Why 4 of Prince William's Ex-Girlfriends Attended His Royal Wedding to Kate Middleton

Kate Middleton married Prince William in a fairytale royal wedding at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011. While Queen Elizabeth reportedly "disapproved" of William and Kate's carriage choice, the couple apparently threw a secret wedding after-party with a surprising theme. And according to the Daily Mail, Prince William invited 4 of his ex-girlfriends to his royal nuptials, which is likely to surprise many people.

The outlet reported that the Prince of Wales "invited his 4 serious former partners." William's exes who were lucky enough to secure invites to the royal wedding were Isabella Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe, Arabella Musgrave, Rose Farquhar, and Jecca Craig.

According to the Daily Mail, William was linked to Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe in 2004, although it's unclear how serious their romantic connection was. The outlet reported that Musgrave and Prince William allegedly dated one another before the royal moved away to study at the University of St Andrews. Farquhar was allegedly William's very first girlfriend, while Craig was reportedly "William's first true love and one of his closest friends," the outlet explained.

Obviously, most people prefer not to have their exes in attendance when they tie the knot with someone else. William and Kate approached the topic rather differently, however. In fact, "Kate invited both of her ex-boyfriends," the Daily Mail noted. "Rupert Finch, whom she dated at St Andrews before she started seeing William, and her Marlborough friend Willem Marx, with whom she was rumored to have had a relationship."

Hilariously, the Daily Mail explained the reasoning behind William and Kate's decision to invite their former partners. "The slew of exes were not invited so that the royal couple could awkwardly make eye contact with them as they walked down the aisle," the outlet reported.

Instead, Kate and William's exes reportedly got the prestigious wedding invite "due to a more peculiar upper class British tradition." As the outlet reported, "the Royal Family follows rules of etiquette established hundreds of years ago, which state that inviting exes is okay."

In 2011, Town Country correspondent William Norwich told The New York Times, "I think it is one of the determining details of the upper-class species that they keep friendly with their exes, once the pain of the breakup heals...It is custom of the class. Sustaining hostilities is too down-market."

As the Daily Mail reported, "The social circles of the Royal Family are small and for better or worse, exes in their society are expected to get along. Or act as if they do, anyway."