Prince William Is Engaged to Be Married
Prince William and Kate Middleton at the wedding of a friend in Northleach, England, last month.
By SARAH LYALL
LONDON — Years of fevered speculation ended on Tuesday, when Prince William, the heir to the heir of the British throne, said that he plans to marry his longtime girlfriend, Kate Middleton.
In a brief statement, William’s father, Prince Charles, said that he was “delighted” to announce the engagement between William and Miss Middleton, both 28, and that they would be married next spring or summer.
“Prince William has informed the queen and other close members of his family,” the statement said. “Prince William has also sought the permission of Miss Middleton’s father.”
The statement added that the couple would live in North Wales, where William is stationed with the Royal Air Force.
Their engagement is a break from longtime royal tradition for a number of reasons. Unlike other future queens, Miss Middleton, who comes from Bucklebury, in Berkshire, is not of royal, or even aristocratic, lineage. Her father is a former airline pilot and her mother a former flight attendant; together they run a successful mail-order business that sells paraphernalia for children’s parties.
Also — in contrast to couples like Prince Charles and his first wife, the late Diana, Princess of Wales — they have been conducting their relationship openly for years. When Charles proposed to Lady Diana Spencer, the daughter of an earl who was deemed a suitable match for him, the two barely knew each other.
Miss Middleton and Prince William have been dating since they met as college students at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and have virtually lived together in the last year or so.
The long wait between the beginning of their romance and the announcement of the engagement has provoked a great deal of mean-spirited commentary, with some tabloids referring to Miss Middleton as “Waity Katie,” a reference to the fact that she has supposedly been waiting around for William to ask her to marry him.
The romance has had its setbacks. The pair split for several months in 2007, amid speculation (always denied) that the royal family was dismayed by the lower status of Miss Middleton’s family and that Mrs. Middleton had chewed gum and used un-aristocratic words like “toilet” and “pardon” in front of Queen Elizabeth, William’s grandmother.
But the couple then reconciled, and Kate has been a regular presence next to William at royal events, such as when he became a Knight of the Garter last June. Her parents went shooting with the Queen this fall.
With speculation about an engagement now over, a new round of speculation will replace it. What is the date of the wedding? Who will design Miss Middleton’s wedding dress? Who will Prince Harry, William’s younger brother, bring as his date?
