Time.news – It has already been 10 years since that ‘yes’ that made the world dream and for the wedding anniversary of Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton, as usual, Kensington Palace has spread two new portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge: smiling, tenderly embracing in the gardens of their home in Kensington, she wears a blue Ghost dress-wallet and around her neck what could be William’s gift, a white gold chain with a pendant, a daisy, in 18 diamonds carat.
The anniversary is important and comes at a difficult time for the royal family and for the country, after the recent death of Prince Philip, Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah Winfrey with the embarrassing accusation that the royal family is “racist” and, of course, the pandemic.
What was supposed to be a celebratory occasion for the royal family is instead remembered in a discreet, almost subdued way, even if the couple of the Dukes of Cambridge is increasingly loved by the British and they are entrusted with the future of the monarchy, primarily in terms of image and popularity.
It is Kate – who for years has behaved impeccably – seems to be the ‘card’ on which the Royal Family wants to focus, in consolidating its image: after all, the Duchess of Cambridge has grown up in ten years of marriage: da shy and shy girl has become a woman, mother of three children, who knows how to overcome storms and knows how to play, without smudging, a central role in the monarchy.
Memories of the royal wedding
On the anniversary of the wedding, the British press returns to the ten-year path of one of the most followed couples in the world, highlighting in summary that William “has lost a bit of hair while she appears more brilliant than before. In the meantime, they have raised three children and they look happy today, more than they did when they got married 10 years ago, ”writes the Times.
Among the souvenir shots that have been republished for days, that of the day of the royal wedding, celebrated on April 29, 2011 at Westminster Abbey, William 28 years old, Kate, a few more months. A mind-boggling wedding – 1,900 guests, total cost of 20 million, 5,000 bells tolling, 2.7 meters of train for the bride’s dress, to name just a few numbers – broadcast live in 180 countries and followed by 2 billion people around the world.
The next day, when the two left Buckingham Palace hand-in-hand, the royal couple wasn’t just headed to their secret honeymoon location – they were about to embarking on a life together that has seen them travel the world, work with charities and raise a family.
Only three weeks later the first royal duties arrived: in May 2011 they met US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle, on an official visit to the United Kingdom. It was the first of a long series of commitments carried out first in two and then, at times, accompanied by children.
The highlights of the couple
Among the highlights remembered by the BBC with a selection of ten emblematic photographs, in chronological order, the participation of William and Kate, alongside the then Prime Minister David Cameron, at the London Olympics, in the summer of 2012. In the autumn of the same year, on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee, they represented Queen Elizabeth II on a long journey to Asia and Oceania, going to Singapore, Malaysia, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.
On July 22, 2013, Kate gave birth to Prince George, presented to the world at the exit of St Mary’s Hospital, in central London, a few hours after giving birth, she smiling as if she had just come out of the hairdresser. In spring 2014, the whole family left for a three-week tour of Australia and New Zealand, the first official trip with their son. On May 2, 2015, Princess Charlotte arrived, whose official meeting with the other members of the royal family was baptism at Sandringham, two months later.
The Dukes of Cambridge, now two parents, then continued their royal commitments, carrying out charitable activities in support of youth and mental health, as well as making several trips abroad, including a tour of India in April. 2016, often remembered with the visit of the Taj Mahal, and one of the last in Pakistan, in October 2019, marked by several sports activities shared by the couple. In the meantime, the family has expanded further, with the third child, Prince Louis, born April 23, 2018.
The relationship with Harry and Meghan
Not even a month later, on May 19, Prince Harry married Meghan Markle. And from that moment, actually even before, the relations of William and Kate and the rest of the family with the dukes of Sussex have been a crescendo of tensions, misunderstandings, rivalries and accusations, culminating in the Megxit, the ‘divorce’ from the House Real of Harry and Meghan, with their move to California in January 2020.
More recently, further darkening the family life of British royalty, in addition to the pandemic in 2020, were the sensational revelations of the Dukes of Sussex about racism within the royal house, the pressures suffered, which have also cast a bad light. the Dukes of Cambridge.
One of Meghan’s many complaints to Kate was that of making her cry on her wedding day, which further complicated the already difficult relationship between the two brothers (also because the version given of the episode, months earlier, had been exactly the opposite: that is, that Meghan had made Kate cry).
On April 17, at Prince Philip’s funeral, Kate appeared to be the peacemaker: at the exit of St George’s Chapel, when some members of the Family decided to walk back to Windsor Castle, she approached Harry, and he spoke to him quietly; indeed, it seemed to encourage the two brothers to do the same. In short, Kate not only ‘rock’ but also with a peacemaker role between the two.
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