Why Prince William waited to marry Kate Middleton revealed
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Prince William got engaged to Kate Middleton in November 2010, though they had been dating for seven years prior.
While some were surprised by the Duke of Cambridge's slow proposal, there is believed to be a method behind his "madness".
According to royal expert Richard Kay, William halted popping question to now wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, with who he has sons Prince George and Prince Louis, as well as daughter Princess Charlotte with, because he didn't want to make the "same mistakes" as his father Prince Charles, who got engaged after six months of dating, and married the same year.
Kay told The Express: "Everything about William you can trace back to what happened to his parents — he lived through the bitter breakup of their marriage.
"He knows how much what happened to them destroyed their marriage. He’s very concerned not to make the same mistakes."
Prince Charles proposed to the late Princess Diana in early 1981, and they were married in July the same year, but split 15 years later in 1996.
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The Prince of Wales went on to marry Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess Camilla, in 2005.
While Prince William proposed to Duchess Catherine on a safari in Kenya in November 2010, after they met at University of St Andrews in Scotland many years prior.
The couple wed on 29 April 2011, and will be celebrating 11 years of marriage next month.
However, prior to tying the knot Kate, 40, made one very important request to her husband.
According to a recently resurfaced documentary Prince William worked very hard to ensure that Kate Middleton’s life would remain as "normal" as possible when entering the royal fold.
The most important element was reportedly Kate’s relationship with her family, with a royal expert explaining that Prince William worked hard to include his in-laws in royal life.
In fact, according to experts Prince William promised Kate that she would not be forced to put the Windsors above her own family, and he made a huge effort to ensure that they weren’t side-lined.
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Maisie is a writer and editor, covering Royal News, Showbiz, Lifestyle content, as well as Shopping Writing and E-Commerce, for print and digital publications, including Marie Claire, Hello!, Fabulous, Mail Online and Yahoo!.
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