It was the moment that Kate Middleton thought it was all over – and that five years of close relationship with Prince William had come to nothing.

Catherine was 25 and working as a fashion buyer for Jigsaw when, according to author Tina Brown, her world blew up.

And it happened one spring day – in a car park

The pair had first met in 2001 at the University of St Andrews, but by 2007, with William pursuing his career in the military, they were spending more time apart.

In the Spring of 2007, Kate and William decided to break up after needing some time apart. Pictured: The couple at the Cheltenham Festival Race Meeting in March 2007

Kate pictured leaving her London home before heading off to work as a fashion buyer for Jigsaw

The Jigsaw headquarters car park where Kate received the heartbreaking call from Prince William in 2007

‘In an awful ‘let’s get it over with’ phone call in April to Kate while she was at the Jigsaw office, he dropped the break-up bomb,’ writes Brown in her best-selling Palace Papers.

‘She had to excuse herself from a meeting and pace around the parking lot for an hour-long heart-to-heart that left her in pieces.’

Jigsaw gave her compassionate leave and Kate fled back home to Bucklebury.

Fortunately, her mother, Carole, was on hand to help.

She whisked Kate off to a friend’s art show in Dublin.

Then, on their return, there was a job waiting for her compiling and editing catalogues for Party Pieces.

Her younger sister Pippa, a recent graduate from Edinburgh University, was enlisted to get Kate out on the town.

The sisters would be ‘exuding the vibes of “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”,’ according to Brown.

Kate, then 25, was determined to show everyone – and one person in particular – that she was living life to the fullest, wearing thigh-high dresses and skirts to press her point home.

Pippa and Kate Middleton attend the book launch party of ‘The Young Stalin: The Adventurous Early Life Of The Dictator’ at London in May 2007

The future queen taking part in a training session with the Sisterhood cross Channel rowing team on the River Thames in August 2007

Pippa and Kate Middleton partying the night away at Mahiki Club in London in February 2007

Kate was also invited by a close friend to join an all-women rowing team called The Sisterhood.

The 21 girls challenged all-boy’s team The Brotherhood to race across the Channel in a dragon boat for charity.

Standing at the helm, Kate cut a striking figure as the group trained three times a week on the Thames. (Although she would eventually pull out).

If the aim was to create a little jealousy in William, it appears to have worked.

By June, it started to down on William that his ex was as much of a catch as he was, suggests Brown.

‘Beautiful, self-assured and embossed now with a royal sheen, Kate could have become the wife of a duke or a billionaire in a Highgrove minute.’

Thankfully, their break-up was short-lived and the couple reconciled a few months later in June.

Reports surfaced at the time that William had reconnected with Kate at Sam Waley-Cohen’s 25th birthday party at his family’s Oxford mansion, during which they reportedly shared a passionate
kiss.

Prince William pictured leaving Mahiki Club in London with his royal detective in April 2007, shortly after his split from Kate

Prince William and his girlfriend Kate at the Central Flying School at RAF Cranwell for his RAF wings graduation ceremony in April 2008

Prince Harry, Prince William and Kate Middleton during The Concert For Diana held at Wembley Stadium, London, in July 2007

Kate was also spotted at the memorial concert for his mother, Princess Diana, at Wembley Stadium the following week.

Speaking during the couple’s engagement interview in 2010, Kate reflected on their time apart. ‘At the time I wasn’t very happy about it, but it made me a stronger person,’ she said.

‘You find out things about yourself that maybe you hadn’t realized, I think you can get quite consumed by a relationship when you are younger and I really valued that time for me, although I didn’t think it at the time.’

William also added that it was ‘just a bit of space’ as the pair were growing up.