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Prince William to Wed Kate Middleton |
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Tuesday, 16 November 2010 |
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The college romance that seemed to wilt under the pressure of adulthood and the glare of the paparazzi has blossomed at last. 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, won't-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.
William proposed during a vacation in Kenya last month, and gave Middleton the engagement ring once worn by his late mother Diana, an oval blue sapphire surrounded by diamonds from the jeweler Garrard.
"This was my way of making sure that my mother didn't miss out on today," William said as the couple posed for photographers in the state apartments at St. James' Palace.
William wore a navy suit, Middleton a simple blue dress.
"Blimey," he said as the couple faced a torrent of camera flashes.
Middleton acknowledged that being queen was "a daunting prospect," and declined to say whether the prince had proposed on bended knee.
Clarence House said that while William's bride-to-be is commonly known as Kate, her official name is Catherine Elizabeth — the style used by her close family. She will be named Queen Catherine if William, as expected, eventually takes the British 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. Their marriage eventually ended in divorce — but no one was dwelling on that detail Tuesday.
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