Prince William and Princess Kate, Prince and Princess of Wales, are celebrating 13 years of marriage today after tying the knot at a large function at Westminster Abbey in 2013
Most husbands have given their partners anniversary gifts they’d rather forget – and Prince William is no exception.
He has delighted – and shocked – Princess Kate over the years with presents she’s detested and loved. William himself has admitted some of his gifts have been hit and miss.
And today, as the Royal couple celebrate 13 years of marriage, the Mirror looks back at some of the treasured presents – and those Kate will reportedly “never let him forget”.
It is understood William, 41, bought Kate a delicate £4,850 Ballon Bleu de Cartier watch for their third wedding anniversary in 2014. During a Royal tour of Canada in 2016, Princess of Wales was seen wearing the watch. Set with tiny sapphires, it matches her engagement ring – also another high-rent gift – and also has echoes of Princess Diana, who loved Cartier watches.
Traditionally, your third wedding anniversary symbol used to be leather. Then it got updated to glass or crystal.
But William recently admitted he once gave his wife “a pair of binoculars”. This gift was reportedly early on in the couple’s relationship, which began in 2003.
And Kate, 42, has “never let (William) forget that,” the future king confessed. He made the remarks during an appearance on former England striker Peter Crouch’s podcast on BBC Radio Five Live.
In it, Crouch confessed to giving his own wife, Abbey Clancy, a raincoat for her birthday three years in a row and, after chuckling at this, William made his own admission about the binoculars.
The father of three said: “It didn’t go well. Honestly, I have no idea why I bought her a pair of binoculars, it seemed like a good idea at the time.”
However, William bought his wife a whopping £121,000 jewellery set for her birthday. It is believed this was a gift for her 30th birthday in 2012, though this hasn’t been confirmed.
Kate was seen in the Olympic Cartier set, which is estimated to be worth in the six figures, when she supported the London Olympic games in 2012.
The 18-carat chain has pavé diamonds as well as three intertwined circles of pink, yellow and white gold.
And in 2022, Kate sported a pair of £100 drop earrings that were a Christmas present from Prince William. The gold-plated baubles, featuring an intricate coin-style design and dangling jewels, are from high street brand Sezane – which Princess of Wales is known to love.
The Prince and Princess of Wales are understood to be celebrating their wedding anniversary privately, following her shock cancer diagnosis.
However, Jennie said that William could have a themed present planned for Kate to mark the occasion.
The royal expert shared: “I don’t suppose many people these days take much notice of traditional gifts, but the 13th wedding anniversary is called lace.
“It is said to symbolise the intricate beauty of the relationship and the special care it needs to keep it intact, and that seems particularly apt this year for William and Catherine.”
