To celebrate the announcement of Prince William and Kate Middleton's engagement, here are 50 things you may not know about the couple.
The Proposal
1. The couple only informed the Queen and the Prince of Wales of their engagement two hours before it was made public.
2. He asked the permission of Kate's father, Michael Middleton, only after he had proposed.
3. Prince William informed Prince Harry of the news by saying: "You've got a sister."
4. Prince William carried his late mother's engagement ring around in a rucksack in Africa for three weeks before proposing to Kate at a conservation park in Kenya.
5. William proposed next to a remote lake on the slopes of Mount Kenya 12,000 ft above sea level which they reached by helicopter.
6. They stayed at the Lewa Downs nature reserve which is owned by the family of Prince William's close friend Jecca Craig. He went there shortly after his mother's death in 1997 and also spent his gap year there.
7. The engagement was tempered by the death of Kate's grandfather Peter Middleton, a former airline pilot, last week aged 90.
8. The first years of their married life will be spent at a farmhouse on the island of Anglesey.
Trivia
9. Prince William's star sign is Cancer while Kate's is Capricorn - considered the opposite sign by astrologists.
10. The couple's nicknames for each other are "Babykins" for Kate and "Big Willie" for William.
11. Kate prefers to be called Catherine. Her middle name, fittingly, is Elizabeth.
12. The Prince's middle names are Arthur Philip Louis.
13. If Kate becomes Queen she will be the first British monarch with a degree. (2:1 History of Art from St Andrews)
14. She will also be the oldest spinster bride to marry a future king.
15. She will be the sixth Queen Catherine, after Catherine of Valois, Catherine of Aragon, Kathryn Howard, Katherine Parr and Catherine of Braganza.
16. The couple's favourite song is "I Like The Way You Move" by the Bodyrockers.
17. Kate is famed for her sausage and mashed potato suppers.
18. A horse named Tocatchaprince stormed to victory in the 1pm race at Fakenham two hours after the engagement was announced. His mother is called Queen For A Day.
University
19. Prince William claims he tried to impress Kate with his cooking skills at university – although she often had to rescue his attempts.
20. The couple dressed as Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler for their final May ball at St Andrews University
21. Prior to dating Prince William, Kate had a relationship with another St Andrews student, Rupert Finch, who is now a lawyer.
22. Kate was named the prettiest girl at her halls of residence, St Salvador's.
23. Prince William said he "knew there was something special about her" from the moment they met.
24. Their first public kiss was on a skiing holiday in Klosters in January 2006.
London life
25. In 2005 panic buttons linked to the police were installed at Kate's home in Chelsea.
26. One of Kate's favourite tipples is reportedly Jack Daniels, although she has been known to drink the "Crack Baby" cocktails sold at Boujis.
27. She is an enthusiastic dancer who William once said "would dance me under the tables".
28. Max Clifford estimated that Kate could have sold her story for £5 million during their brief split in 2007.
Fashion
29. The celebrity hairdresser Richard Ward is responsible for tending to Kate's brunette tresses.
30. Kate once turned down the chance to be an ambassador for Ralph Lauren.
31. For her first official interview Kate wore a dark blue "Lucky" dress by Issa. She has the £349 dress in every colour available by the Brazilian designer.
32. Prince William wore a navy suit by Gieves & Hawkes, the Savile Row tailors.
33. While Kate's choice of wedding dress is undecided Prince William will wear full military dress as a member of the Armed Forces
Early years
34. One of Kate's earliest memories is a white rabbit marshmallow cake that her mother baked for her seventh birthday.
35. Aged ten Kate played Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady.
36. It has been claimed that Kate used to "moon" at boys from her window at Marlborough College.
37. Kate attended all-girls boarding school Downe House for two terms but failed to settle in and left in favour of mixed school Marlborough.
38. At school her nickname was "Princess in Waiting".
39. Kate had a picture of the Levi's jeans model on her wall at school, not Prince William.
40. Prince William once visited Marlborough College for a sports fixture but the pair did not meet.
41. Prince William's prep school Ludgrove, in Wokingham, Berks was less than ten miles away from Kate's prep school, St Andrew's, in Pangbourne.
42. Aged 14 Prince William reportedly announced that Emma Bunton from the Spice Girls had replaced Pamela Anderson in his affections
Family
42. Kate met the Queen for the first time at the wedding of Peter Philips, the Princess Royal's son, to Autumn Kelly.
43. Prince William has reportedly already taken to calling Michael Middleton, Kate's father, "Dad".
44. The couple are 12th cousins once removed through their common ancestor - the 16th century soldier Sir Thomas Leighton.
45. The engagement was announced on by Clarence House on Twitter and on the Queen's Facebook page.
46. Kate's great-great-great-great-grandfather James Harrison was a coal miner in the village of Byker, now a suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne. He first went down the pit in 1819 – the year that William's great-great-great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria was born.
Love of sport
47. Kate devotedly watches Prince William play polo despite her allergy to horses.
48. Despite his regular trips to Klosters, Kate is widely acknowledged to be a better skier than her fiancé.
49 She held her school records for high jump and long jump.
50. Both went on the same adventurous gap year expeditions as volunteers with Raleigh International in Chile just months apart.
