The Prince and Princess of Wales celebrated their twelfth wedding anniversary yesterday but had known one another for nearly a decade prior to their wedding day of April 29, 2011. (They met as first year students at the University of St. Andrews in the fall of 2001; while it’s unclear exactly when their friendship turned romantic, they were platonic and even roommates prior to beginning their romantic relationship around 2003.) Outside of a brief split in 2007, the couple remained together until William finally proposed in the fall of 2010, and they married about six months later.
Of course, dating William wasn’t like dating your average stockbroker or lawyer or insert career path here—in addition to seeing a future with him, Kate also had to reckon with a future as Queen, and vis a vis, being one of the most famous women in the world. Twelve years of marriage in, it’s clear for so many reasons that William (and Kate) made the right choice, and their three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis have only made their bond stronger. But what makes Kate the right fit for William specifically, and for her future role as the wife of a King?
