Meghan Markle has been portrayed in some tabloids as weaseling her way into the royal family. But the truly strategic royal bride-to-be may have been Prince William’s wife Kate Middleton—at least according to The Crown historian Robert Lacey. In his new book Battle of Brothers: William and Harry—The Inside Story of a Family in Tumult, Lacey details the lengths Kate went to position herself as William’s best choice to marry when she was just 19. When she met him at the University of St. Andrews in 2001, Kate wasn’t supposed to be enrolled there, Lacey tells ELLE.com.