KATE & WILLIAM: A royal love story

AMID A SAD FAREWELL TO PRINCE PHILIP, THE ROYAL FAMILY QUIETLY COMMEMORATE THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE’S DECADE-LONG MARRIAGE

- Jennie Noonan

Prince William received sound advice about love and marriage from his mother Princess Diana in the wake of her divorce from his father, Prince Charles. “I put it to William, particularly, that if you find someone you love in life, you must hang onto it and look after it,” she told BBC, One Panorama host, Martin Bashir in November 1995, less than two years before her tragic death on August 31, 1997. “And if you were lucky enough to find someone who loved you, then you must protect it.”

It seems William, 38, took the maternal wisdom to heart. On April 29, the royal heir will celebrate a decade of marriage to Kate Middleton, 39. Today, the future king and queen of England share three children – Prince George, 7, Princess Charlotte, 5, and Prince Louis, who turns 3 on April 23 – as well as two decades of shared history.

COLLEGE COURTSHIP

The pair met as students at the University of St Andrews in 2001. “Well, I actually think I went bright red when I met you and sort of scuttled off, feeling very shy about meeting you,” Kate admitted in an interview shortly after their engagement. They moved into a student house along with two other friends in their second year, and it has been widely reported that Kate caught William’s eye after she modelled in a see-through dress at a charity fashion show in March 2002.