Wills and Kate: ‘As far as they’re concerned, they are engaged’

In no hurry: Prince William and Kate Middleton want to live as normal a life as possible for as long as possible


He always said he’d marry before he turned 28 - this June. A respected Royal biographer has predicted an engagement this summer. But now a very different perspective on the great will-they-won’t-they Royal romance is emerging...

It isn’t the first time that news of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s engagement has broken. Nor is it destined to be the last. Rumour and speculation have dogged their eight-year relationship. These days, the mere hint of Palace activity - news of champagne being ordered or a flurry of meetings - is enough to provoke a tremor of popular expectation and spark fresh talk of a wedding date.

In 2006, Woolworths went as far as to rustle up wedding plates and mugs - much good it did them.

So it is little wonder that gossip went into overdrive when, last week, well-connected former magazine editor and biographer of Diana, Tina Brown, claimed that two dates had been ‘mysteriously blocked out’ in the Royal diaries

June 3 and 4 had, she wrote in her blog, been cleared for the announcement of William and Kate’s engagement. A November wedding would follow, most likely in St George’s Chapel, Windsor, where his father’s marriage to Camilla was blessed.

In the days since Brown’s prediction was aired, Clarence House officials have quietly pointed out reasons why the June dates are wide of the mark. Far from being cleared, one well-placed source told The Mail on Sunday, the two dates are earmarked for 24 engagements by senior Royals - William, the Queen and Prince Charles among them.


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June is indeed a significant month in William’s diary, they add, but for two reasons: it is the month during which William and Harry hope to undertake their first shared Royal tour and it is the month of William’s 28th birthday.

As far as his aides are concerned, the key event is the tour. Diaries and day-jobs permitting - if Harry, 25, qualifies to fly Apache helicopters, his service commitments may cut across the proposed tour dates - the brothers hope to fly to Botswana to promote the work of conservation charity Tusk, of which William is patron; to visit Lesotho, the kingdom with which Harry has a particular affinity through his charity Sentebale; and to be at the World Cup in South Africa, where FA President William will promote English hopes to host the tournament in 2018.

As far as pretty much everyone else is concerned, it is William’s birthday on June 21 that draws the eye. It is one reason why even the most seasoned Royal commentators were reluctant to dismiss Brown’s prediction out of hand. Because 28 is the age to which William himself gave unwitting importance when he was just 22 and declared: ‘I’m not going to get married before I’m 28.’

Back then, it must have seemed a reassuringly distant prospect but, come June, William will cross that self-created deadline and his objection to marriage on the grounds that he is ‘too young’ will become invalid.

So while Brown’s story may crumble under scrutiny, it has served to highlight the simple fact that William is no longer a boy by any stretch of the imagination. Yet, according to one close to William and Kate, he remains in no hurry to put a ring on his girlfriend’s finger. And, contrary to reports of her impatience, Kate is in no rush to exchange her current lifestyle for that of a ribbon-cutting Royal.

So what, exactly, is going on?

The source said: ‘William and Kate are determined to live as normal a life as possible for as long as possible. The moment they become officially engaged is the moment everything changes and, as far as they’re concerned, everything’s pretty good right now.

‘Kate can come and go pretty much as she pleases. When William is around, she stays in London and when he’s training, she stays at her parents’ house in Bucklebury, Berkshire.

‘All this expectation and sense of pressure surrounding Kate and William isn’t coming from inside their relationship. Neither of them is speculating about marriage or asking each other where it’s going. They had those conversations a long time ago.

‘As far as they’re concerned, they are engaged and enjoying their lives as they are at the moment.’

But while this state of suspended animation may suit William and Kate, it has proved a source of tension between William and his father and, on occasion, between Kate and her mother Carole.

According to one source: ‘Carole wants all three of her children in her fold and under her eye. Her other daughter Pippa and son James used to be real party people, but they don’t go out like they used to. That’s been imposed on them.

‘Kate has stopped going out much because William has asked her to. Carole wants her family to be seen in the best possible light. She thinks Kate’s future depends on it.’


source: dailymail