UK prince proposed to fiancée in Kenya

Britain’s Prince William, the second in line to the throne, will marry his long-term girlfriend Kate Middleton next year.

William, 28, is the eldest son of heir to the British throne Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

Middleton, also 28, became engaged in October while on holiday in Kenya at the Lewa Conservancy, said Clarence House, Charles’ official residence.

A daughter of the conservancy owner is believed to have at one point been the prince’s girlfriend.

“The Prince of Wales is delighted to announce the engagement. The wedding will take place in the spring or summer of 2011 in London,” said the statement.

“Prince William has also sought the permission of Miss Middleton’s father. Following the marriage, the couple will live in North Wales where Prince William will continue to serve with the Royal Air Force.”

Prince William is serving as an RAF search and rescue pilot based on Anglesey in northwest Wales, after graduating in September following 18 months of training.

Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip were “absolutely delighted” for the couple, Buckingham Palace said.

The royal family appears to love holidays in Kenya. Queen Elizabeth heard news of her father’s death while on holiday in Kenya in 1952.

British Prime Minister David Cameron’s spokeswoman said the premier was “delighted” and sent the couple his best wishes. Opposition leader Ed Miliband said the “whole country will be wishing them every happiness.”

The couple’s wedding will come a year before the queen marks her diamond jubilee — or 60 years on the throne — and London hosts the 2012 Olympics.

Middleton — the daughter of self-made millionaires — and William met in 2001 at St Andrews University in Scotland where they were both studying art history.

The wedding will come 30 years after Charles and Diana married in what was billed at the time as a fairytale wedding and which drew crowds of hundreds of thousands onto the streets of London. The couple divorced in 1996.

Diana died in a car crash in Paris in 1997 while being chased by paparazzi photographers, sending Britain into an intense national mourning and unleashing anger at the queen.

Middleton’s parents are a former airline pilot and air stewardess, who went on to make their fortune in the children’s party business.

The princess-to-be, who is six months older than William, has in recent years been employed by the family business, Party Pieces, after an initial foray into the working world in London caused her to be hounded by press photographers.

The intense spotlight on the young woman drew comparisons to Diana.

Prince William flew into Afghanistan on Sunday for a surprise visit to honour Britain’s war dead, attending a ceremony at Camp Bastion in Helmand province, the home of the estimated 9,500 British troops deployed in the country.

The prince had already paid a secret visit to the country in 2008, visiting frontline troops in Kandahar, and his younger brother Harry served in Afghanistan for 10 weeks that same year.

Speculation about the royal nuptials reached fever pitch following news earlier this month that Middleton’s parents, Michael and Carole, had joined a private shooting party at Charles’ private residence in Scotland.