Prince William and girlfriend Kate Middleton have been sent congratulations from around the world after announcing their engagement.

英国威廉王子与其女友凯特·米德尔顿宣布订婚之后，收到来自世界各地的祝福。

Jewellers say they have already had orders for copies of Miss Middleton's engagement ring

On Tuesday, the couple, both 28, revealed they would marry next spring or summer after the prince proposed while on holiday in Kenya in October.

The prince gave her his mother Diana's engagement ring - which he said he had carried in a rucksack（帆布背包） for three weeks.

Prince Harry¹ said he was delighted and that it was like gaining a sister.

The engagement has made front page headlines globally, with The Times describing the pair as "the new romantics".

Family ties

The announcement ends months of speculation²（投机，推测） for the couple, who have been together for eight years after meeting while students at St Andrews University, Fife.

Speaking in a joint³ television interview, Prince William said giving Kate the distinctive⁴ sapphire⁵（蓝宝石） and diamond engagement ring was his way of keeping his mother close.

"It's my mother's engagement ring so I thought it was quite nice because obviously she's not going to be around to share any of the fun and excitement of it all - this was my way of keeping her close to it all," he said.

He said the timing⁶ was right for the pair but stressed that no-one was "trying to fill my mother's shoes."

His bride-to-be called the late princess "an inspirational woman" and said that joining the Royal Family was a "daunting⁷（使人气馁的） prospect⁸" but something she hoped to take in her stride.

They refused to say whether the prince proposed on one knee but Miss Middleton did say: "It was very romantic and very personal".

Prince William said: "You hear a lot of horror stories about proposing and things going horribly wrong - it went really, really well and I was really pleased she said Yes.

He revealed he had asked Kate's father for her hand in marriage after he had asked her, and said the pair had found it difficult to keep their big news a secret.