair holiday on the Caribbean hideaway island of Mustique. They are photographed on a yacht together.

—May 2006. William and Kate attend the wedding of the prince’s stepsister, Laura Parker Bowles, the daughter of Camilla, the wife of Prince Charles.

—August 2006. William and Kate take a holiday in Ibiza ahead of William’s final term at Sandhurst.

—December 2006. Kate makes her most significant appearance yet as she attends William’s passing-out parade, a ceremony to mark his completion of basis training, at Sandhurst, along with her parents.

—January 2007. Kate’s lawyers warn newspaper editors to stop using paparazzi pictures of her after she is confronted with a media scrum outside her flat in London on her 25th birthday.

—March 2007. William starts Army training at Bovington Camp, Dorset, while Kate continues to live in London. Kate makes her first official complaint to the Press Complaints Commission over alleged media harassment.

—April 2007. William and Kate are confirmed to have split, with his move to the army camp given as a reason for the "mutual" decision.

—June 2007. They are seen together kissing and dancing at an army party.

—July 2007. Kate joins William at a memorial concert in honor of his mother, the late Princess Diana, confirming that the relationship is back on track.

—October 2007. Kate joins William at Balmoral Castle in Scotland for a private weekend with Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla.

—April 2008. Kate appears at William’s side at his graduation ceremony from the Royal Air Force, suggesting the couple’s relationship is now permanent and that she has gained the approval of senior royals.

—June 2008. Kate attends the Order of the Garter service at Windsor Castle in which William is taking part. It is the first time she has appeared at a formal and official royal public occasion.

—June 2008. William marks his 26th birthday by playing in a charity polo match, with his brother, Harry, and Kate watching.

—December 2008. The couple holiday at the royal retreat of Birkhall, on the queen’s Balmoral estate in Scotland.

—May 2009. The couple are pictured together for the first time in five months after being spotted at a polo match.

—December 2009. The queen’s lawyers warn newspapers against publishing paparazzi photos of the royal family, fueling speculation William and Kate are to wed.

—January 2010. The pair take a New Year break at Birkhall. Two weeks later, Kate attends William’s graduation as a helicopter pilot.

—March 2010. The couple holiday with Kate’s family on the slopes of Courchevel, France.

—October 2010. Kate and William are photographed attending the wedding of a friend.

—November 2010. The couple’s engagement is announced. A week later, the wedding date is set for April 29, 2011.