The Princess of Wales has become the subject of a new viral video, as footage from her first introduction to the world’s press as a royal bride and future queen resurfaced on TikTok.
Kate first became connected with the royals in 2001 when she attended St Andrew’s University in Scotland in the same year as Prince William. To begin with, the pair both studied History of Art, before William switched to Geography, but they became friends before sharing an apartment and in 2003 they reportedly started to date seriously.
In 2004, William and Kate were photographed skiing in Switzerland, after which the British tabloids reported that the prince had his first serious girlfriend and Kate became the subject of intense public fascination.
Six years later, the official announcement that the couple had become engaged was made on November 16, 2010. The event was marked with an official photo-call, Kate’s first, at St James’s Palace in London.
Uploaded to TikTok by user princess__jo, footage from the photo-call showing Kate and her future husband arm-in-arm as a sea of camera flashes were let off, has been viewed over 250,000 times and received in excess of 12,000 likes and numerous comments, many of which have praised the princess.
“The Future King and Queen,” wrote one user, with another adding: “This was the moment she truly became a future queen 👑.”
A further comment read: “The way she looks at the ring after 10 whole years …..gotcha moment 😂.”
William proposed to Kate during a vacation in Kenya earlier in the year and did so using the engagement ring he had inherited from his mother.
When Prince Charles (now King Charles III) proposed to Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, the bride chose her own engagement ring from a collection brought to Buckingham Palace by jeweler Garrard.
Diana selected a large oval sapphire surrounded by diamonds, set on a white gold band. In gemology, blue stones signify “love” and diamonds “forever.”
Diana was very much attached to her ring and continued to wear it even after she divorced Charles in 1996. It was inherited by her sons after her tragic death in 1997.
In 2022, Kate made a rare public comment about her ring and about her mother-in-law.
During a visit to Wales in April 2023, the princess was caught on camera discussing the ring with a member of the crowd who had come to see both her and William. “It’s the same ring [as Diana’s], and it’s exactly the same size as when I tried it on, yeah,” she said. “So it’s very, very special. It’s an honor to be able to carry on wearing it.”
Kate is rarely seen without the ring, with exceptions being made whenever she visits a hospital and if an engagement involves a rigorous sport such as sailing.
In 2023, William and Kate marked their 12th wedding anniversary, the couple having married on April 29, 2011, at Westminster Abbey.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek‘s royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook page.
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