Let's look at a more fun family: the Dutch one. Máxima gave birth to their third daughter last week. Now they have Amalia, Alexia and Ariane. Much cuteness. And when you look at their piccies, it seems that at least these people have some kind of normality ...

starling, Lancaster,

I think kate should count herself lucky. Who would want to marry into the Windsors anyway ? Look at the way Prince Williams mama was treated by the royal family, and Sarah Ferguson. ..And to be honest, who really cares ? There are far more important things going on around the world than the exploits of the dysfuctional family who sit on the throne of England .

lynne, lincolnshire, england

The man has to live his life, date a few women and then make a decision. He is young - and has not had a chance to see and enjoy life, follow his dreams etc. This is the time to do it. I am glad he followed his heart and ended this crazy young - doesnt make any sense relationship!!!

Joseph , new york, NY

I think that if William feels he is too young for marriage, then he's making the right decision. It sounds to me as if he's a bit spoiled and wants to have his cake and eat it too. But when the pressure to get married got too strong, he ran away. Better that than to make a miserable marriage as did his parents.

Michelline, Jacksonville, FL

Zelda Stone, London, UK - no you're wrong. His private life *is* his job. It's his duty to produce an heir and a spare. His duty to conduct himself properly - he represents our nation constitutionally. What he does in his private life is completely our business and I agree with Sarah. We pay for the useless twerps, we own them, they're our servants.

James, London, UK

I'm not fussed about Wills and Kate (I think they have a right to privacy), but all this general support for the 'we're too young' excuse is starting to sound absurd. I'm 24 and getting married in 10 weeks (and yes, it is both a university romance and first serious relationship, which has so far lasted 5 years). My parents also married at 25 and are still happily married after nearly 30 years. I'm particularly intrigued by the American 'way too young for marriage' comments - with all this wonderful philosophy, surely America's divorce statistics should be plummeting? I don't think there are that many people who should be commenting on the 'appropriate' age to marry. Surely it depends on an individual's maturity and willingness/reluctance to commit. Biologically speaking, women would be much better off having children in their early twenties - the fact that the average age for marriage has gone up to 29 doesn't seem to have made the world a particularly happier or more stable place.

Emily, Cambridge, UK

Perhaps this is merely a way to remove some of the attention and pressure that has been mounting. These two may very well continue on quietly as usual without the media glare and find their relationship even better as a result. As proven in the past, it's better to control this story than to allow oneself to be swept along by it.

Kelly, Bangor,

Like father, like son? Remember HRH Prince Charles met a young lass too early. They were right for each other but he wasn't ready to settle down and sailed away. Will HRH Prince William, in years to come, live to regret not asking Kate to marry him now?

Truett, Houston, USA

I’m surprised they lasted as long as they did considering the amount of harassment that they both have received from the press.

Journalists should earn they pay better by providing us with real news that’s happening around the world, the private life of Royals, public figures or celebrities are defiantly not at the top of my reading list. If I wanted to read trashy articles I would read The Sun!!

Stewart Setter, Basildon, UK

We here in the states follow with love and interest the life of the royals especially William and Harry. God bless these two people for having the courage and sense to end the relationship before it was too late to do so. I know they will come together again years down the line if it is to be., or otherwise just stay good friends..........Best wishes from our country to these young people.......

Edie Egan, Middletown, N.Y., U>S>A

Seems to me that the quotes in this article from "one close friend" are pretty clearly fabricated.

John, London,

too young?? When you are in love and you know you want to spend the rest of your life together it does not matter if you re 24 or 30.
my parents married at 20 and 22 years old and have been married 68 years now.

bea, caoe town, south africa

I reckon Kate could do better anyway. Wills is getting to look a bit ugly these days.

Roberto, Roma, Italy

I expect she got the elbow when the hierarchy realised that she was too far from the royal gene-pool!

But seriously, who, apart from the "Royal Anoraks", gives a damn?

E J Murray, Kerry, Ireland

Amen, Claudia from Atlanta.

Mid-twenties is a good age for a girl to get married. It is not "too young" at all. Girls grow up more quickly than boys, and they have a biological clock. William and Kate were at exactly the right age for marriage, but obviously Wills isn't mature enough (even though he should be by now).

Starling, Lancaster,

Sarah, I don't know about your boss but my employers have no interest in my private life whatsoever and nor should they. It has no bearing on my ability to do my job. Interest in the Royals is just like all interest in 'celebrities'. Its just voyeurism. That's fine, within limits, but lets not pretend it has some higher moral justification.

Zelda Stone, London, UK

This is all good! Time out! Maybe forever or maybe a few years. Still could be a fairytale ending! But better split now than a split after marrying. Oh my pain, pain! Too much though to expect that the media will back off! How can any relationship he has survive the continual scrutiny.

