For Princess Kate agreeing to marry her husband Prince William , it was not just a question of following her heart - she had a complicated dilemma to wrestle with before accepting his mother's iconic sapphire ring. The couple met while studying at St. Andrew's University, and their friendship quickly blossomed into a fairytale-esque romance that would captivate the country.
Although it was expected that William would marry a fellow aristocrat, it was middle-class Kate who caught his eye. After realising Kate, now 42, was the woman for him, Prince William proposed in 2010, almost eight years after their courtship began. For ordinary girl Kate, this would mean accepting a royal role that would change her life forever - and it wasn't a decision she took lightly.
READ MORE - Prince William's huge row with late Queen over 'defiant' act involving Kate and children READ MORE - Prince Harry's 'snipe' at Kate Middleton was 'lowest of the low' for Prince William In his 'revelatory' new biography Catherine, Princess of Wales , royal correspondent Robert Jobson sheds some light on what exactly was going through Kate's mind as she realised she was following in the footsteps of her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana. In a passage which has now been published in the Mail Online, Robson wrote: "When Prince William proposed to Catherine Middleton in 2010, in the wilds of Kenya, he gave her his mother's sapphire and diamond engagement ring. Astonishingly, it fit her perfectly, without any adju.