LONDON – Prince William is finally engaged to his longtime girlfriend and will give Britain its biggest royal wedding since Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer almost 30 years ago.
Royal officials announced Tuesday that William will marry Kate Middleton next spring or summer in London, ending years of rumored splits, reconciliations and will-they, wont-they speculation.
William is second in line to the British throne after Charles, his father. Kate and William's first child would move ahead of his younger brother Prince Harry to become third in line to the throne.
Many in Britain welcomed the royal engagement as a rare piece of good news in a time of economic uncertainty and cutbacks — a time much like 1981, when millions watched Charles and Diana's fairy-tale wedding. That union of William's parents ended in divorce — but no one was dwelling on that Tuesday.
William's grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, and her husband Prince Philip "are absolutely delighted for them both," Buckingham Palace said. Prince Charles said he was "thrilled."
Prime Minister David Cameron wished the couple "great joy in their life together," and said when he announced the news during a Cabinet meeting it was greeted by cheers and "a great banging of the table."
AFP
No venue has been announced yet. For pomp, the ceremony is likely to fall between the extraordinary spectacle of Charles and Diana's wedding in St. Paul's Cathedral and Charles' subdued second marriage to Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall at Windsor Guildhall in 2005.
William and Harry have spent a lifetime in the spotlight, with their drunken nights out and female friends the subject of constant tabloid gossip. William, who turned 28 in June, once told an interviewer he wouldn't marry "until I'm at least 28 or maybe 30." But since joining the military, both have kept a lower profile.
Middleton met William at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. They shared a house along with other students in the seaside university town, where William initially studied art history before switching to geography.
In 2002, William paid 200 pounds to sit in the front row at a charity fashion show where Middleton was modeling in a daring outfit. They are thought to have started dating the following year.
A wealthy commoner rather than an aristocrat, Middleton is the daughter of self-made millionaires. Her father worked for an airline and her mother was a flight attendant before they started a mail-order business specializing in children's parties, run from their house in southern England.
She attended Marlborough College, an elite private school, where she played tennis and field hockey, before studying art history at St. Andrews. After graduating in 2005, Middleton worked as a buyer for the fashion chain Jigsaw. She is now employed by her family's party-planning business.
The couple's relationship became public with a joint photo on a Swiss skiing holiday in 2004. Middleton then became a media darling — especially after both graduated, which ended a British media agreement to leave William alone while he was at university.
Middleton was there when William was commissioned as a British Army officer after graduating from Sandhurst military college in 2006. She was photographed attending public events, going to work, even getting a parking ticket — a level of attention that evoked the romance of William's parents.
Yet only weeks later in 2007, media reported — and Clarence House did not deny — that the couple had broken up. Newspapers pored over the apparent end of the relationship in long stories sourced to anonymous "friends."
Earlier this month, Middleton's parents were invited to join members of the royal family for a shooting holiday at Balmoral, another milestone on Kate's road to acceptance by the royal family's inner circle.
Clarence House said after the wedding, the couple will live in north Wales, where William is based with the RAF.
Royal officials announced Tuesday that William will marry Kate Middleton next spring or summer in London, ending years of rumored splits, reconciliations and will-they, wont-they speculation.
William is second in line to the British throne after Charles, his father. Kate and William's first child would move ahead of his younger brother Prince Harry to become third in line to the throne.
Many in Britain welcomed the royal engagement as a rare piece of good news in a time of economic uncertainty and cutbacks — a time much like 1981, when millions watched Charles and Diana's fairy-tale wedding. That union of William's parents ended in divorce — but no one was dwelling on that Tuesday.
William's grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, and her husband Prince Philip "are absolutely delighted for them both," Buckingham Palace said. Prince Charles said he was "thrilled."
Prime Minister David Cameron wished the couple "great joy in their life together," and said when he announced the news during a Cabinet meeting it was greeted by cheers and "a great banging of the table."
Cameron — who said he had camped out on the street the night before Charles and Diana's wedding procession — predicted that this royal wedding would be a "great moment for national celebration" that would unite Britain.
AFP
William and Harry have spent a lifetime in the spotlight, with their drunken nights out and female friends the subject of constant tabloid gossip. William, who turned 28 in June, once told an interviewer he wouldn't marry "until I'm at least 28 or maybe 30." But since joining the military, both have kept a lower profile.
Middleton met William at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. They shared a house along with other students in the seaside university town, where William initially studied art history before switching to geography.
In 2002, William paid 200 pounds to sit in the front row at a charity fashion show where Middleton was modeling in a daring outfit. They are thought to have started dating the following year.
A wealthy commoner rather than an aristocrat, Middleton is the daughter of self-made millionaires. Her father worked for an airline and her mother was a flight attendant before they started a mail-order business specializing in children's parties, run from their house in southern England.
She attended Marlborough College, an elite private school, where she played tennis and field hockey, before studying art history at St. Andrews. After graduating in 2005, Middleton worked as a buyer for the fashion chain Jigsaw. She is now employed by her family's party-planning business.
The couple's relationship became public with a joint photo on a Swiss skiing holiday in 2004. Middleton then became a media darling — especially after both graduated, which ended a British media agreement to leave William alone while he was at university.
Middleton was there when William was commissioned as a British Army officer after graduating from Sandhurst military college in 2006. She was photographed attending public events, going to work, even getting a parking ticket — a level of attention that evoked the romance of William's parents.
Yet only weeks later in 2007, media reported — and Clarence House did not deny — that the couple had broken up. Newspapers pored over the apparent end of the relationship in long stories sourced to anonymous "friends."
Earlier this month, Middleton's parents were invited to join members of the royal family for a shooting holiday at Balmoral, another milestone on Kate's road to acceptance by the royal family's inner circle.
Clarence House said after the wedding, the couple will live in north Wales, where William is based with the RAF.
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