Kate Middleton almost unrecognisable as never-before-seen throwback photo emerges

The Princess of Wales can be seen smiling with her brown curly hair resting on her shoulders in a previously unseen snap taken when she was a student at St Andrews University

A former university pal of the Princess of Wales has shared a never-before-seen throwback photo of her.

The candid snap shows Kate during her time as a student at St Andrews University in Scotland at a flat party with Laura Warshauer - one of her fellow students. The pair can be seen looking at the camera holding brownies with Kate wearing her long brown hair in tight natural curls that rest on her shoulders.

It's unclear exactly when the photo was taken, but it seems to have been during a party on Hope Street in St Andrews, where Kate and Prince William lived in the town, where they struck up their romance over 20 years ago.

Sharing the photo, Laura wrote on Instagram : "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."

Laura, a singer-songwriter from New Jersey, has spoken out before about going to university with the now-royal couple. She said there were often "small moments" between the couple that proved they would go the distance.

She once described how William "always paying attention" to Kate whenever she was in the room. She also struck up a friendship with the prince, who she called "Will Wales."

She previously told People: "Whenever Kate was in the room, Will was obviously paying attention to her. When we'd be sitting at lunch in the dining hall and the two of them would be talking, it was amazing to see how natural it was, how they had so much to say to each other. Looking back, there were all these small moments—certainly moments where I was like, 'Wow, this could really be something'."

Laura has also previously spoken about her student life, adding William regularly paid her visits to ask for biscuits and Kate liked to sit on her bed and play guitar. Just yesterday, William paid a heartfelt tribute to Kate, who has just finished eight months of chemotherapy treatment for cancer, saying: "She's been amazing this whole year." It came as he prepared to host the Earthshot Prize Awards in Cape Town last night.

In an interview with British media, William spoke of his love for Africa and thanked South Africans for their "exuberance and energy" in hosting the fourth annual awards. William spoke of his desire to focus on the next generation - especially Gen-Z - and said he is working on the basics of environmentalism with his children, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine and Prince Louis, five.

He said: "You know, every family tries to do what they can to sort of help with the environment. We go through all the basics of recycling and making sure we minimise water use and turning off lights when we leave the house and stuff like that, and making sure, which is sensible in what we do around the environment. And I think every family has these conversations. You just try to do what you can."

Paying tribute to his wife, the Princess of Wales, who has taken a leave of absence from the start of the year when she was hospitalised after abdominal surgery and later diagnosed with cancer, William said she would be watching the awards with interest from the family home in Windsor. When asked how the Princess was doing, the future king said: "She's doing really well thanks. And hopefully, she is watching tonight, so cheering me on. She's been amazing this whole year. I know she will be really keen to see tonight be a success."