All About Kate Middleton and Prince William's Special Connection to Wales

The couple's history with the U.K. nation started long before King Charles named them Prince and Princess of Wales

Just one day after Queen Elizabeth died on September 8, the new King Charles III gave his first speech to the nation as monarch. In the broadcast, the King announced officially that his son Prince William and daughter-in-law Kate Middleton were now the Prince and Princess of Wales.

As William and Kate take on their new roles, a royal source tells PEOPLE the couple is focused on "deepening the trust and respect of the people of Wales over time."

"The Prince and Princess of Wales will approach their roles in the modest and humble way they've approached their work previously," the source adds.

The source says of Kate, "The new Princess of Wales appreciates the history associated with this role but will understandably want to look to the future as she creates her own path."

Charles served as Prince of Wales, the title traditionally associated with the heir to the British throne, for most of his life and had a special connection to the U.K. nation. But Kate and Prince William, both 40, also already have a strong relationship with Wales — in fact, it's where they lived as newlyweds and first-time parents!

This file picture taken on March 31, 2011 shows Britain's Prince William at the controls of a Sea King helicopter during a training exercise at Holyhead Mountain, having flown from RAF Valley in Anglesey, north Wales. Prince William spent his 29th birthday at work as a Royal Air Force helicopter pilot on Tuesday June 21, 2011, in a far cry from the pomp and ceremony that surrounded his marriage to Kate Middleton just weeks ago. The son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana will be on duty at a RAF search and rescue base in Anglesey, north Wales, waiting for possible emergency call-outs, said Clarence House, his official residence.
Prince William in 2011. JOHN STILLWELL/AFP via Getty

Prince William trained to become a helicopter pilot with the Royal Air Force's Search and Rescue Force, graduating from the Search and Rescue Training Unit at RAF Valley, Anglesey in Wales in 2010. According to Tatler, he was the first member of the royal family to live in Wales since King Henry VII in the 1400s.

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Prince William and Kate announced their engagement in 2010, adding that they would continue to live in North Wales, where William worked as an air sea rescue pilot for the RAF.

Kate made her first official royal outing in Wales a few months later in February 2011. She joined William at the Trearddur Bay Lifeboat Station, where she christened the new Hereford Endeavour lifeboat as William applauded his bride-to-be.

Kate Middleton and Prince William launch the new Hereford Endeavour lifeboat as they visit Trearddur Bay Lifeboat Station at Anglesey on February 24, 2011 in Trearddur, Wales. The newly engaged couple named the Trearddur Bay Lifeboat Station’s new Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat the ‘Hereford Endeavour.’ The vessel was launched during the naming ceremony and the crew demonstrate some of her rescue capabilities. The country is gearing up for the much anticipated wedding of the couple scheduled to take place on April 29, 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London
Kate Middleton and Prince William in 2011. Chris Jackson/Getty

After the couple wed in April 2011, Wales was the setting for Prince William and Kate's life as newlyweds. It was also where they spent their first months as parents — they welcome their first child, Prince George, in July 2013.

Just a month after Prince George's arrival, Prince William made his first royal outing since becoming a father at the nearby Anglesey agricultural show, where he got a close-up look at birds of prey.

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge holds a bird of prey during his visit at Anglesey agricultural show on his first official engagement since the birth of his son Prince George of Cambridge last month at Anglesey Showground on August 14, 2013 in Bangor, Wales. Prince William had two weeks parental leave from work as a RAF rescue helicopter pilot in Anglesey.
Prince William in 2013. Chris Jackson/Getty

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Also in August 2013, Kate stepped out for the first time since returning home from the hospital after George's birth to start the Ring O Fire Anglesey Coastal Ultra Marathon alongside William, not far from their Wales home.

Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (R), and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (L) arrive at Breakwater country park to start the Ring O Fire Anglesey Coastal Ultra Marathon in Holyhead on Anglesey, north Wales, on August 30, 2013. The Duchess of Cambridge made her first public appearance since the birth of Prince George as she joined her husband Prince William at an event on Anglesey.
PAUL LEWIS/AFP via Getty

Although they relocated their home base to Kensington Palace in London — and then this past summer, to Windsor — as they grew to a family of five, Prince William and Kate returned to Wales often for royal engagements. Whether they were sampling ice cream (in February, no less!) or chatting with Cardiff University students over roasted marshmallows, the couple always left an impression.

