Prince William said Kate would be “in big trouble” if she lost her engagement ring
Royal engagement delights world
Prince William and girlfriend Kate Middleton have been sent congratulations from around the world after announcing their engagement.
On Tuesday, the couple, both 28, revealed they would marry next spring or summer after the prince proposed while on holiday in Kenya in October.
The prince gave her his mother Diana’s engagement ring – which he said he had carried in a rucksack for three weeks.
Prince Harry said he was delighted and that it was like gaining a sister.
The engagement has made front page headlines globally, with The Times describing the pair as “the new romantics”.
The announcement ends months of speculation for the couple, who have been together for eight years after meeting while students at St Andrews University, Fife.
Speaking in a joint television interview, Prince William said giving Kate the distinctive sapphire and diamond engagement ring was his way of keeping his mother close.
“It’s my mother’s engagement ring so I thought it was quite nice because obviously she’s not going to be around to share any of the fun and excitement of it all – this was my way of keeping her close to it all,” he said.
Jewellers say they have already had orders for copies of Miss Middleton’s engagement ring He said the timing was right for the pair but stressed that no-one was “trying to fill my mother’s shoes.”
His bride-to-be called the late princess “an inspirational woman” and said that joining the Royal Family was a “daunting prospect” but something she hoped to take in her stride.
They refused to say whether the prince proposed on one knee but Miss Middleton did say: “It was very romantic and very personal”.
Prince William said: “You hear a lot of horror stories about proposing and things going horribly wrong – it went really, really well and I was really pleased she said Yes.
He revealed he had asked Kate’s father for her hand in marriage after he had asked her, and said the pair had found it difficult to keep their big news a secret.
Analysis
We have become slightly cynical, perhaps, slightly sceptical. We all lived through the fairytale royal weddings of the 1980s and we know where they ended up.
But I know many people who are actively thinking about where they will place their picnic tables and chair once they have a date. These are occasions that people do delight in, in this country.
I don’t think William of all people wants to do a rerun of his parents’ ill-fated marriage and for that reason I think the wedding is unlikely to be in St Paul’s Cathedral.
The Guards Chapel, which was the setting for the 10th anniversary memorial service for his late mother, I suspect, may be too small, given that we are talking about the marriage of a future king.
That’s why inevitably, I suspect, the wedding will be at Westminster Abbey where, of course, his grandmother the Queen married in 1947.
“We’ve been talking about it for a long time so for us, it’s a real relief and it’s really nice to be able to tell everybody,” he said.
The two said they were looking forward to having children but planned to take everything one step at a time.
The wedding is to take place in London and the couple will then live in north Wales, where the prince, who is second in line to the throne, is serving with the RAF.
The Queen said she was absolutely delighted for them both, while Prince Charles joked, “They’ve been practising long enough.”
Miss Middleton’s parents, who run a mail-order business and are from Bucklebury, Berkshire, said they thought the pair made a “lovely couple”.
David Cameron said he had been given a note containing the news during a cabinet meeting, and that his colleagues reacted with “a great cheer”.
Labour leader Ed Miliband described the couple as “lovely”, while Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond said: “Of course, this was a match made in St Andrews”.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper also passed on his nation’s congratulations and urged the couple to visit.
Clarence House announced the news in a formal statement and via a post to the social networking site Twitter.
Prince Charles told reporters he was ”thrilled” about news of the royal wedding
Miss Middleton, who is six months older than her paramour, is the eldest child of businessman Michael Middleton and former air hostess Carol.
The couple, who shared their university accommodation with friends, were revealed to be dating in 2005 where they were photographed on the Swiss ski slopes of Klosters.
They split briefly in 2007. During the television interviews, Miss Middleton touched upon their separation and said: “I think at the time I 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.”
Bookmaker Paddy Power has made Saturday, 13 August 2011 the 3/1 favourite for the date of the royal wedding.
However anti-monarchy group Republic said taxpayers should not have to pay any money towards the event as the wedding should be a “private event”.
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