The Duke of Edinburgh took his grandson aside to urge him to get down on one knee as the couple had already been dating for a long period of time by royal standards. 

The Queen was also keen to see her grandson and the future king marry Kate after the young couple patched things up following their famous 2007 break-up. 

In a Sunday Express report which has recently resurfaced, then-royal editor Camilla Tominey said: “Now they are back together, the Queen wants William to do the right thing – either marry the girl or let her go. 

“She would rather they broke up for good now than get married only to have it end in divorce in five years’ time.

“But if Kate is the one, then a five-year courtship is long enough. 

“Prince Philip has told William he cannot keep stringing along Kate for ever.” 

William and Kate met in 2001 while studying at St Andrew’s University in Scotland. 

The pair began dating in 2003 and things looked like they were going strong until the sweethearts parted ways in early 2007, only to rekindle their romance in July of the same year. 

Royal fans were itching for news of an engagement for years before William finally popped the question in October 2010 during a trip to the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya. 

In an interview with the Press Association after the announcement of their engagement the following month, Kate spoke about how the break-up had affected her. 

The future Duchess of Cambridge said: “I think I at the time wasn’t very happy about it, but actually it made me a stronger person, you find out things about yourself that maybe you hadn’t realised.” 

She went on to say it was beneficial for her to spend some time independently after being romanced by the prince for years, while under the spotlight. 

She added: “I think you can get quite consumed by a relationship when you are younger and I really valued that time for me as well, although I didn’t think it at the time, looking back on it.” 

William, on the other hand, summed the time apart as a affording him “a bit of space” and said in the end “it worked out for the better”. 

William today celebrates his 37th birthday with Kate, 37, Prince George, five, Princess Charlotte, four, and Prince Louis, 14 months, at his side. 

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