Britain's Prince William has become engaged to longtime girlfriend Kate Middleton

story/video by CNN
written by Mellissa Gray

London, England (CNN) -- Britain's Prince William is engaged to Kate Middleton, and has given her the engagement ring his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, got from his father, Prince Charles, he said Tuesday.

"It's my mother's enagagment ring, so of course it's very special to me, and Kate's now very special to me, so it was only right to put the two together," he said Tuesday.

The ring, a huge sapphire surrounded by diamonds, was last seen in public on the day Charles and Diana divorced, royal biographer Mark Saunders told CNN. That was in 1996.

Tuesday's announcement ends years of speculation about whether and when the prince would propose to his longtime girlfriend.

The prince and Middleton, both 28, have been dating since 2003. Rumors have been rife for years that they were close to marriage.
read more: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/11/16/uk.prince.william.engaged/index.html?hpt=C1