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Prince William and Kate Middleton announce their engagement today after weeks of speculation
Prince William, the second in line to the throne, is to marry his long-term girlfriend, Kate Middleton, next year, Clarence House announced today.
The long-expected statement ended speculation in recent weeks that an announcement was imminent. The prince asked Middleton last month during a private holiday in Kenya and has, the royal press office stressed, asked her father's permission. The formal statement said Prince Charles, William's father, was "delighted".
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were also "absolutely delighted", said Buckingham Palace. Political leaders echoed the sentiment.
The couple will give a media photocall at St James's Palace this afternoon
Full details of the wedding plans have yet to be announced. The statement said only that the wedding would be next spring or summer in London.
St Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey are possible venues, although both have painful resonances: St Paul's was where Charles's ill-fated wedding to Princess Diana took place, in 1981, and the abbey was where Diana's funeral took place, in 1997.
William and Kate have known each other for eight years, since meeting as students at St Andrews University. They subsequently shared student accommodation for two years and, apart from a brief separation in 2007, have been together ever since.
Middleton will be the first commoner to marry an expected future king for 350 years, since Anne Hyde married the future King James II, in 1660.
The eldest of three children, she is the daughter of Carole and Michael Middleton, whose family fortune is based on a mail-order children's party accessories business.
David Cameron said the whole country would join him and his wife, Samantha, in wishing the couple "great joy". Later, he said he had spoken to the prince to pass on his congratulations, and predicted "a great day of national celebration".
The prime minister told a press conference at Downing Street it felt "great to have a bit of unadulterated good news", and said a cheer had gone up at today's Cabinet meeting when he told ministerial colleagues.
The Labour leader, Ed Miliband, said via the social network Twitter: "Delighted for Prince William and Kate Middleton on their engagement. The whole country will be wishing them every happiness."
Scotland's first minister, Alex Salmond, played the Scottish card as he joined those congratulating the couple. "Of course," he said, "this was a match made in St Andrews, and everyone in Scotland will join with me in wishing the prince and Ms Middleton every happiness as they look forward to their wedding day, and a long and fulfilling married life together."
Graham Smith, spokesman for Republic, a group campaigning for an end to the monarchy, said: "We mustn't see the government wasting limited resources paying for a major set-piece event … if people are being told to tighten their belts, if the government is making thousands unemployed, if welfare payments are being slashed, it would be sickening for the government to allow a single penny more to be spent on the royals at this time."
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