Prince William & Kate Middleton's Proposal Spot Continues To Be Important In Their Lives

The Prince and Princess of Wales have been married since 2011, but the royal couple still holds a special place in their hearts for Africa, which is where Prince William finally plucked up the courage to ask Kate Middleton to marry him. According to royal expert Katie Nicholl, the two were staying in a secluded log cabin in Kenya when William got down on one knee. "It was a total shock when it came," Kate later admitted in a joint interview with ITV (via Express). "There's a true romantic in there." As William reasoned simply, "It just felt really right out in Africa. It was beautiful."

As the Prince of Wales prepared to travel to South Africa to attend the Earthshot Prize ceremony in Cape Town, in November 2024, he reminisced about that magical day: "Africa has always held a special place in my heart — as somewhere I found comfort as a teenager, where I proposed to my wife and, most recently, as the founding inspiration behind The Earthshot Prize," (via People). William added, "I love this continent. And spent many a year looking around exploring it," (via Hello! magazine). Despite their shared love of Africa, Kate did not join William for his Cape Town trip. 

After receiving a shocking cancer diagnosis early in 2024, the Princess of Wales stopped actively undertaking any royal duties. Although she had completed her chemotherapy by November, Kate stayed behind to take care of her and William's three children.

Even though Catherine, Princess of Wales, was unable to be at her husband's side while he visited South Africa, William, Prince of Wales, assured fans that his wife was doing much better following her health scare. He told eager members of the press that Kate Middleton was "doing really well" after her chemotherapy, adding, "Hopefully she is watching tonight. So cheering me on. She's been amazing this whole year. I know she will be really keen to see tonight be a success," he said (via Hello! magazine). Prince William also sported a friendship bracelet that his daughter, Princess Charlotte gave to him. The princess, who is a big Taylor Swift fan, took inspiration from the friendship bracelet trend among Swifties and gifted her father one that simply read "Papa." 

"She gave it to me when I came away. So I promised that I would wear it and try not to lose it while I was out here," William explained. The beloved royal also noted that he hoped his children would tune in alongside their mom for the Earthshot Prize awards ceremony. William's trip to South Africa would not have been complete without breaking a few royal rules, of course, and the prince opted to take a selfie with a big group of people, which he ended up posting on X, formerly known as Twitter. Queen Elizabeth II notably despised cellphones and the royals typically refrained from taking selfies as a result, but times are changing, and clearly William isn't afraid to shake things up a bit — especially while visiting somewhere with which he maintains a deep connection.