It’s hard to believe it’s been fourteen years since Prince William married his university sweetheart, Kate Middleton. Having charted their romance from those heady days at the University of St Andrews to their wedding at Westminster Abbey, April 29th 2011, is a day I fondly remember. The roar of the crowds on the mall as the newly married Duke and Duchess of Cambridge stepped out onto the famous Buckingham Palace balcony for the very first time was palpable.
Both William and Kate were beaming, unable to conceal their joy. Kate in her magnificent Alexander McQueen wedding dress looked every inch the modern princess while William, resplendent in his red Colonel of the Irish Guards frock coat, looked like the proudest man on the planet. As they surveyed the sea of people which stretched from the gleaming Queen Victoria Memorial to St James’s Park, William whispered to his wife: “Shall we do one more?”
The world had waited patiently for that kiss, but when William leaned in for a second, the crowds cheered and stamped so loudly, I remember the floor of the studio where I was broadcasting, vibrating.
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge smile following their marriage at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011 in London, England.
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
The couple was on such a high that when they went back to Clarence House ahead of the evening reception – they watched the entire wedding on playback. As I revealed in my book, The Making of A Royal Romance, Kate was still in her tiara. Perhaps on Tuesday, as they toast 14 years together, they will reflect on some of the highlights of that magical day. The couple is in Scotland on a two-day tour of the Inner Hebrides, their first joint trip away since Princess Kate announced she had been diagnosed with cancer last March.
Usually, William and Kate celebrate their wedding anniversary privately but when they were told the trip fell on their anniversary, they were more than happy to take advantage of the opportunity for a night away. Eschewing the luxury of a five-star hotel, the couple will be staying in a modest lodge in the remote countryside.
It is, according to those who know the couple best, their idea of a perfect night in. “They really love the simple things in life,” a family friend tells Vanity Fair. “A little cottage in the middle of nowhere is their idea of heaven.”
Prince William, Prince of Wales, known as the Duke of Rothesay and Catherine, Princess of Wales, known as the Duchess of Rothesay when in Scotland, smile during a tour of an artisan market on April 29, 2025 in Tobermory, Scotland.
Chris Jackson/Getty Images