Kate Middleton changed schools to pursue William in hopes of marrying him at just 19

From it what it seems, the royal family's actual social climber might not be Meghan Markle, but Kate Middleton. 

According to royal historian Robert Lacey, the Duchess of Cambridge plotted very strategically to cross paths with Prince William and weasel her way into the royal family.

Lacey gave an in-depth analysis in his biography Battle of Brothers on how Kate went to project herself as the top pick for William’s bride.

When she met him at the University of St. Andrews in 2001, Kate, then 19, was not supposed to be enrolled there, Lacey told Elle.

Kate was very strategic," Lacey details. “She gave up her place at one of Britain’s premier universities, Edinburgh, and opted for another one [St. Andrews] that probably didn’t have the same academic standard.

“She had already been to Edinburgh to get her flat accommodations sorted out but switched universities and switched her courses to history of art because that was William’s. She delayed her own education by a year and even takes the chance she won’t get into St. Andrews,” the royal expert adds.

The two became friends during the first semester of college. However, William did not consider Kate as more than a friend, until she walked the ramp in a sheer dress.

That was the turning point in Kate and William’s love story, Lacey said.

“She’s there and about to walk down the runway on the fashion show, and she strips off an extra layer of clothing,” Lacey explains. “Here is a very strategic lady who knows what she wants and has got it.”

After nine years of meeting her, William eventually proposed to Kate, despite breaking up twice.

"Kate eventually accepted the idea that she would have to do a long apprenticeship,” Lacey continues. “William didn’t want to marry until he was 30. She waited nine years, but, in the end, she got him at 28, so there’s another strategic accomplishment on her part—and she is proving to be an ideal heir to the throne.”