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in the News Prince William
With
news
of an imminent wedding on a Twitter post made in November 2010 the announcement was finally made official: "The Prince of Wales is delighted to announce the engagement of Prince William to Miss Catherine Middleton -www.princeofwales.gov.uk "
Buckingham Palace cleared its
calendar for the long-awaited marriage of Prince William and long-time girlfriend Kate Middleton, set for Friday, April 29, 2011 at London's historic Westminster Abbey.

I, William, take thee, Catherine...

A first kiss, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
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On the wedding day, the crowds gathered throughout London for a glimpse of Royalty's Next Generation in a reality show full of pomp and pageantry.
The groom was handsome, the bride radiant, and the rain held off just long enough for a sea of celebrity guests - including Elton John, the David Beckhams, singer Joss Stone, and actor/director Guy Ritchie, and a host of world leaders and other dignitaries - to gather inside Westminster Abbey for the official wedding ceremony.
Within the hour, Prince William and long-time girlfriend and commoner Kate Middleton were pronounced man and wife to become the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and the future of Britain's centuries-old monarchy.
Wedding
Bets Off, Then On
Kate
Middleton, (nicknamed "Her Shyness"), and Prince
William met while studying at the University of St Andrews in Scotland.
The romance flowered when they later shared a house together.
While they were still dating, Middleton
had already met William's grandparents, Queen
Elizabeth II and Prince Philip and had frequently
appeared on the arm of her boyfriend at official royal ceremonies.
Initial wedding
rumors that William was to propose to girlfriend Kate
Middleton fizzled early in 2007, with the heartbreaking news of
a sudden
split. However, reports several months later had the couple
seeing each other yet again. Subsequent
news that Middleton had
left her job in the fashion industry in November 2007 served
only to reignite the rumors of an impending marriage.
In August
2008, Kate & William were again photographed together during a
summer fling in the Caribbean island of Mustique. Meanwhile,
reports also circulated that grandmother Queen Elizabeth expressed
a private desire that Middleton
first secure a "proper full-time job" before the
couple announce their engagement.
William
& Kate engaged
Pending the official announcement in November 2010, wedding buzz centered around
a report from the March 2009 edition of the upscale French magazine,
Point de Vue, claiming that William and Kate had already secretly
become engaged in January and that an announcement
"of the marriage between William and Miss Katherine Middleton" was imminent.
Other more
recent tabloid stories had William and Kate officially engaged
in 2010 and thereafter tying the knot after William had completed his military training.
Related rumors
about a possible location for the royal wedding ended in late November when the official news was announced that William
and Kate were to be married in Westminster Abbey in London, in the same location where Princess Diana's dramatic funeral took place in 1997.
The Royal honeymoon
Leading up to the wedding, royal watchers painted several honeymoon scenarios for William and Kate, including: the newly-married couple whisked away to the English countryside, or to a secluded Caribbean getaway. However, after waiting a week to embark on their historic honeymoon, the newlyweds were officially reported romping on a private Seychelles island in the Indian Ocean off Africa's east coast.
William & Kate expecting?
Now months into their new marriage, rumors have begun circulating about a possible new edition to the family for the young couple. The unconfirmed reports of a soon-to-be pregnant Kate are based on royal precedent, as most British royal marriages traditionally produce an heir within a year.
Most recently, In Touch magazine ran a story in mid-November 2011 reporting that Kate was already six weeks pregnant and expecting a new arrival sometime next summer. Meanwhile, royal watchers are sure to keep a close eye on the couple in the coming months for any news of an impending announcement from Buckingham Palace.
Related
Prince William News, Bios & Pictures | Prince
William Quotes

Princess
Diana holds
baby William, 1982.
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As
the grandson of Queen
Elizabeth II, William is officially second in line of succession
to the British throne before his father, Prince
Charles, and ahead of brother Prince
Harry, who is third in line.
William has
been in the media spotlight since his birth on June 21, 1982.
Early on,
he made history when he became the first royal prince to attend
an ordinary primary school at the insistence of his mother, Princess
Diana. (Reportedly, Diana's famous disdain for official royal
protocol has also been inherited by both William and his brother,
Harry.)
By age eight,
Prince William was sent to Ludgrove School in Berkshire, later
attending the prestigious Eton
College near Windsor Castle, one of his grandmother's official
residences.
It was during his time that William lost his mother to a tragic
car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997 - plunging almost the whole
of Great
Britain into mourning.
It was Prince
William who, it was said, made arrangements for Elton John to
sing "Candle in the Wind" at his Princess Diana's funeral.
He later walked with his father, brother and grandfather in the
London funeral procession.

Prince
William at 21.
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In 2000, Prince
William graduated from Eton and passed three A-level exams, after which
he chose to take a gap year to travel and participate in army
training in Belize.
Photos of the royal prince - performing manual labor and cleaning toilets
- were broadcast around the globe that same year when William
offered his services as a volunteer in a remote region of Chile.
In 2001, the
prince embarked on his final course of education at the University
of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland where he studied art history
and majored in geography. He ultimately took his master's degree
with second-level honors in 2005. The
colorful, traditional graduation
ceremony was attended by his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth
II and his father, Prince Charles.
Kate
Middleton graduated in the same ceremony.
In 2006, William
went on to also graduate military training at Sandhurst, the prestigious
military academy south of London, from which his younger brother, Harry,
graduated as a 2nd lieutenant.
In December 2009 secret palace documents revealed by the UK press
has led to strong speculation that William
may "represent the best long-term interests of the monarchy," which favors William over his father, Charles, as the next successor
to the British throne.
The
news also raised new questions about the timing of Williams marriage. Might he also be preparing for the possible eventuality of being crowned King
of England earlier than anticipated?
Related
Biographies:
The
Prince of Wales - Prince William
Prince
William of Wales - Wikipedia
Prince
William Photo Gallery
Hello!
Profiles - Prince William
PrinceWilliamStamps.com
Quotes:
The fortunate thing is I have had such a normal childhood in certain
extents and it would very hard to see that slip away.
The last thing I want to do is be mollycoddled or wrapped up in
cotton wool because if I was to join the army, I'd want to go
where my men went and I'd want to do what they did.
It's got to be the best birthday present she ever had.
On the concert to mark the 10th anniversary of the death of
Princess Diana.
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Proposing | Wedding
Gift Etiquette
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