SPECIAL MOMENT! THE DETAILS OF WILLIAM’S MARRIAGE PROPOSAL TO CATHERINE HAVE BEEN REVEALED
Original marriage proposals are becoming increasingly popular. It seems that getting down on one knee, holding out a box with a ring and saying “Marry me” doesn’t seem so interesting anymore. However, Prince William of Wales has come up with an original way to propose to Princess Catherine of Wales.
Prince William and Princess Catherine have been married for 12 years. Their love story can truly be called a great one. Since they first met, they have undergone a transformation from student lovers to the Dukes of Cambridge. And now they are the Prince and Princess of Wales.
William revealed details of the day he decided to ask for Catherine’s hand in marriage.
It turns out that everything happened during their student trip to Kenya. William asked Catherine an important question while walking by Lake Rotundu. According to him, they didn’t have much time alone together, so he decided it was the right moment. Shortly before this moment, they had discussed marriage, so it wasn’t a big surprise to her. The prince found a picturesque place in Kenya and proposed to marry him.
But why exactly in that place? It turns out that Africa holds a special place in the heart of Prince William of Wales. It is where he and his father and younger brother spent time after his mother’s death. William admitted that Africa holds a special place in his heart. This is where Prince Charles brought Prince William and Prince Harry shortly after the death of Princess Diana. According to William, when deciding where best to propose marriage, he couldn’t think of a better place than Kenya to get down on one knee. According to the prince, at that moment he felt the invisible presence of his mother, the late Princess Diana. As William said, this place is dear to him and Catherine is very dear to him. In his words, he brought them together. It was his way of making sure his mum wouldn’t miss the engagement.
Recall, the couple met in 2001 at St James’s University, where Catherine and William studied together. A year later, they began to meet and live together. In the summer of 2004, the couple separated for a few months. William made a marriage proposal in autumn 2010, giving Catherine the ring of his mother Princess Diana. And on 29 April 2011, the couple played the wedding.
William had to broker a deal to give Kate his mother’s engagement ring.
When it came time to select the ring, William knew from the start he wanted Kate to have his mother’s iconic sapphire and diamond engagement ring, which required a conversation with Prince Harry. When Princess Diana died, the boys, then 15 and 12, asked to choose something that belonged to their mother as a special memento, as Diana’s butler, Paul Burrell, revealed in the 2017 Amazon documentary The Diana Story. Harry chose Diana’s engagement ring, while William selected her gold Cartier watch. With no plans to marry in the foreseeable future, Harry agreed to swap with his brother. The prince also required Queen Elizabeth’s permission to remove the ring from the safe where the family’s jewelry was kept. Her Majesty was thrilled William was finally going to marry Kate and gave her blessing immediately.
William later revealed the surprising place he had kept the £250,000 ($500,000) bauble in the couple’s first joint interview with the BBC. “I had been carrying it around with me in my rucksack for about three weeks before [proposing],” he said. “Everywhere I went, I was keeping ahold of it, cause I knew if this thing disappeared, I’d be in a lot of trouble.” And for more on what happened to Diana’s watch, check out Meghan Markle’s Gold Cartier Watch Once Belonged to Princess Diana.
The prince took Kate to Africa and waited until the last day of the trip to pop the question.
William asked for Michael Middleton’s permission to marry his daughter—and swore him to secrecy.
When the newly engaged couple returned from Africa, they decided to keep their news secret for the time being. William arranged for Kate’s parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, to be invited to Balmoral, the Queen’s Scottish retreat, for the weekend. It was the first time that the Middletons had been asked to join the family at the castle. William took Michael aside just before dinner on that Saturday evening and asked him for his permission to marry his daughter, which was given immediately. The prince then swore Kate’s father to silence, but he had not yet spoken to the Queen, who first needed to be informed as per royal protocol.
Kate said the proposal was a “total shock” and called William a “true romantic.”
After William and Kate did their first photo call as an engaged couple, they sat down with the BBC for the requisite post-engagement announcement interview on Nov. 16, 2010. The happy couple spoke to interviewer Tom Bradby (the same journalist who interviewed Harry and Duchess Meghan in Africa, signaling there was trouble within the royal ranks). Sitting side by side, with a glowing Kate wearing the dazzling 18-carat sparkler on her left hand, William talked about why he chose to give his fiancée Diana’s ring and how it felt not being able to share this milestone with his mother. “Obviously, she’s not going be around to share in all the fun and excitement, so this is my way of keeping her close to it all,” he said.
William also addressed the timing of the proposal saying, “As every guy out there will know, it takes a certain amount of motivation to get yourself going. So I was planning it and then it just felt really right out in Africa. It was beautiful.”
A clearly excited but slightly nervous Kate said of the engagement and her fiance, “It was a total shock when it came. There’s a true romantic in there.” And for more cuteness from this couple, check out William and Kate Have Endearing, Embarrassing Nicknames for Each Other.
