Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

After an eight-year courtship that started out as a friendship, Prince William and Kate Middleton became engaged in November 2010. Here is information about how they met, their royal engagement, wedding of the century, and more about the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

News Updates:

12/03/2012: Buckingham Palace confirmed that the "Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expecting a baby."

William Arthur Philip Louis Windsor, Prince William of Wales: June 21, 1982 in London, England.

Catherine (Kate) Elizabeth Middleton: January 9, 1982 in Reading, Berkshire, England.

After their marriage, they became Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. "Princess Kate, Duchess Catherine" -- What to call the "newly married wife of Prince William."

William and Kate met at St. Andrews University in Fife, Scotland in September 2001. More Details and Photo

William and Kate's Engagement:

William proposed to Kate in Kenya in October 2010. William gave Kate his mother's engagement ring. Their engagement was announced on November 16, 2010 by Prince Charles. More Details, Quotes, and Photo About Their Engagement

Prince William and Catherine Middleton's wedding of the century was on April 29, 2011 in Westminster Abbey. More Details About Catherine and William's Royal Wedding

Catherine: Fashion buyer.

William: Royal Air Force search-and-rescue helicopter pilot.

Paddy Harveson: "The most important thing to remember is that he's not heir to the throne, he's second in line, and he's not a full-time royal, he's a full-time pilot working a normal job for the RAF search and rescue."
Source: UPI. "William and Kate postpone honeymoon. UPI.com. 4/30/11.

Victoria Pynchon: "The most important aspect of the fifty percent divorce rate on our wedding day is our happy belief that we will be among the half of all married couples who will sustain one another, strengthen one another, and, enliven one another until death cleaves us apart. Now is no time for fretting and worrying at the frayed edges of the one relationship in which we rightly continue to place so much hope. Let us celebrate Kate and Will. Let us raise our cups to them and the future to which their marriage gives birth."
Source: Victoria Pynchon. "Why Will and Kate Don't Need a Royal Prenup." Forbes.com. 4/27/11.

Ayesha Vardag: "The relationship history of this couple has been one of dignity and long-term commitment rather than attention-seeking, even in adversity. Kate's a sensible girl who understands what she's dealing with and William has the wisdom of his parents' experience. They have both been through a degree of thick and thin, if not for richer and for poorer. I have a good feeling about the marriage prospects of our very modern future King and Queen."
Source: Ayesha Vardag. "Royal Wedding: Britain's Top Divorce Lawyer Mulls A Royal Prenup." HuffingtonPost.com. 4/26/11.

"Rowan Williams, who will marry the couple, has described a wife pledging to 'obey' her husband and not vice-versa is archaic and could even be used to justify domestic violence. Guidelines published by the Archbishop's Council in 2006 in the responding to Domestic Abuse report said: ‘A promise to obey was in the past part of different standards and expectations of women and men within marriage, for example the fact that women had no standing in law until 1926.’"
Source: "Kate 'will not obey': Bride will follow Diana's lead and ditch ancient vow as she pledges to 'love, comfort, honour and keep'." DailyMail.co.uk. 4/22/11.

Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams: "I think that they have a clear sense of what they believe they're responsible to. They're responsible to the whole society; responsible to God for their relationship. And I think it's impressive that they've had that simplicity about it, they've known what matters, what's at the heart of all this, because I think they are deeply unpretentious people ... William and Catherine are making this commitment very much in the public eye, and they're sensible, realistic young people. They know what the cost of that might be. They've thought that through. And because of that, they will need the support, the solidarity and the prayers of all those who are watching."
Source: Tim Nudd. "William & Kate Have Clear Heads and Full Hearts, Says Archbishop." People.com. 4/21/11.

Nina Callaway: "She [Kate] will be Britain's first middle-class Queen-in-waiting. At 29, she'll also be the oldest woman ever to marry a future King of England."
Source: Nina Callaway. "Can Prince William and Kate's Wedding Compare to Charles and Diana's Wedding?" Weddings.about.com.

"Should Miss Middleton become Queen Catherine, she would be the first queen in British history to have a college degree, or indeed, to have any college education at all."
Source: Sarah Lyall. "Diana's Ring Seals Prince William's Marriage Plans." NYTimes.com. 11/16/10.

William about their split in 2007: “We were both very young … and we were both defining ourselves as such and being different characters, it was very much trying to find our way and we were growing up, it was just a bit of space, things like that and things worked out for the better ... we ended up being friends for a while and that was a good foundation because I do genuinely believe now that being friends with one another is a massive advantage. It just went from there and over the years I knew things were getting better and better. We went through a few stumbling blocks as every relationship does but we picked ourselves up and carried on. From where you have the odd problem when you are first getting to know each other those have all gone and it’s just really easy just being with each other."
Source: John Bingham. "William and Kate: Split Made Us Stronger." Telegraph.co.uk. 11/16/10.

Kate about their split in 2007: “I, at the time, wasn’t very happy about it but actually it made me a stronger person, you find out things bout yourself that maybe you hadn’t realised. You can get quite consumed by a relationship when you are younger. I really valued that time, for me as well although I didn’t think it at the time, looking back on it.”
Source: John Bingham. "William and Kate: Split Made Us Stronger." Telegraph.co.uk. 11/16/10.