Live updates: Catherine, Princess of Wales, says she has cancer

Kate and William, whom she praised for the “comfort and reassurance” he had given her after her diagnosis, have been a couple for more than two decades.

They met while studying at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and initially struck up a friendship. They began dating in 2003, around Christmas time, after she walked down the runway for a university charity fashion show wearing a see-through dress that, as the well-known story goes, captured the young prince’s attention. 

After graduating in 2005 with a degree in art history, Kate briefly worked as an accessories buyer for British women’s fashion chain Jigsaw, continuing to date William amid frenzied media attention until they split up in 2007. 

Their split lasted only a few months, however, and they publicly announced their engagement in November 2010. Kate’s sapphire and diamond engagement ring originally belonged to Princess Diana. 

Media coverage at the time focused on Kate’s middle-class upbringing in Berkshire, southeast England, the Middleton family, and her mother Carole’s career journey from flight attendant to successful entrepreneur, spinning a “fairytale” narrative of the first commoner in more than 350 years to marry a prince in the direct line of succession to the throne.  

Much pageantry and fanfare accompanied their wedding at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011. Kate wore a custom-made Alexander McQueen dress, complete with such precise detailing that seamstresses had to replace their sewing needles every three hours, according to British Vogue. 

Around 1,900 guests attended the ceremony while the British public were granted an extra public holiday to mark the occasion. Across the country, 24 million viewers — about a third of the population — tuned in to watch. The US viewership was estimated around 22.8 million.