Thirty years after the fairy-tale nuptials with the unhappy ending, Britain will finally have another big royal wedding: its dashing helicopter-pilot prince — second in line to the throne — will marry the lovely commoner who may someday become queen.

Prince William and Kate Middleton bubbled with joy Tuesday evening in their first public appearance since the palace announced their engagement after more than eight years of dating. Their wedding will be next spring or summer.

In a poignant symbol for William, his betrothed wore the sapphire and diamond engagement ring that belonged to his late mother, Diana.

"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," William said.

While the romance of the two 28-year-olds is the stuff that dreams are made of, it is no exaggeration to say that the future of the Windsor dynasty depends to no small degree on the success of their union.

"We're massively excited," William said in the televised interview that marked the first time they have spoken publicly about the trials and tribulations of their love affair, which dates back to their days as university freshmen. "We're hugely excited. We're looking forward to spending the rest of our lives together."

The interview reminded many of a similar TV appearance by William's parents, Prince Charles and Diana, shortly after they became engaged.

At that time, Diana seemed frightened of the limelight and withdrawn; by contrast, Middleton seemed at ease in front of the cameras. She said she wished she had met Diana, who died in a car crash in 1997.

"I would love to have met her. She's an inspirational woman," Middleton said as William looked on.

Royal officials said that while Middleton is commonly known as Kate, her official name is Catherine Elizabeth. She will be named Queen Catherine if William, as expected, eventually takes the throne.

William proposed during a vacation in Kenya last month and gave Middleton the oval blue sapphire surrounded by diamonds from the jeweler Garrard that Charles had given his mother.

在30年前那场童话般的婚礼以悲剧结尾后，英国终于将再度迎来一场盛大的皇室婚礼：英国王位第二继承人——风度翩翩的直升机飞行员王子将和一位可爱的民间姑娘结为夫妻。这位姑娘有一天将可能成为皇后。

周二晚上，威廉王子和凯特•米德尔顿在皇室宣布他们订婚的消息后首次公开亮相，两人脸上都洋溢着喜悦之情。此前两人已经交往了八年多，婚礼将于明年春天或夏天举行。

威廉王子的未婚妻手上戴着蓝宝石钻戒，那是威廉已逝的母亲戴安娜的订婚戒指，它代表着威廉辛酸的回忆。

威廉说：“我觉得让未婚妻佩戴母亲的戒指挺好的，因为显然她是无法一起分享这些让人快乐和兴奋的事情了。我选择以这种方式让她见证这一切。”

尽管这对28岁情侣的爱情故事非常梦幻，但是却可以毫不夸张地说，温莎王朝的未来在很大程度上取决于他俩的结合是否成功。

威廉在电视访谈中首次公开谈论他们恋爱的苦乐历程时说：“我们非常非常兴奋。我们兴奋得要命。我们很期待相伴走过人生未来的日子。”在那次访谈时他俩还都只是大学新生。

那次访谈让很多人想起一个相似的电视画面，也就是威廉的父母——查尔斯王子和戴安娜在订婚后不久的露面。

那时，戴安娜似乎被这些镁光灯吓到了，显得沉默寡言。相比之下，米德尔顿在镜头面前则看起来很自在。她说她希望自己当初能见戴安娜一面。戴安娜于1997年在一场车祸中去世。

米德尔顿说：“我很想见见她。她是一位鼓舞人心的女性。”说这话时威廉在身旁看着她。

皇室官员说，大家都知道米德尔顿的名字是凯特，不过她的法定名称是凯瑟琳•伊丽莎白。如果威廉最终按预期继承王位的话，她将被称作凯瑟琳皇后。

威廉上个月在肯尼亚度假时向米德尔顿求婚并送给她这枚椭圆形蓝宝石镶钻戒指。这枚戒指是当初查尔斯送给他母亲的，由珠宝商杰拉德制作。