Prince William took two huge risks before life-changing moment that Kate Middleton knew nothing about
He managed to keep the Princess of Wales in the dark about this until afterwards but spoke about his choices in a major interview
In the lead-up to one of the biggest moments in their relationship, the Princess of Wales was blissfully unaware of what Prince William was planning - and risking. The couple marked their 15th wedding anniversary this year and several reports have claimed it was on 20th October that he actually popped the question in 2010.
William and Kate publicly announced their engagement a few weeks later and before proposing on a private holiday to Kenya, the future King made two bold choices. For a start, he didn't do the traditional thing and ask for her father Michael Middleton's permission beforehand.
When he was questioned about his approach in the couple's engagement interview, William explained that he was "torn" but then the "realisation that he might actually say 'no' dawned upon [him]."
The Prince continued, "So I thought if I ask Kate first then he can't really say no. So I did it that way round. I managed to speak to Mike soon after it happened really."
The Royal Family and the Middletons are both quite keen on tradition so it's interesting that William switched things up and got Kate's "yes" before reaching out to his father-in-law-to-be. Michael clearly didn't mind at all and seemingly kept the news a secret from Carole, who only found out later.
However, the Prince of Wales's way of doing things led to an "awkward" moment with his mother-in-law. The Princess admitted, "We had quite an awkward situation because I knew and I knew that William had asked my father but I didn't know if my mother knew."
Apparently she didn't, because Kate went on, "But it was amazing to tell and obviously she was very happy for us."
It wasn't just the way he proposed that Prince William took a risk with, but the ring too. He decided to propose with Princess Diana's iconic sapphire and diamond ring and he'd been taking it everywhere with him for weeks until the right time.
"I had been carrying it around with me in my rucksack for about three weeks before that and I literally would not let it go," he said. "Everywhere I went I was keeping hold of it because I knew this thing, if it disappeared I would be in a lot of trouble".
This piece is world famous and incredibly expensive, though it's also sentimental so the possibility of losing it would've been terrible on so many levels for the future King. Thankfully, Prince William managed to keep it safe until he popped the question and the risk was worth it as he said the proposal went "really, really well".
According to royal expert Russell Myers in William & Catherine, the couple "agreed to savour the moment" and decided to "keep the news out of the public domain until they returned home". Almost a month later the news was announced and Queen Elizabeth was said to be "delighted".
Privately, the late monarch seems to have been hoping for this happy news for quite a while. At a reception held at Windsor Castle the same afternoon, the Queen was congratulated by a guest and allegedly responded, "It is brilliant news. It has taken them a very long time".
