The Royal Wedding and Beyond: A Look Back at William and Kate’s Most Memorable Moments Inline

  • Royal Couple
    Photo: Getty Images
    1/23

    While most reports indicate that the future royal couple met while they were students at St. Andrews, royal biographer Katie Nicholl claims that Kate had been introduced to William well before they went to university. In fact, she says that Kate had been accepted to Edinburgh, but dropped her place, took a gap year, and applied to St. Andrews. The two began officially dating, and during their four years at university, they were protected from paparazzi through an agreement between Clarence House, editors, and Britain’s Press Complaints Commission. Here, a personal photo from the Middleton family on graduation day in 2005.

  • Royal Couple
    Photo: Getty Images
    2/23

    The couple escaped public scrutiny and paparazzi lenses at St. Andrews, but after graduation, they were thrust into the public eye. This pressure is said to have been one of the factors that lead to their much-publicized breakup in April 2007. Here, they were photographed one month earlier at the Cheltenham Festival horse race.

  • Royal Couple
    Photo: Getty Images
    3/23

    William and Kate’s breakup was short-lived, thankfully. They began being seen together again just a few months later in June, and in July, they were photographed at the memorial concert for Princess Diana. By the time the two were spotted on a ski trip in Klosters, Switzerland, in March 2008, it was clear they were once again a couple, and engagement speculation began.

  • Royal Couple
    Photo: Getty Images
    4/23

    Here, Kate attends William’s graduation from Royal Air Force flying school in April 2008. It’s quite a significant appearance, as Prince Charles was in attendance as well.

  • Royal Couple
    Photo: Getty Images
    5/23

    William proposes to Kate during an October 2010 getaway to Kenya, after carrying around the engagement ring that belonged to his late mother, Princess Diana, in his backpack for weeks. “It was very romantic,” Kate said later in an interview with ITV News political editor Tom Bradby. “There’s a true romantic in there. I really didn’t expect it. It was a total shock . . . and very exciting.” On November 16, 2010, they posed for engagement photos and offered their first televised interview as a couple.