Prince William's touching tribute to Diana and how she remains close to Kate

08 January 2024 , 23:00

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Prince William and Kate during an interview aired on the day they announced their engagement (Image: PA)

The fairy-tale marriage between Prince William and Princess Kate will soon mark its lace anniversary - which is 13 years in numeric terms.

While it was just over 13 years ago that the royal pair also first announced their engagement to the world back on November 16, 2010. The happy couple, who had dated for eight years before deciding to tie the knot, then sat down for their first ever in-depth interview together.

The TV chat, which aired on ITV News on the same day as the announcement, is well remembered for Kate's now iconic and much-copied blue Issa wrap dress. During the intimate chat it transpired that William had popped the question only a few weeks earlier while the pair were on holiday with friends in Kenya.

Kate said although she had considered that he might have been thinking about asking her to marry him, it still came as a big surprise to her when he did. She said: "It was a total shock when it came. There's a true romantic in there." While William shared his thoughts leading up to the proposal: "As every guy out there will know, it takes a certain amount of motivation to get yourself going. So I was planning it and then it just felt really right out in Africa. It was beautiful."

William said it 'felt right' to propose to Kate (PA)

In one particularly touching moment in the interview William paid a touching tribute to his mum, Princess Diana. Millions of viewers could see that Kate was wearing her engagement ring, which was a 12-carat blue sapphire engagement ring surrounded by 14 solitaire diamonds.The stunning piece of jewellery was once owned by Diana herself and William went on to describe the sentiment behind the ring and how it helped him keep his late mum, who died in a car crash in 1997, close to everything around him.

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He said: "Obviously, she's not going be around to share in all the fun and excitement, so this is my way of keeping her close to it all." However, he also said at the time that there was no pressure on his future wife to be the next 'Diana'. He added: "No one is trying to fill my mother's shoes. It's about carving your own future and your own destiny, and Kate will do a very good job at that."

Steven White