COVERSTORY
Like many relationships, William and Kate's started out as friends after they lived together at university and shared the same course. Eventually, the pair began dating, and despite attempts to keep their blossoming romance low-pro?le, the media continued to speculate and in 2004, it was ?nally announced they were a couple. Both graduated in 2005 and in the same year, Middleton complained to her lawyer about harassment from the media, soon after receiving her own 24-hour security detail supplied by the Royalty Protection branch. The media glare was relentless, regardless of William’s best efforts to keep his personal life out of the limelight, and in 2007 it intensi?ed amid reports the couple had broken up. However, much to the delight of the public (and I'm sure the heartbreak of millions of young girls), William and Kate reconciled a few months later, having been spotted together at a number of public occasions. Finally, in November 2010, Clarence House announced the news we had all been waiting for: Prince William and Catherine Middleton had become engaged during their 10-day visit to Kenya the previous month. On his decision to give Kate the sapphire engagement ring that had belonged to his mother, William explained, "It's very special to me. As Kate is very special to me now, it was right to put the two together. It was my way of making sure my mother didn't miss out on today and the excitement, and the fact that we're going to spend the rest of our lives together." To say the announcement triggered a massive me