The day we thought would never come! How Prince William FINALLY proposed to Kate Middleton after EIGHT YEARS of waiting…

THE ROMANCE

Bradby: When did you first meet?

William: It’s been a long time, Tom, I’m trying to rack my brains. We obviously met at university – at St Andrews we were first friends for over a year and it just blossomed. We just spent more time together, had a good giggle, had a lot of fun and realized we shared the same interests and had a lot of fun. She has a very mischievous sense of humor, which helps me because I have a very dry sense of humor, so it was a lot of fun.

Bradby: Kate, what did you think of William?

Kate: Well, I actually think I turned bright red when I met you and kind of ran away, feeling really embarrassed.

Bradby: There’s a story going around that you had a picture of him on your wall.

William: There wasn’t just one, there were about twenty.

Kate: He will. No, I had Levi’s husband on my wall, no picture of William, sorry.

THE 2007 SPLIT

William: We broke up for a while. We were both very young, it was in college, we were both discovering ourselves as such and having different characters and stuff, it was a lot of trying to find our own way and we were growing up. It was a bit of space and a bit of that sort of thing and it worked for the better.

Kate: I wasn’t very happy about it at the time, but it actually made me a stronger person. You discover things about yourself that you may not have realized. I think you can get quite wrapped up in a relationship when you’re younger and I really appreciated that time for me, even if I didn’t think so at the time.

THE PROPOSAL

William: It was about three weeks ago on holiday in Kenya. We had been talking about marriage for a while, so it wasn’t a big surprise. I took her to a nice place in Kenya and proposed.

Kate: It was very romantic. There’s a real romantic in there. I really didn’t expect it. It was a total shock… and very exciting.

Bradby: And he would take out a ring there every now and then?

Kate: Yes.

William: I had been carrying it around in my backpack for about three weeks before that and I literally didn’t want to let it go. Everywhere I went I held it because I knew this thing, if it disappeared I would be in a lot of trouble and because I planned it I was fine.

You hear a lot of horror stories about proposing and things going horribly wrong. It went very, very well and I was very happy that she said yes. It’s my mother’s engagement ring, so I thought it was quite nice because she obviously won’t be there to share the fun and excitement of it all – this was my way of keeping her close to everything.

Kate: It’s beautiful. I just hope I take care of it. It’s very, very special.

WHY WAIT TO PROPOSAL?

William: I wanted to give her a chance to look inward and come back if she needed to before it all became too much. I’m trying to learn from the lessons of the past and I just wanted to give her the best chance to settle in and see what happens on the other side.

KEEPING THE SECRET

William: We are like ducks, very calm on the surface with little feet that go under the water. It was very exciting because we had been talking about it for a long time, so for us it is a real relief and very nice to be able to tell everyone. Especially the last two or three weeks, it’s been quite difficult not to tell anyone and keep it to ourselves.

Bradby: Did you ask Kate’s father and what did he say and what did your respective parents say?

William: I hesitated between asking Kate’s father first and then the realization dawned on me that he might say no. So I figured if I ask Kate first, he can’t really say no.

Bradby: What did your mother say?

Kate: She was absolutely over the moon. We had quite an awkward situation because I knew and I knew William had asked my father, but I didn’t know if my mother knew. So I came back from Scotland and my mother didn’t make it clear to me whether she knew or not, so we both sat there just kind of looking at each other.

Meeting with the in-laws

Kate: I was quite nervous about meeting William’s father, but he was very welcoming, very friendly, it couldn’t have been easier for me.

Bradby: Meeting the Queen?

Kate: I first met her at Peter (Princess Royal’s son) and Autumn’s wedding and again it was amongst lots of other guests and she was very friendly.

Bradby: You guys are obviously very fond of each other’s families.

William: ‘Kate has a very, very close family. I get along really well with them and I feel very lucky that they have been so supportive. Mike and Carole have been very loving, caring and a lot of fun and have been very welcoming to me, so I really felt like part of the family.

DIANA’S LEGACY

Bradby: William’s mother was a hugely iconic figure. Is that worrying? Is that intimidating?

Kate: Obviously I would have loved to have met her and she is clearly an inspiring woman to look up to. Obviously on this day and in the future and so on, it’s a great family, the members I’ve met have achieved a lot and are very inspiring, and yes, I do too.

William: There’s no pressure though. As Kate said, it’s about shaping your own future. No one is trying to fill my mother’s shoes, what she did was fantastic. It’s about making your own future and your own destiny, and Kate will do that very well.

CRITICISM OF KATE’S WORK

Kate: I think I know I’ve worked really hard for the family business, sometimes it’s long days and I think knowing that I’m working hard and doing my best, both working and playing hard at the same time, I think everyone with whoever I work with can see that I am working there.

STARTING A FAMILY

Bradby: Kate, you obviously have a close family.

Kate: Yes. It’s very important to me. And I hope we can start a happy family of our own. They have been great over the years and have helped me through some tough times. They are very dear to me.

Bradby: I’m sure people are wondering…kids, do you want lots of kids? Do you see what’s coming?

William: I think we’ll take it step by step. We’ll get over the marriage first and then maybe look at the kids. But of course we want a family, so we have to think about that.

EXCITED OR TERRIFIED?

William: We are extremely excited and look forward to spending the rest of our lives together and seeing what the future holds.

Kate: It’s obviously nerve-wracking, I don’t know the ropes, William is clearly used to it, but I’m willing to learn quickly and work hard. I really hope I can make a difference, even in the smallest way. I look forward to helping as much as I can.