Shahzeb Akhtar, an optometry student at Cardiff University who met Prince William and Kate in 2020, told PEOPLE, "They really bounce off each other well. They're a really friendly couple."

Alice Holloway, a law student, added, "They asked how the pandemic has impacted our wellbeing. From the start, they asked specific questions about how students are doing and what is being done on our behalf. The fact that they put the effort in on this issue helps lift it and be recognized that this is worth talking about."

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge visit Joe's Ice Cream Parlour in the Mumbles to meet local parents and carers on February 04, 2020 near Swansea, South Wales.The Duchess of Cambridge launched a landmark survey '5 Big Questions on the Under Fives' on the 21st January which aims to spark a UK-wide conversation on raising the next generation.
Prince William and Kate Middleton visit Wales in 2020. Arthur Edwards - WPA Pool/ Getty

For Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee celebration weekend in June 2022, Kate and Prince William visited Cardiff with two very special guests: their eldest children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

The day was especially poignant for George, who is likely the next Prince of Wales, as the visit mirrored his father's first official trip to Wales when he was the same age. Back in March 1991, William joined his mother, Princess Diana, and father, Charles, in Cardiff. The excited crowds handed the young prince daffodils — the Welsh national flower — as he went on a walkabout outside Llandaff Cathedral.

Their appearance in Wales underlined one of the main objectives of the Jubilee weekend — to not only celebrate the Queen's 70-year reign but also stress the future and the succession of the monarchy.

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, Prince George of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge during a visit to Cardiff Castle on June 04, 2022 in Cardiff, Wales. The Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II is being celebrated from June 2 to June 5, 2022, in the UK and Commonwealth to mark the 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952.
Ashley Crowden - WPA Pool/Getty

Just three days after Queen Elizabeth's death, Prince William spoke to the leading politician in Wales, First Minister Mark Drakeford, in their first conversation since he and Kate were made Prince and Princess of Wales.

William said he and Kate have a "deep affection for Wales," as it was the setting for so many of their personal milestones.

During his conversation, William also vowed to serve the people of Wales "with humility and great respect."

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge on a visit to Newborough Beach where they met the Menai Bridge Scouts and explored the beach’s wildlife habitat, during a visit to North Wales on May 08, 2019 in Anglesey, United Kingdom.
Prince William and Kate Middleton visit Wales in 2019. Paul Ellis - WPA Pool/Getty

William also spoke with Drakeford about how the couple is looking "forward to celebrating Wales's proud history and traditions, as well as a future that is full of promise. They will seek to live up to the proud contribution that members of the Royal family have made in years past."

William's call with Drakeford, who leads the Welsh Parliament or Senedd, followed the prince's first function as Prince of Wales — witnessing his father King Charles' solemn Accession and Declaration on September 10.

Prince William, Prince of Wales (R) watches as his wife Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales is presented with a posy of flowers by four-year-old Theo Crompton during their visit to the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) Holyhead Lifeboat Station in Anglesey, north west Wales
Kate Middleton and Prince William. PAUL ELLIS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Prince William and Kate visited Wales for the first time since becoming the Prince and Princess of Wales as soon as they could — on September 27, 2022, one day after the royal family's mourning period for Queen Elizabeth's death came to an end.

"He is throwing himself into the new role," Rev. Steven Bunting, who hosted the couple at St. Thomas's Church in Swansea, told PEOPLE. "The fact that they've come straight here on day one says it all."

Bunting added that Prince William shared that he is learning Welsh, practicing the phrases "paned" (a cup, such as of tea) and "bara brith" (traditional Welsh tea bread).

Catherine, Princess of Wales visits St Thomas Church, which has been has been redeveloped to provide support to vulnerable people, during their visit to Wales on September 27, 2022 in Swansea, Wales.
Kate Middleton and Charlotte. Geoff Pugh - WPA Pool/Getty

Princess Catherine especially charmed the little ones, including 2-year-old Charlotte, who helped the royal fill a care package, and 4-year-old Theo Crompton, who excitedly presented her with a bouquet of flowers at the RNLI Holyhead Lifeboat Station.

"She was fabulous. The kids all loved her. She doesn't talk down to them and can have a conversation — and they appreciate that," said Rachel Bunting, the wife of the reverend and mother of Charlotte, who wore a traditional Welsh costume.

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