Prince William and Kate Middleton will be celebrating their 13th wedding anniversary later this month – and as the day approaches we’re taking a look back at the Waleses engagement.
Royal marriages and engagements continue to fascinate us, and none more so than the Prince and Princess of Wales, who will be marking their 13th wedding anniversary on 29 April. Royal expert Robert Hardman labels the announcement of a Royal engagement as the “starting gun” of months of excitement, and this was certainly true for the Waleses.
“When a royal couple tell us they’re engaged, we’re fascinated by everything from the dress design to who the bridesmaids and best man will be and where we’re going to watch it” he explained, “People love to make
a day of it with street parties and things, so there’s huge interest from the word go.”
And it was certainly true that Prince William and Kate Middleton sparked a frenzy when they announced their engagement back in November 2010.
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During an interview with ITV’s Tom Bradby, the newly-engaged couple shared details of a romantic holiday in Kenya, during which William proposed with his late mother Princess Diana’s engagement ring. “It is the place my father took my brother and me shortly after our mother died” William explained at the time.
“And when deciding where best to propose to Catherine, I could think of no more fitting place than Kenya to get down on one knee.” He also told how he carried the ring, created by royal jeweller Garrard, around in a rucksack for three weeks before popping the question.
“I knew if this thing disappeared, I’d be in a lot of trouble,” he joked. Their official engagement portrait was taken at St James’s Palace by Mario Testino, who said, “I waited a long time, an hour or two, to make that picture perfect.”
The shot of course showed off the ring, with its large Ceylon sapphire encircled by 14 diamonds, which was tweaked for size by jeweller G. Collins & Sons.
Seven years later it was William’s younger brother Prince Harry who sent Royal watchers into a frenzy when he announced his engagement to American actress Meghan Markle. The couple shared their happy news with the world form the gardens of Kensington Palace in November 2017.
“I was there in the garden, and it felt like the dawn of a brand new era for the royals,” says author Robert. “Everyone wanted to be part of that excitement.” Meghan’s ring was created with a central stone from Botswana, as well as two smaller diamonds from a brooch once belonging to Princess Diana.
Meghan upgraded the ring in 2019, replacing the gold band with a band covered in a series of closely-set precious stones.
