Prince William's blunt reason for splitting with Kate: 'I wanted to be sure'

Royal photographer Arthur Edwards, 86, has shared the answer Prince William gave for the couple's brief pre-engagement split: he wanted to be sure the marriage would last. Edwards told the story on Hello's "Right Royal" podcast on November 6.

"When they got engaged, there was a couple of us invited in to meet Catherine," Edwards said. "I asked him, 'What did you break up for?' He said, 'Because I wanted to be sure. Because I want this marriage to last forever.' I think it will."

The split that led to the proposal

William and Kate, both 44, met at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, dated for years, then briefly went their separate ways before reconciling. William proposed in 2010 with his late mother Princess Diana's sapphire-and-diamond ring, nearly a decade after the pair first met. Diana had died in a car crash in 1997.

Edwards also recalled the engagement photocall, where he rushed to photograph Diana's ring. "Her hand was shaking with nerves! I said, 'Oh, hang on, hold it steady, just till I get the ring sharp.'" He added: "I wished them all the best, and they were incredibly happy. Every time I see them now, they are a good team."

The couple married at Westminster Abbey in London on April 29, 2011, and now share three children: Prince George, 13, Princess Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, 7. Their marriage was tested in 2024 when Kate was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer; she revealed in January 2025 that she was in remission after chemotherapy.

William, for his part, told Heart Radio in May that Kate is "absolutely stunning, brilliant" and "an amazing mum, an amazing wife," joking that most evenings he has to fight past the paperwork she lines up in the bedroom. He added that he was "so proud" of how she returned to royal duties in recovery and that she had been "looking forward to the Italian trip a lot."