Bishops congratulate Prince William and Kate Middleton on their engagement

The Bishop of Blackburn has joined in the well-wishing after Prince William and long-term girlfriend Kate Middleton announced their engagement yesterday.

The pair met as students at the University of St Andrews and have been together for the last seven years, but it was only while they were on holiday together last month in Kenya that the Prince finally popped the question.

The Prince and Miss Middleton looked happy and relaxed with one another when they appeared before the press at St James’s Palace after confirming their engagement.

Miss Middleton was wearing a blue sapphire engagement ring which previously belonged to Princess Diana.

The Queen said the engagement was “brilliant news”, while Prime Minister David Cameron said it was “a great day for our country”.

The Prince of Wales said he was “delighted” by news of their engagement.

Speaking in the House of Lords, the Bishop of Blackburn, the Rt Rev Nicholas Reade, offered congratulations to Prince William and Miss Middleton on behalf of the Lords Spiritual.

He said: “I should like to express our delight at this wonderful news. We wish his royal highness and Miss Kate Middleton our very best wishes and assure them of our prayers not only today but in the months to come.”

The couple have confirmed that their wedding will take place in London next spring or summer, with Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral and Windsor Castle possible venues.

Westminster Abbey may hold painful memories for Prince William as the place of his mother’s funeral in 1997. Charles and Diana’s wedding was watched on TV by 750 million people around the world when it took place at St Paul’s Cathedral in 1981.

Comparisons are already being drawn between Miss Middleton, the daughter of entrepreneurs, and Princess Diana, who came to be known as the ‘People’s Princess’ because of her huge popularity with the British public.

Prince William said: “It’s about carving out your own future, not trying to fill my mother’s shoes. What she did is fantastic. But it’s about making your own future and destiny and Kate will do a good job of that.”