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Thursday December 12, 2024

Prince William and Kate first met at university

By Sabir Shah
October 16, 2019

LAHORE: Princess Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, is six months and 12 days older than her husband, Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, research shows.

Prince William was born on June 21, 1982 while his spouse Kate was born on January 9, 1982. Prince William Arthur Philip Louis had met Catherine Elizabeth Middleton (known as Kate back then) at the University of St Andrews in Scotland.

Catherine graduated in 2005 with a Master of Arts degree in art history, whereas Prince William had graduated with an MA in geography. Prince William has the highest educational degree of any member of the British royal family. While Prince William attended Sandhurst Military Academy and started gaining more royal duties, Catherine had a number of jobs including assistant accessories buyer for Jigsaw and working for her family’s party supply company, Messrs Party Pieces.

By the way, Pakistan’s first President Iskander Ali Mirza and his successor Ayub Khan and the first director general of ISI, Major Gen Syed Shahid Hamid, are amongst the most notable Sandhurst Military Academy alumni, who had served Pakistani armed forces.

William and Kate broke up in 2007. The Prince had reportedly dumped Catherine over the phone because he wasn’t ready to get married, and Prince Charles didn’t want his son to rush into marriage. Prince William and Catherine were back together a few months later.

William had proposed Kate with his late mother Princess Diana’s sapphire-and-diamond engagement ring, which Prince Harry actually received after her untimely death.

The brothers had an agreement that whoever got engaged first would get the ring. Currently, the couple’s main residence is the 22-room house 1-A at Kensington Palace in London.

The royal family announced Catherine was pregnant in December of 2012. She had been admitted to the hospital with “Hyperemesis Gravidarum”, which causes severe morning sickness. Kate suffered from it for her next two pregnancies as well. Their Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge was born on July 22, 2013.

Prince William was the first future king or queen to be born in a hospital. Catherine gave birth to their second child, Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana of Cambridge, on May 2, 2015. Charlotte is a variation of Charles, the name of Prince William’s father. It is also a name dating back in British royal history.

Elizabeth is the name of Charlotte’s great-grandmother (and is Catherine’s middle name) while Diana is the name of her grandmother.

Princess Charlotte is the first female royal in British history to not be outranked by her male siblings. With a change in the constitution, the line of succession now gives preference to birth order rather than the gender of the royals.

Catherine gave birth to the couple’s third child, Prince Louis Arthur Charles of Cambridge, on April 23, 2018. Married more than eight years ago on April 29, 2011 at London’s Westminster Abbey, Prince William and Princess Kate after the Queen had gave her formal consent to the marriage, as required by the (since-repealed) Royal Marriages Act 1772. Kate and William’s wedding had cost a reported $34 million. While Kate’s dress cost $434,000, the royal couple’s two cakes had cost $80,000 each. Similarly, the flowers had cost over $800,000 and the estimated cost of the security for the entire event was $32 million. On her wedding day, Kate was wearing a 12-carat sapphire ring worth $500,000.

This was the ring that Prince Charles gave to Princess Diana for their engagement. Her diamond earrings were a new gift from her parents though. William and his brother Harry’s uniforms were custom-made for the day with sweat-wicking material. All gifts received were sent as donations to charity. Over two billion people watched the royal wedding live. The newlyweds had left Buckingham Palace in an Aston Martin car that Prince Charles had received for his 21st birthday.

Throughout the United Kingdom, citizens were given a day off to celebrate their wedding. The offer extended to British territories like Bermuda, Turks and Caicos and the Falkland islands.