It’s twenty years since Kate was first snapped with Wills and a tidal wave of unfair criticism began. But I know why she’d do it all again, writes ANGELA MOLLARD

The Prince and Princess of Wales have plenty of other things to think about at the moment, but for their legions of fans, the start of April has a very special meaning.

Because this week marks 20 years since the world first learned that William, heir to the throne, and a 22-year-old commoner, Kate Middleton, were boyfriend and girlfriend.

They were photographed smiling and snuggled together as they rode a drag lift up the slopes of the Swiss ski resort of Klosters.

And on April 1, The Sun published the photo as a world first with the headline “Wills finally gets a girl” – which could indicate the newspaper’s impatience with the young prince’s love life rather than his appeal.

Looking back today, it is clear that any concerns about William’s romantic inertia were hopelessly misplaced.

Because those images show the same connection and care that the couple still exhibits twenty years later. In other words, he waited to choose – and chose wisely.

Kate and William may have looked like any other couple in love at the time, but you can also sense a protectiveness in the young prince, a trait that his wife will benefit from now more than ever.

Maybe it’s instinctive, a natural reaction to knowing that any woman he showed interest in would be in the spotlight.

Or perhaps it’s a trait that originally arose from wanting to protect his late mother, Diana.

Whatever the case, the gentle tilt of William’s head in those first photos reveals a kindness that Kate will rely on like never before as she battles cancer.

Prince William and Kate only seemed to have eyes for each other during this 2005 trip

The first time the young couple was spotted together was 20 years ago in Klosters. Since then, Kate has been a regular at the ski area

Twenty years is a lot of time, especially in a royal context.

It’s longer than the late Princess Diana has been at the forefront of public consciousness and it’s longer than King Charles and Queen Camilla have been married.

But what is also striking about the photos of this and other ski holidays is how happy Kate looks.

It reminds us that we have rarely seen her without a smile.

Little did we know at the time that the beautiful brunette from a decidedly middle-class background possessed exactly the characteristics that would enable William and Kate to form the most solid royal marriage since the late Queen Elizabeth fell for the dashing Philip Mountbatten.

Now that the royal family seems more vulnerable and human than at any time in recent history, it is That relationship that the Prince and Princess of Wales appear to be pursuing in these worrying days.

When Kate spoke of William as “a great source of comfort and reassurance” as she revealed her cancer diagnosis to the world, her words were reminiscent of Queen Elizabeth’s loving tribute to the husband she described on the occasion of her Golden Wedding in 1997 and called her ‘strength and stay’.

Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry held a press call during the 2005 holiday

At a time when the House of Windsor has two of its most important patrons out of action, the strength and solidity of marriage in Wales is a stabilizing force of enormous importance.

That image from twenty years ago reminds us that William and Kate, if they are to be healthy, will be the emblematic figures of the coming century, just as the Queen and Prince Philip were central to the century before.

Unlike Charles and Diana’s marriage, which imploded before our eyes, there hasn’t been a single photo of Kate and William in twenty years that suggests anything other than shared purpose and love.

Whether working alongside each other or attending appointments as a family with George, Charlotte and Louis, they have a bond built to last.

Even when they briefly broke up as boyfriend and girlfriend in 2007, they quickly reconnected. As Kate said afterwards, she wasn’t happy about it, but the experience made her stronger: ‘You learn things about yourself that you may not have known before.’

We can never know for sure what is happening in someone else’s marriage, but that statement indicates not only resilience but also a willingness to grow.

Likewise, Kate’s determination to take responsibility for the Photoshop errors in the family photo released on Mother’s Day shows another strength: the acceptance that people – even the royal family – can sometimes make mistakes.

Shortly after this photo was taken in March 2005, the couple separated. But in July 2007 they were back together

The moving video message to the nation from Catherine, Princess of Wales, as she reveals she has cancer

Prince George, Kate, Prince Louis, Prince William and Princess Charlotte were all there for the first day at their new school in September 2022

After a momentous five years in which some members of the royal family seemed unable to reflect on their own actions – and instead blamed others – the princess’ smooth and swift apology spoke volumes.

From the label ‘Waity Katie’ to author Hilary Mantel’s scathing assessment of the princess as a ‘mannequin’ selected solely for breeding, Kate has endured her share of often very unfair criticism over time.

But when it started coming from the brother-in-law she had once adored and his resentful wife, it must have been even harder to bear.

If 22-year-old Kate Middleton had known she would endure such abuse – including baseless claims of racism – plus the suspected breaches of her medical records and social media speculation so frenzied that she was forced to reveal her private suffering to share with the nation – would she have stayed with the young prince on the ski lift?

My answer is: undoubtedly.

Because Kate’s secret weapon has always been that steeliness behind the smile.