Prince William Puts Diana's Ring on Kate's Finger

Wills pops question, putting commoner in line for throne

Here comes another royal wedding for the ages, and the engagement ring will look familiar.

Prince William asked long-time girlfriend Kate Middleton to get engaged, offering her the same oval sapphire and diamond ring his mother, Princess Diana, once wore.

“It’s very special to me. As Kate’s very special to me now, it was right to put the two together,” William told a gathering of the press.

William, second in line to the throne behind his father, Prince Charles, proposed on vacation to Kenya last month.

The couple, both 28, met during their student days at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland more than eight years ago.

"The timing is right now," William said, People reported. "We're both very happy, and I'm very glad that I have done it."

Middleton's parents worked in the airline industry before starting their own highly successful mail order business when she was a toddler. She has worked as a buyer for a clothing chain and expressed interest in a career as a photographer.

Speculation over an announcement peaked in recent weeks due to a trip that Middleton's parents took to Queen Elizabeth's 50,000-acre estate in Scotland. Prince William hosted a weekend of shooting with the queen's approval and it was the first time the Middletons were invited to such an exclusive event.

The pending nuptials promise to be a spectacle on par with the wedding of William's mother, Diana, to Prince Charles in 1981. That wedding, held at St. Paul's Cathedral in London, was broadcast globally and over 750 million people reportedly watched it live.

Selected Reading: MSNBC, CNN, AP.

Contact Us