[Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton are now engaged to be married. The world rejoiced the announcement. While the monarchies in different parts of the world; either are uprooted or being despised but the British monarchy has always tried to remain at the heart of its people. "The royal family has always tried to move with the times, while respecting traditions". It has enormously transformed with the flow of the time. The British people are expressing their happiness about the announcement. The British prime minister David Cameron said it was a national celebration; 'a great day for our country'. This is how a monarchy should exist. The Himalayan Voice congratulates the couple and wishes them a very happy life as well.]
By SARAH LYALL
In a brief statement, William’s father, Prince Charles, said that he was “delighted” to announce the engagement of William and Miss Middleton, both 28, and that they would be married next spring or summer.
“Prince William has informed the queen and other close members of his family,” the statement said. “Prince William has also sought the permission of Miss Middleton’s father.”
The statement added that the couple would live in north Wales, where William works as a search-and-rescue helicopter pilot for the Royal Air Force. The announcement ends the long and winding “Will he or won’t he?” saga that has provided years of diversion for royal enthusiasts and helped keep the royal-focused gossip industry afloat. It also renders obsolete Miss Middleton’s sometime tabloid nickname, “Waity Katie,” a reference to the notion that she has supposedly been waiting around for Prince William to propose.
Interested parties can now focus on a new set of pressing issues: Who will design Miss Middleton’s wedding dress? Who will be Prince Harry’s date at the wedding? And, should Miss Middleton become queen — which would not take place until the death of both the current queen and the future king, Prince Charles — will everyone call her Queen Kate? (Her formal name is Catherine.)
The question of the engagement ring has already been answered. Prince William gave Miss Middleton the sapphire and diamond ring that his father had given his mother —Diana, Princess of Wales — for their engagement in 1981.
At a brief press conference with his arm locked together with his fiancée’s, William said that giving Miss Middleton that ring was “my way of making sure my mother didn’t miss out on today and the excitement.”
“It’s very special to me,” he said. “As Kate’s very special to me now, it was right to put the two together."
Miss Middleton is a different sort of royal bride from Diana, whose short life ended when she was killed after a car accident in Paris in 1997. Diana was naïve and indifferently educated, but she was the daughter of an earl whose family had always mixed in royal circles. By contrast, Miss Middleton, who grew up in Bucklebury, West Berkshire, is considered solidly middle class by British standards.
Her father is a former British Airways officer and her mother a former flight attendant; together, they run a successful mail-order business that sells paraphernalia for children’s parties.
By all accounts, Miss Middleton is tough and savvy, and far better equipped to deal with media attention than Diana was. Also, while Charles and Diana hardly knew each other at the time of their engagement, Miss Middleton has been virtually living with Prince William for some time and has met his father many times. The couple became engaged in October during a private holiday in Kenya, Prince Charles’s announcement said.
After an autumn of dismaying news about budget cuts and Austerity Britain, the engagement provided an all-purpose happy diversion. The BBC started providing saturation coverage of the announcement. Queen Elizabeth proclaimed herself to be “absolutely delighted.” Prime Minister David Cameron said that when he announced the news, members of his cabinet responded with a “great cheer” and “banging of the table.” The prime minister also admitted that in 1981 he slept on the street outside Buckingham Palace the night before the wedding of William’s parents.
Ed Miliband, leader of the Labour Party, said that he was also delighted, and that “the whole country will be wishing them every happiness.”
Prince William and Miss Middleton met at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and then shared a group house with two other students. According to news reports, the highlights of their college years together included the time that Miss Middleton persuaded a wavering William not to drop out when he was having a hard time his first year, and the time that she took part in a charity fashion show wearing just her underwear.
(The university said on Tuesday that it was “Britain’s top matchmaking university,” claiming that 10 percent of its students met the person with whom they would eventually settle down. It invited the couple to visit whenever they wanted.)
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.
The couple’s relationship has had its ups and downs. William and Miss Middleton split for several months in 2007, and there was speculation in the British tabloids (always denied) that the royal family was dismayed by the supposedly déclassé behavior of the Middletons. Miss Middleton’s mother, Carole, was said to have chewed gum and used unaristocratic words like “toilet” and “pardon” in front of the queen, and some of William’s friends were said to mutter “doors to manual” when Miss Middleton came into the room, a reference to her mother’s prior career.
No one ever confirmed those stories, and some royal-watchers pointed out that since Mrs. Middleton did not appear to have yet spoken to the queen at that point, it was highly unlikely that she would have had occasion to say much, let alone use the word “toilet” in the queen’s hearing.
The couple gave an interview to the BBC later on Tuesday and revealed themselves to be relaxed and playful together. Asked if the rumor that she had a poster of Prince William on her wall when she was a girl was true, Miss Middleton said, “He wishes.” (In fact, she added, she had a “Levi’s guy” on her wall.)
They talked about how the prince had tried to impress her with his cooking early in their relationship, but that, as he admitted, “I get quite lazy” now. They also joked about their long relationship. (“How many years?” Miss Middleton asked.)
Of the period in which they split up, Miss Middleton said, “I wasn’t very happy about it,” but added that in retrospect she had valued the time alone.
“Phew,” William said.
He said that there was “something very special about her.” As for himself, he said, “I’m obviously extremely funny, and she loves that.”
Meanwhile, news crews spent the day massed outside London’s various royal palaces, interviewing royal experts who speculated on things like where and when the wedding would take place and what kind of charities Miss Middleton would support. The experts did not know much, but they did their best.
Ingrid Seward, whose position as editor of the magazine Majesty (“The Quality Royal Magazine”) makes her a regular presence at these occasions, said, “For Majesty Magazine, this is absolutely wonderful.”
