The Prince and Princess of Wales made a surprise appearance on their wedding anniversary as they popped into a charity to see how their special day had helped it grow.
William and Kate headed to IntoUniversity as they marked fifteen years of marriage and spent part of their anniversary hearing about how it’s helping tens of thousands of young people achieve their ambitions every year.
The organisation is one of a number that received money from the Royal Wedding Gift Fund which was set up ahead of William and Kate’s 2011 marriage so that anyone wanting to get them a gift could donate to charity instead.
At the time of the royal wedding in 2011, IntoUniversity had six centres in London. It now has 46 across the country and helps 60,000 young people every year.
On their anniversary, the Prince and Princess of Wales joined one of its FOCUS Day activities which sees children and young people spend time seeing how further education could help and inspire them.
William and Kate joined Year 5 pupils from Victory Primary School at IntoUniversity in Walworth where they took on team challenges and explored astronomy and the creative tasks that can come from studying the subject.
(Photo by Matt Porteous)
Rachel Carr, co founder and Chief Executive of IntoUniversity, said ”fifteen years ago, Their Royal Highnesses’ Royal Wedding Gift Fund provided generous support at a crucial moment for IntoUniversity. It not only helped us to continue our work, but also gave us the confidence to grow. Today, we are supporting tens of thousands of young people across the UK each year, and it was a privilege to share a part of that work with Their Royal Highnesses in person.”
As well as the secret engagement, not revealed until William and Kate arrived in Walworth, there was another special moment for the couple on their anniversary.
They were spotted having lunch at the Goring Hotel in London where Kate had stayed on the night of April 28 2011, the eve of her wedding to Prince William. She famously emerged beneath a canopy to climb into the vintage car that took her to Westminster Abbey for their marriage.
The Prince and Princess of Wales also shared a new photo to mark the anniversary. They chose a picture of them with their three children as they enjoyed a family holiday in Cornwall earlier in April.
The unusual anniversary portrait put family first with Kate at the centre of the image while Prince Louis, 8, and Princess Charlotte, 10, lay next to her. Prince George, 12, is sitting alongside his mum with his dad, William, on his other side.
The image was taken during their Easter break by Matt Porteous who also snapped a birthday portrait of Prince Louis which was shared when the youngest of the Wales children celebrated his eighth birthday on April 23.
William and Kate married at Westminster Abbey on April 29 2011 in front of royalty from around the world. Millions tuned in to watch the ceremony and the celebrations that followed with the couple famously sharing a kiss on the Buckingham Palace balcony.
