But the Palace officially announced the now-Prince of Wales was to join the RAF. The decision came as a surprise to everyone, including Princess Kate, as reports speculated William would have popped the question soon.
Royal author Katie Nicholl wrote in her book Kate: The Future Queen: “With that single decision, Kate’s life was turned upside down.
“She had expected a proposal once William had completed his military training, but instead, she was forced to accept that there would be no engagement any time soon. Kate would have to wait even longer.”
The Princess of Wales was allegedly “privately crushed” and “frustrated” as William’s job involved 18 months of training in Shropshire followed by two years at a remote location somewhere in the UK.
The author wrote: “Was Kate prepared to join him? She supported his desires and ambitions, but privately she was crushed.
“William was asking her to be an army wife – without the nuptials. Her frustration was understandable.”
She added that the heir to the throne was confident their relationship would survive the long-distance, with the Shropshire base around three hours away from London, however, Kate allegedly found it harder as all their friends were getting on with their lives and she was being left behind.
Nicholl continued: ” For Kate, it was a step backwards. It seemed that everyone was getting married except for her. As she neared her 27th birthday, Kate’s plan to be married with children by the time she was thirty was looking increasingly unlikely.”
But as we all know the couple worked it out in the end and at the end of 2010 they got engaged and happily married in 2011.
