Kate's uni friend shares unseen picture of the royal at a flat party

The Princess of Wales' former university friend has shared an unseen photo of the 'caring and down-to-earth' royal during her studies at St Andrews.

The royal mother-of-three, 42, met her future husband Prince William in 2001 during their first week as Psychology students at the Scottish university - before she later switched to an Art History degree.

Earlier this year, Laura Warshaur - who was placed in the same halls as the royal - shared a photo from a flat party on Hope Street, where the Prince and Princess of Wales lived in their second year.

For the party, which was presumably taken during their second year, the Princess of Wales wore a cream turtleneck jumper and embraced her natural curls.

The royal kept her makeup minimal and was pictured wearing a touch of brown eyeshadow and blush.

What's more, Kate's accessories were equally understated - consisting of a pair of pearl stud earrings and a thin blue hair scrunchie on her wrist. 

In the undated image, the Princess and Laura - who was wearing a black V-neck jumper - were pictured holding brownie bites and smiling for the camera.

Laura shared the image to show her support for the Princess of Wales when she was still undergoing cancer treatment - but caught the attention of royal fan accounts this week.

In the caption, the Princess' former university peer - who is now a singer-songwriter - wrote: 'Sending love to Kate Middleton, the future Queen of England and my university dormmate!

'This was us at a Hope Street flat party. I have the loveliest college memories with Kate. 

'She is the kindest, most caring, down-to-earth, genuine person, and it’s incredible to see her shining so brightly and inspiring the world with her compassion and courage.'

One fan gushed: 'Neither of you have changed much, so gorgeous!!!!'

Another added: 'No way, most unexpected duo EVER.' 

In 2011, Laura told the Mail that she lived in St Salvator’s Hall during the royal couple's first year at St Andrews University, and watched them fall in love. 

The singer - who returned to the US after graduation - said the couple had instant chemistry and had fallen for each other months before the now well-documented fashion show in March 2002 when William saw Kate modelling a see-through slip and described her as ‘hot’. 

She explained: 'One of my favourite memories was in November of [first] year and we were invited to a Harry Potter party at this castle.

‘We all got on a big bus to go there and I remember Kate and William dancing together all night.

‘There was a charity auction where you could bid for the person for the day and Will paid £200 for Kate. She was dressed in school uniform and was stood on these stone steps with us all below.

‘No one else was winning Kate that night. They already had that connection.’

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Laura, who has since lost touch with the couple, added that all their friends expected the pair to end up together. ‘They always had such natural chemistry and it was obvious that Will had his eye on Kate,’ she said.

‘I remember a college party with Will and Kate very early on during freshman year.

‘A girl went over to Will and wouldn’t leave him alone. She was trying to entice him, and was being relentless. He was being very polite to her, but at the same time, it was obvious he wished she would leave him alone.

‘A group of us were standing around watching all this unfold and wondering how to help Will out of this awkward situation.

‘Suddenly, Kate just walked up to Will in the most natural way and put her arms around him.

‘It gave Will the opportunity to turn to the other girl and say, “I’m sorry, I have a girlfriend,” while gesturing towards Kate.

‘Will then turned to Kate and mouthed in an exaggerated way, “Thank you”. She was the only girl in the room who could have pulled that off so effortlessly.’

This morning, Prince William gave an update on the Princess' health following her tough year of cancer treatment. 

Speaking to members of the public in Cape Town, the Prince of Wales said his wife has been 'amazing' in the wake of her diagnosis.

He said: 'She's doing really well thanks. And… hopefully she is watching [the Earthshot Prize] tonight. 

'So cheering me on. She's been she's been amazing this whole this whole year. I know she will be really keen to see tonight be a success.'

In September, it was revealed the Princess had hosted her first official work meeting in more than nine months as she began her measured return to public duties.