Britain starts preparing for a royal wedding after Prince William announced his official engagement to long-term girlfriend Kate Middleton, the BBC has reported,

The prince has announced that he had proposed to Kate while on holiday in Kenya in October. He also said he gave his fianc?e the sapphire-and-diamond engagement ring of his mother, Princess Diana, which he carried around for three weeks.

"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," prince William said.

The news of the engagement made front page headlines all over the world.

"It was very romantic and very personal," the bride-to-be commented on the proposal.

The prince also expressed relief that it all went well.

"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 said.

Middleton said that joining the Royal Family was a "daunting prospect," while the prince said that he wanted to give her the best chance to settle in, the BBC informs.

The couple, both 28, have been together for eight years. They said they were looking forward to having children but were planning to take one step at a time.

The wedding is expected to take place in London in spring or summer of 2011. The two will then live in North Wales, where the prince, who is second in line to the throne, is serving with the Royal Air Force.