‘Knives were out for Kate’

It’s Kate Middleton’s time to shine.

Part II of the sixth and final season of “The Crown,” debuting on Dec. 14, will put the spotlight on the Prince and Princess of Wales’s love story. The series stars Ed McVey as Prince William and Meg Bellamy as Middleton.

The Netflix show sparked headlines in late November when the streaming giant released shots of Bellamy in a scene wearing the lingerie-style dress that the princess wore at a fashion show during her university years. According to multiple reports, the daring look caught the prince’s eyes and the two pals quickly became romantic interests.

‘THE CROWN’ RECREATES KATE MIDDLETON’S SEE-THROUGH FASHION SHOW DRESS THAT INTRIGUED PRINCE WILLIAM

The rest is royal history.

“[The couple’s] love story is really epic in its own way,” Christopher Andersen, author of “William and Kate: A Royal Love Story,” told Fox News Digital. “It really signifies the royal family’s leap from the 20th century into the new millennium. As I pointed out in my book, Kate is a transformative figure: a descendant of coal miners whose mother grew up in public housing and worked as a flight attendant before starting her own children’s party planning business at home.”

“The press went crazy, just as it had when Charles started dating Diana,” said Andersen. “Kate handled all the pressure with amazing strength, calm and grace. William, meanwhile, was having nightmares that the woman he loved might meet the same terrible fate Diana did.”

“So many women have fallen victim to palace intrigue, and from the beginning, knives were out for Kate; many high-place aristocrats and their handlers did not want to see the future King of England involved in a serious romance with a middle-class commoner, no matter how intelligent, beautiful or capable she was.”

The couple first met while studying at St. Andrews University in Scotland. In the couple’s 2010 engagement interview, Middleton admitted that due to her shyness, it took some time for the pair to get to know each other. As they spent more time together, they became “very close friends.”

But it was during the college fashion show in 2002, “The Art of Seduction,” that their relationship reportedly took a turn. For the runway, Middleton modeled a see-through frock paired with a black bra and matching underwear. That year, she and William moved in together with friends.

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“When Kate moved into the dorm, known as ‘Sally’s’ she was honored as the ‘Prettiest Girl at Sally’s in Freshers Week,’ meaning ‘Freshman Week,’” British royals expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital.

“William played water polo and would train for the swimming component in the Old Course Hotel pool, the same pool where Kate would swim many mornings,” she shared. “It was there that their athletic instincts were apparent to each other. … They knew the other was health conscious, an attribute they have in common.”

In 2003, they got their own place. Fordwich pointed out they lived a seemingly normal life as a couple. They went to pubs together, ordered take-out during cozy nights in, and Middleton even cooked for her beau.

After keeping their relationship under wraps for about a year, they went public in 2004 – and the pressure was on for the newcomer.

“It is nothing short of astounding to think that this young woman, this absolute outsider with no particular pedigree, would be more savvy than people brought up inside palace walls when it came to handling the press,” Andersen shared. “She was even more adept at navigating the treacherous waters of the monarchy.”

The couple split in 2007. According to Andersen’s book, it was the former Prince Charles who told his son to break up with Middleton after William allegedly told him he wasn’t ready to commit. Charles, who had grown fond of Middleton, was allegedly worried that William was stringing her along.

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“There is plenty of drama here; the courtship of William and Kate was anything but smooth going,” Andersen told Fox News Digital. “There were obstacles in the road, hairpin turns, even a brief exit when, at Charles’s incredibly clueless suggestion, William broke up with Kate after they had been together for five years.”

William later told ITV that he and Middleton split because they were both “very young” and still “trying to find our own way.”

“We were growing up,” he added.

The couple’s time apart didn’t last for long. The pair got back together in 2007. Many wondered when William would pop the question. Middleton would be nicknamed “Waity Katie” by the press because they felt she was waiting a long time for a marriage proposal.

“What I remember [from] the on-and-off courtship was I thought William was dithering around with Kate, whom he first really admired on the catwalk,” former royal photographer Ian Pelham Turner told Fox News Digital. “And, like all couples, there were rumors of rows.”

Pelham Turner noted that during their breakup, Middleton quietly studied photography.

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“That is why she takes many of the official family photographs now,” he said. “It was thought she would have settled to become a photographer if she had not married William.”

William proposed in late 2010. And in 2011, they married at London’s Westminster Abbey. William’s younger brother, Prince Harry, served as the best man. The Prince and Princess of Wales are now parents to three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

William, 41, is next in line to the throne.

“There are those who see Kate as ambitious and even perhaps scheming, as someone who really plotted from the beginning to land a prince,” said Andersen. “My feeling is that, if you’re going to set your sights on someone, you might as well make it a future king. Besides, no one has seriously questioned Kate’s genuine love for William or, frankly, that despite one or two rumors of dalliances, Kate is unquestionably the most important person in his life.”

Helena Chard, royal photographer and broadcaster, told Fox News Digital that the last episodes of “The Crown” will offer “light and joy” to the royal drama.

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“There will be elements of Prince William getting cold feet, but who wouldn’t with the whole world’s media clawing for snippets of the couple’s life from 2004?” she explained. “Kate’s superpower is her strength and love for Prince William and the fact the media dubbed Catherine as ‘Waity Katie’ due to the amount of time she waited for an engagement ring highlights that duration she has enjoyed becoming the well-respected royal that she is today.”

“One of the highlights of my royal photography career is … Prince William and Kate Middleton’s magical happy wedding day,” Chard reflected. “If Netflix sprinkles some of the joy the world felt on this special day into the remainder of ‘The Crown,’ they may redeem themselves from the previous episodes of season 6.”

“‘The Crown’ will not damage the Prince and Princess of Wales’s reputation. In fact, it will keep them in the limelight,” she added.