Prince William reveals the real reason he took so long to propose to Kate Middleton
13 June 2024, 17:43
The Prince of Wales has explained why he chose to wait eight years before getting engaged to Catherine Middleton.
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Prince William has revealed why he took so long to propose to wife Kate Middleton.
Now happily married with three children- Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis- the Royal couple first met at the University of St Andrews in 2001 and were friends for a year before embarking on a relationship.
The pair were together for eight years before the Prince of Wales popped the question during a romantic trip to Kenya in 2010.
However their years of dating without an engagement raised eyebrows amongst the public, with the press dubbing the future Princess of Wales 'Waity Katie'.
After confirming their engagement, the couple appeared in a joint interview with ITV's Tom Bradbury to discuss their upcoming nuptials.
During this conversation Prince William went on to reveal why he waited eight years to propose, citing the impact their engagement would have on Kate and the Middleton family as a factor in his decision making.
William explained: "Her and her family, I really want to make sure that they have the best sort of guidance and chance to see what life has been like, or what life is like in the family.
"That’s almost kind of why I have been waiting this long is because I wanted to give her a chance to see in and to back out if she needed to before it all got too much."
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He continued: "I’m trying to learn from lessons done in the past, and I just wanted to give her the best chance to settle in and to see what happens on the other side."
Kate then added: "I'm also glad I've had the time to sort of grow and understand myself more as well, so hopefully do a good job."
When asked if their future is something they’ve discussed, the heir to the throne replied: "We’ve talked about it lots, it’s always been something we’ve had a good chat about.
"Both of us have come to this decision, you know pretty much together, I just chose when to do it and how to do it and obviously being a real romantic I did it extremely well."
The pair tied the knot in Westminster Abbey on the 29th of April 2011, in an extravagant ceremony watched by tens of millions of people around the world.
Guests at the wedding of the year included members of the Royal Family including Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III and Prince Harry, as well as some celebrity invitees such as David and Victoria Beckham, Rowan Atkinson, Sir Elton John and journalist Tom Bradbury.
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