The Prince and Princess of Wales have marked 15 years of marriage with a heartfelt family portrait. Taking to social media, the royal couple posted a sweet photo with their children, a decade and a half after they exchanged vows at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011.
In the candid picture, which looks to have been taken during a family holiday in Cornwall earlier this month, William and Catherine can be seen lounging in the grass while their three children are sprawled next to them, with the whole family basking in the sun. The image also captured their youngest son Prince Louis playing in the sand, enjoying a game of cricket, and running along the beach. 'Celebrating 15 years of marriage,' they wrote.
A Look Back at Their Journey
Last year, the royal couple released a romantic picture taken during their visit to the Isle of Mull, where they are known as the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay. It showed Kate and William lovingly holding each other as they enjoyed a quiet moment at dusk in Tobermory. They arrived earlier in the day wearing matching tweed jackets as William and Kate carried out a series of engagements across the Scottish island, but also pencilled in some quality time for themselves on the romantic getaway.
The official visit came two decades after William and Kate holidayed on the Scottish island with a group of university friends, as revealed by the Daily Mail's Royal Editor Rebecca English. They enjoyed their stay so much that they even had a 'water bomb match' with their neighbours, sipped pints in the local pub, did their shopping in the Co-op, and enjoyed a friendly BBQ with locals.
From University to Royalty
On the eve of their 15th wedding anniversary, Prince William returned to his old RAF base in Anglesey for what would have been an especially sentimental trip. Before they were married, Kate decided to move to Wales with her prince charming, who was stationed at RAF Valley as a search and rescue pilot between 2010 and 2013. The royal couple moved into a rented home for which they paid £750, as William admitted the early years of their relationship were 'great fun' during yesterday's visit to RAF Valley.
The life partners of more than 20 years became friends first at university, where Kate was working towards an art history degree, while William, who initially enrolled for history of art, had switched to geography, before embarking on a romance. It is said that Kate caught the attention of the young prince at a charity fashion show in the spring of their first year at university. A 20-year-old Kate confidently strutted in front of her peers wearing a revealing sheer dress with a black bra and underwear for a fashion show titled 'The Art of Seduction'. Prince William, who paid £200 for a table close to the catwalk, is said to have been open-mouthed. The lace slip itself later sold for £78,000.
They then moved into an apartment with friends during their second year of studies 'as friends' but 'it just sort of blossomed from there really,' the Prince later said in the couple's official engagement interview. Despite a short hiatus in 2007, William proposed in 2010 in a cabin hut roughly 11,000 feet above sea level on the side of Mount Kenya in Africa after getting back together.
The Wedding of the Century
Before long, they were wed in a grand fairy-tale ceremony in Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011, with the aisle of the Gothic London church lined with trees. The bride wore a stunning Alexander McQueen gown designed by Sarah Burton, and the Queen lent her the Cartier Scroll Tiara for the big day. Prince Harry served as his brother's best man, with both the Duke of Sussex and William dressing in traditional military uniforms. The affair, attended by a crowd of 1,900 including royals, celebrities, and politicians from across the globe, was hailed the wedding of the century at the time. Following the ceremony, the newlyweds stood on the Buckingham Palace balcony to exchange not one, but two kisses, and the celebratory crowds went wild. Upon their marriage, the Queen granted the couple the titles the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, which they would later trade in for the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Overcoming Challenges Together
It is likely that this anniversary will be all the more special after William admitted 2024 was 'the hardest year of my life' due to Kate's cancer diagnosis, as well as his father's. In September, the Princess revealed she finished her course of 'preventative chemotherapy' and shared it reminded her and her husband to 'reflect and be grateful for the simple yet important things in life, which so many of us often take for granted. Of simply loving and being loved.' The princess's personal message to the nation was accompanied by a stunning three-minute-long video showing her and William in Norfolk with their three children—Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis—shot last summer. It shows the family playing happily on the beach and in the woods, William and Catherine laying entwined on a blanket, hugging their children, and kissing.
Some six months earlier, Kate released another emotional video where she revealed that she was undergoing treatment for cancer but also gave an insight into her relationship with her husband. She said the diagnosis came as a 'huge shock' to both her and William, adding that they were doing 'all they can' to process it both as a couple but also as a 'young family.' 'It has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte, and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them and reassure them that I'm going to be okay,' Kate said. 'Having William by my side is a great source of comfort and reassurance, as is the love, support, and kindness that has been shown by so many of you—it means so much to us both.'
