The revelation that Prince William, Britain’s future King, found romance at St Andrew’s University swept royal enthusiasts into a whirlwind of excitement when news broke of his relationship with Kate Middleton.

Anticipation escalated when the couple, now known as the Prince and Princess of Wales, announced their engagement on November 16, 2010, signaling an impending royal wedding.

Following a romantic getaway to Kenya, where William proposed, the couple shared their wedding plans with the press at St James’s Palace, before partaking in an exclusive sit-down interview with journalist Tom Bradby.

For Kate, a young woman from the Home Counties suddenly thrust into the public eye, the intimate interview was a daunting experience.

Behind-the-scenes footage from that day captured a tender moment when William advised his nervous fiancée to “breathe,” prompting Kate to humorously respond, “I’m not very good at that!”

In her book, “Kate: The Future Queen,” bestselling author Katie Nicholl delves into the memorable interview, revealing that the future Princess had been apprehensive about it.

‘Afterward Mr Brady remembered her leaning back and sighing with relief, exclaiming, “I’m no good at this!”‘ she wrote. 

To ease her nerves, Kate made a deliberate ‘point of placing her hands on her lap so that she didn’t fidget with her hair and spoke beautifully in a cut-glass accent’, the royal author continued. 

If she was nervous, the future Queen was certainly right to be; the 15-minute interview was the first time that Kate had spoken publicly, but drew an audience of three billion people across the world. 

The Prince and his soon-to-be Princess, who was immaculately clad in a £385 royal blue dress from the now-shuttered label Issa, spoke endearingly about the timeline of their romance while laying out their plans for the future. 

The interview was filmed in Clarence House as Kate and William radiated absolute joy at the prospect of spending their lives together. 

According to Ms Nicholl, Kate had been rendered ‘speechless’ at the sight of William on bent knee as she described the proposal as a ‘total shock’. 

Although they had discussed marriage previously, Prince William humorously added: ‘As every guy out there will know, it takes a certain amount of motivation to get yourself going.’

He added that, while he had been planning to propose for a while, ‘it just felt really right out in Africa’ because it was so ‘beautiful’. 

Explaining further why he had taken so long to pop the question, William insisted that he had wanted to give Kate a chance to ‘back out’ if she felt she couldn’t cope with life as a future queen.

He added that he was ‘trying to learn’ from past lessons and had wanted ‘to give her the best chance to settle in and see what happens on the other side’. 

The future King had asked the all-important question at the II Ngwesi Lodge in Kenya, described by Ms Nicholl as a ‘remote log cabin in the heart of the countryside near the great Lake Rutundu’. 

William, who had been to the lodge before, ‘knew it would be the perfect place to return with someone special’. 

He chose to propose with his late mother, Princess Diana’s stunning sapphire engagement ring, which cost around £28,000.  

The 12-carat oval Ceylon blue sapphire ring was given to Diana by Charles when he proposed in 1981 and had been inspired by Queen Victoria’s sapphire brooch, worn as her ‘something blue’ for her wedding to Prince Albert in 1840.

Hailed as one of the most famous pieces of jewellery in history, the sapphire and diamond engagement ring is estimated to be worth around £300,000. 

William said: ‘It’s my mother’s engagement ring, and it’s very special to me, as Kate is very special to me now as well. It was only right the two were put together.

‘It was my way of making sure mother didn’t miss out on today and the excitement and the fact that we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together.’

The significance of the dazzling ring was certainly not lost on Kate, who remarked: ‘I just hope I look after it. It’s very, very special.’

The pair had sworn to keep their engagement a secret until William was able to ask Kate’s father, Michael Middleton, for her hand in marriage. It went without a hitch, according to Ms Nicholl, as Michael gave his blessing ‘without a moment’s hesitation’.

Explaining William’s prior arrangements, the royal author added: ‘Although no one – not even his father or brother – knew of his intention to propose to Kate while away, William had spoken with Harry to make sure his younger brother was happy for him to have their mother’s ring, as and when the time came.’

In line with royal protocol, the Prince was then required to ask his grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, for her permission in order for the engagement to go ahead.

And so, in the meantime, Kate’s overjoyed father was forbidden from disclosing the incredible news to another soul – including his wife, Carole Middleton. 

After securing the Monarch’s blessing, Buckingham Palace delighted fans worldwide with confirmation that a royal wedding was on the horizon. 

During their conversation with Mr Bradby, William also spoke about his desire for both Kate and her family to be recipients of the ‘best sort of guidance’ as they navigated this new period. 

The late Queen was said to have been highly supportive of William and Kate’s romance, and indeed their plans to wed, with Her Majesty first meeting her future granddaughter-in-law at the wedding of Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly.

‘She was very friendly,’ Kate recalled. 

‘She’s very welcoming, she knew it was a big day and she had wanted to meet Kate for a while. It was very nice of her to come over and say hello, we had a little chat, and it went very well,’ William added.

King Charles was equally delighted that Kate Middleton would become a part of the Royal Family. 

Indeed, in 2023, during a speech at a state banquet in Nairobi, his fond feelings for the royal couple were made clear. 

‘It was here, in sight of Mount Kenya, that my son, the Prince of Wales, proposed to his wife, now my beloved daughter-in-law,’ he recalled.

During the engagement interview, the pair also revealed new details about their university romance that ‘blossomed’ from a friendship. 

‘I think you said I actually went bright red when I met you and scuffled off,’ she recounted to the Prince.

‘I knew there was something very special about her, and then I knew there was possibly something I wanted to explore there, but we ended up being friends for a while,’ William said. 

‘We were friends for over a year first. It just sort of blossomed from then on.

‘We’re hugely excited, we’re looking forward to spending the rest of our lives together and seeing what the future holds.’ 

However, things were not always smooth sailing for the couple. Just a few years before their engagement, in April 2007, Kate and William decided to go their separate ways.

During the interview, Kate reflected on their time apart, adding: ‘At the time I wasn’t very happy about it, but it made me a stronger person.’

A few months later, with the prince apparently having realised what he was missing, they reconciled.

The interview also notably marked the beginning of the so-called ‘Kate effect’, with the future Princess’s mid-length silk dress selling out within 24 hours as fans raced to get their hands on it. 

Unfortunately, the surge in demand pushed the brand into administration, as it struggled to keep up with production.

The following year, Kate and William wed in a fairytale ceremony held at London’s Westminster Abbey. 

London became engulfed by a blanket of red, white and blue as millions of well-wishers gathered in earnest to catch a glimpse of the Prince and his new Princess. 

The newleyweds were met with cheers of delight from the public when they shared a tender kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

Evidently, while young Kate took a gamble in waiting for her Prince Charming, the age-old cliche rang true: ‘Good things come to those who wait’.