Photo Pictures Prince William and Kate Middleton Finally Announce Their Engagement
Nine years after they met in a friend’s university digs, the romance between Prince William and KateMiddleton has finally been sealed with a ring.
Yesterday’s long-awaited announcement of their engagement came after years of fevered speculation and spanned at least one very public – and for Kate at least very painful – break-up.
For a month after William proposed to Kate, offering her the same engagement ring worn by his late mother Diana, the only other person in the know was Kate’s father Michael, whose permission William went on to seek.
Owing to the couple’s intense desire for secrecy, even the Queen and Prince Charles were kept in the dark.
They were informed in a telephone call at 7.30am yesterday – just two and a half hours before the engagement was made public.
The Queen swiftly declared herself ‘delighted’ and Charles said he was ‘thrilled’, quipping: ‘They have been practising long enough.’
For his part, Prince Harry just swore in shock but later said he was delighted to be gaining a ‘sister’.
The wedding will be held next year in London, probably at Westminster Abbey, but the couple have made no firm decision on venue or date. It could even be held as early as March.
Taking it in their stride: Kate and William parade in front of the world's media
Last night in a revealing TV interview, Kate admitted how hurt she had been when the couple split in 2007. It is now clear that it was William who precipitated the split.
She told ITV: ‘I, at the time, wasn’t very happy about it but actually it made me a stronger person. You find out things about yourself that maybe you hadn’t realised.’
The couple rekindled their romance after a few months apart and, last month, William surprised Kate – or Catherine as she will now be known – with his late mother’s ring after smuggling it in his rucksack on an African safari.
The 28-year-old chose the priceless diamond-encrusted sapphire as a way of including Diana in the ‘excitement’ of his proposal.
It was, he said, a very special heirloom and Kate is ‘a very special person to me’.
‘It was my way of making sure my mother didn’t miss out on today, and the excitement and the fact that we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together.’
Another source told the Mail that while the vast cost of the event will be shouldered by the RoyalFamily, the Middletons have not yet ruled out making some sort of contribution themselves – possibly by paying for the honeymoon which is likely to be in the Seychelles.
Kate admitted yesterday that she was overwhelmed by the prospect of marrying into one of the most famous – and notoriously dysfunctional – families in the world. ‘It’s quite a daunting prospect but hopefully I’ll take it in my stride and William’s a great teacher so hopefully he’ll be able to help me along the way,’ she said.
Asked about the prince’s late mother, she described Diana as an ‘inspiration’ and said she would have loved to have met her.
If Kate was admitting to nerves, her parents were displaying none. Former air hostess CaroleMiddleton, who has since created a multi-million-pound fortune from her firm which sells children’s party goods, looked nervous but casual in tight-fitting jeans.
In a statement delivered outside their sprawling detached home in Bucklebury, Berkshire, her husband Michael said: ‘I would just like to say that Carole and I are absolutely delighted by today’s announcement and thrilled at the prospect of a wedding some time next year.’
It is understood that Kate favours the idea of being a stay-at-home RAF wife but will take on a small number of royal patronages.
William is based at RAF Valley on Anglesey, where he is working as a Sea King search-and-rescue pilot.
The couple plan to live on the island for the first years of their marriage, in a relatively modest £750-a-month rented farmhouse.
They admit that while they do not plan to have children immediately, the prospect is part of their immediate future.
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1330340/Royal-Wedding-Prince-William-Kate-Middleton-engaged-marry-2011.html
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Nine years after they met in a friend’s university digs, the romance between Prince William and KateMiddleton has finally been sealed with a ring.
Yesterday’s long-awaited announcement of their engagement came after years of fevered speculation and spanned at least one very public – and for Kate at least very painful – break-up.
For a month after William proposed to Kate, offering her the same engagement ring worn by his late mother Diana, the only other person in the know was Kate’s father Michael, whose permission William went on to seek.
Owing to the couple’s intense desire for secrecy, even the Queen and Prince Charles were kept in the dark.
They were informed in a telephone call at 7.30am yesterday – just two and a half hours before the engagement was made public.
The Queen swiftly declared herself ‘delighted’ and Charles said he was ‘thrilled’, quipping: ‘They have been practising long enough.’
For his part, Prince Harry just swore in shock but later said he was delighted to be gaining a ‘sister’.
The wedding will be held next year in London, probably at Westminster Abbey, but the couple have made no firm decision on venue or date. It could even be held as early as March.
Taking it in their stride: Kate and William parade in front of the world's media
Last night in a revealing TV interview, Kate admitted how hurt she had been when the couple split in 2007. It is now clear that it was William who precipitated the split.
She told ITV: ‘I, at the time, wasn’t very happy about it but actually it made me a stronger person. You find out things about yourself that maybe you hadn’t realised.’
The couple rekindled their romance after a few months apart and, last month, William surprised Kate – or Catherine as she will now be known – with his late mother’s ring after smuggling it in his rucksack on an African safari.
The 28-year-old chose the priceless diamond-encrusted sapphire as a way of including Diana in the ‘excitement’ of his proposal.
It was, he said, a very special heirloom and Kate is ‘a very special person to me’.
‘It was my way of making sure my mother didn’t miss out on today, and the excitement and the fact that we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together.’
Another source told the Mail that while the vast cost of the event will be shouldered by the RoyalFamily, the Middletons have not yet ruled out making some sort of contribution themselves – possibly by paying for the honeymoon which is likely to be in the Seychelles.
Kate admitted yesterday that she was overwhelmed by the prospect of marrying into one of the most famous – and notoriously dysfunctional – families in the world. ‘It’s quite a daunting prospect but hopefully I’ll take it in my stride and William’s a great teacher so hopefully he’ll be able to help me along the way,’ she said.
Asked about the prince’s late mother, she described Diana as an ‘inspiration’ and said she would have loved to have met her.
If Kate was admitting to nerves, her parents were displaying none. Former air hostess CaroleMiddleton, who has since created a multi-million-pound fortune from her firm which sells children’s party goods, looked nervous but casual in tight-fitting jeans.
In a statement delivered outside their sprawling detached home in Bucklebury, Berkshire, her husband Michael said: ‘I would just like to say that Carole and I are absolutely delighted by today’s announcement and thrilled at the prospect of a wedding some time next year.’
It is understood that Kate favours the idea of being a stay-at-home RAF wife but will take on a small number of royal patronages.
William is based at RAF Valley on Anglesey, where he is working as a Sea King search-and-rescue pilot.
The couple plan to live on the island for the first years of their marriage, in a relatively modest £750-a-month rented farmhouse.
They admit that while they do not plan to have children immediately, the prospect is part of their immediate future.
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1330340/Royal-Wedding-Prince-William-Kate-Middleton-engaged-marry-2011.html
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