{"id":471296,"date":"2025-10-03T14:35:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T14:35:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/471296\/"},"modified":"2025-10-03T14:35:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T14:35:16","slug":"prince-williams-proposal-to-kate-middleton-15-years-later-excl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/471296\/","title":{"rendered":"Prince William’s Proposal to Kate Middleton 15 Years Later (Excl)"},"content":{"rendered":"

For a couple whose relationship had been so very public, Prince William<\/strong><\/a> and Princess Kate Middleton<\/strong><\/a> were able to keep their October 20, 2010, engagement private \u2014 for nearly a month. It helped that it happened on another continent.<\/p>\n

While holidaying with friends for a few weeks at Kenya\u2019s Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, he took his love up to a log cabin on Mount Kenya, where he got down on one knee and presented her with his late mother Princess Diana<\/strong>\u2019s engagement ring.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a true romantic in there,\u201d Kate later said.\n<\/p>\n

Who Was Involved<\/p>\n

Only the most recognizable couple in the world. William and Kate, each now 43, met in 2001 at Scotland\u2019s University of St Andrews \u2014 \u201cnot the norm,\u201d royal historian Marlene Koenig<\/strong> told Us Weekly exclusively, but it ended up being \u201ca more natural way to get to know each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the story goes, their friendship turned into something more after he saw her in a sheer dress at a charity fashion show! (The piece wouldn\u2019t even qualify as nearly nude today.)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Prince
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\n Related: Prince William and Kate Middleton\u2019s Relationship Timeline<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tThe world watched in awe as Prince William and Princess Kate wed at Westminster Abbey in London on April 29, 2011, and years later, commoners still stand impressed with the couple. Though they didn\u2019t tie the knot until 2011, Kate and William first met 10 years prior while studying history at Scotland\u2019s University of St [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n

Why We Remember It<\/p>\n

We\u2019d waited so long!<\/p>\n

\u201cHis parents\u2019 marriage failed, one reason being that [now-King] Charles and Diana never got to know each other,\u201d Koenig explained. \u201cHe did not want to fail.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the engagement was officially announced on November 16, 2010, William explained further in an interview: \u201cI wanted to give [Kate] a chance to see in and to back out if she needed to before it all got too much. I\u2019m trying to learn from lessons done in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

And for excited royal watchers, the engagement signaled the pomp and circumstance of a wedding \u2014 the first since Prince Edward<\/strong> married Sophie Rhys-Jones<\/strong> in 1999.<\/p>\n

Key Details<\/p>\n

William\u2019s choice of Diana\u2019s ring \u2014 a 2-carat Ceylon sapphire surrounded by 14 solitaire diamonds \u2014 tugged at heartstrings, especially since he\u2019d carried it in his backpack for a few weeks, waiting for the right time.<\/p>\n

\"TakeArthur Edwards \u2013 WPA Pool\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of the focus was, naturally, on the ring,\u201d Samir Hussein<\/strong> told Us of photographing the official engagement announcement. \u201cIt seemed to give Catherine something to anchor herself to, a tangible focus amidst what must have been an overwhelming amount of attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Aftermath<\/p>\n

Reaction to the news was overwhelmingly positive.<\/p>\n

\u201cFront-page, breaking news around the world,\u201d Koenig summarized for Us. \u201cJoy because William and Kate were finally getting married. [And] no scandals with this relationship. William and Catherine\u2019s wedding would be a grand occasion, but on their own terms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Remembering \u201ca real buzz in the air,\u201d Hussein noted, \u201cThis wasn\u2019t just about a royal engagement \u2014 it felt like a new dawn for the royal family. Everyone there knew they were witnessing the start of something historic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Duchess
\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

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\n Related: Princess Kate Through the Years: From Commoner to Future Queen Consort<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tPrincess Kate made her way through the ranks of the royal family, quickly transforming from a commoner into the future queen consort of England. The Princess of Wales met her future husband, Prince William, in college, and the couple tied the knot in 2011 after nearly a decade together. They went on to welcome son [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n

A New Perspective<\/p>\n

After confessing, \u201cI don\u2019t know the ropes, really\u201d after the engagement, Kate has settled comfortably \u2014 even admirably \u2014 into her role in the royal family and her place in history.<\/p>\n

Former royal butler<\/a> Grant Harrold<\/strong> told Us the now-Princess of Wales has brought a \u201cbreath of fresh air\u201d to the House of Windsor. And as she gears up for her future role as queen consort to William, who will succeed his father, Charles, she is learning by example from Queen Camilla<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\t\tThank You!<\/p>\n

You have successfully subscribed.<\/p>\n

\"TakeJohn Stillwell \u2013 WPA\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cHer interest in early education, the environment, the arts will have a greater profile,\u201d Koenig said of Kate.<\/p>\n

Where Are They Now?<\/p>\n

William and Kate walked down the aisle<\/a> on April 29, 2011 \u2014 yes, it was spectacular! \u2014 and soon gave Us the delightful Prince George<\/strong>, now 12, Princess Charlotte<\/strong>, 10, and Prince Louis<\/strong>, 7.<\/p>\n

Kate also battled cancer last year<\/a> and is now in remission, giving a happy ending to another chapter in this fairy tale.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For a couple whose relationship had been so very public, Prince William and Princess Kate Middleton were able…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":471297,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7708],"tags":[7709,7714,7713,4082,2915,533,12,2832,532,2831,7710,519,14066,7711,7712],"class_list":{"0":"post-471296","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-royals","8":"tag-british-royal-family","9":"tag-catherine","10":"tag-catherine-middleton","11":"tag-celebrity-news","12":"tag-exclusive","13":"tag-kate-middleton","14":"tag-news","15":"tag-prince-of-wales","16":"tag-prince-william","17":"tag-princess-of-wales","18":"tag-royal-families","19":"tag-royal-family","20":"tag-the-royals","21":"tag-uk-royal-family","22":"tag-william"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115310738504314463","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=471296"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471296\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/471297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=471296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=471296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=471296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}