Jay Tweeter, Brisbane, Australia

This is not "News" - please stop the endless analysis! Two young people have split up after a few years together. It happens, get over it.

Ruth Deegan, Basingstoke, UK

5 years too early? Are you saying he should not date another girl for at least 5 years then?

Des, Handsworth, UK

Let's not forget we pay them to do what they do, so it's quite reasonable for us as their employer to take an interest in what they do.

Sarah, London,

Why don't we hear more about Harry and his women? Chelsy Davey needs a little more exposure before those two break up so that she will be worth a little more to the press $$.
By the time Wills is 30 he'll be bald and boring anyway. Kate will do better out of this split than he will. Hell, she may have played her cards perfectly- Who'd want to marry into the royal family anyway...use Wills for some exposure..brilliant.

Paul Keating, Sydney, VIC

This has absolutely nothing to do with any of us. I feel sad when I hear of any relationship breaking up. Kate seems to be a very nice person; I wish her well and hope that she is no longer burdened by a hoard of reporters and photographers.

Barry Mellish, Bromley, UK

Enough hand-wringing and enough sneering at the Windsor family's recent record of marital failure. Who are the worriers and sneerers to judge? Are they all married to their first serious boy or girl friends? Of course not. Kate was William's first serious relationship. There will be more, perhaps several more. That's the way it should be. Let him find the woman he really wants to spend his life with. If it wasn't to be Kate, so be it.

Donna Trump, Spuzzum , BC, Canada

Honestly, they are just kids. But it is truly ridiculous all of ths focus on royalty in your part of the world. Why? It just doesn't make sense to us here in America. We have our Presidents.... and that is also a very boring hype to follow, yet you squeeze one certain family for centuries. Your royals are just people with human weakness and abilities. I think you ought to leave them all alone to become what they chose in this world.

Diana, Leesburg, Virginia, US

This story is not boring, but symbolic of the problem that a lot of young women go through in their early 20's. They spend years in their 20's in one or two serious relationships with young men their own age, only to be tossed out like yesterday's news when the time to commit arrives. Then they turn into desperate Bridget Jones's types, looking to beat their biological clock. Some women make it, many others don't. As a result our population declines rapidly.

I say we start a reeducation campign and try to push our young women in their early 20's not to mess with men their own age, and instead date men at a minimum 5 years older then themselves. When I was in my 20's, the only men I dated were all my own age, as that's where my social activities lay. I wish someone had warned me differently. In fact, we should even change official policy and change the drinking age in the US from 21 to 19 for females, so females can try and snag an older mate at a pub while they still can.

Claudia, Atlanta, USA

I'm so amused at you folks in the UK regarding your disappointment over the William and Kate thing! Where is your common sense? Most people in the USA would consider William and Kate to be way too young for marriage. If both were 5 to 7 years older, then it would seem to be appropriate that they marry. However, with both in their mid-twenties, that's just too young. Pressuring this young couple to marry in order to contribute to The Firm's image is definitely not a good idea. Each of them should experience more of life as single people prior to the commitment of marriage, especially Kate, who must know all too well how constricting marriage to a royal would be. My hope for them is that they stay in touch, continue to mature and experience life and then---say 5 years from now---revisit the marriage issue. That would be a fairy tale ending!

Nancy, Santa Barbara, CA, USA

I am absolutely perlexed I took ages to carefully write my comment re William and Kate, I wrote it slowly and in a careful considered fashion and I am very concerned at your remarks, as far as typing it ,it was typed in plain font type, my name is Beverley Martin from Portugal,and sinister things are happening to my computer, and I want to expose this evil remote controller that came with this supposed ly brand new shop bought show room model PC.Please tell me what it is that you are seeing and receiving thats different to the.norm.

Beverley Martin, QUARTEIRA, ALGARVE, PORTUGAL

... or, put another way, he's so stupid it's going to take him another 5 years to grow up and be more of a character deserving of the privleged upbringing he's had.

They're not too young. All this waiting until you're older may be what people do nowadays, but is it working? Women endlessly searching for a man who's got the integrity and maturity to settle down, men thinking marriage is something to put off until you have to, and henceforth a load of disastrous marriages that are literally the last resort.

I've no respect for William or Kate, but this excuse of "too young" is unacceptable for us all.

Laura Roberts, London, UK

For Gods sake William your the only good thing along with your brother that has come out of ' that family ' for years. Do your own thing, your great uncle David Did! You and Kate are in our thoughts!

Harri Roach, London,

Entering into marriage is one of the most important decisions of one's life. So, if in doubt opt out! Kate and William have lived in a very structured, supervised, and protected environment all their lives. The relationship has run it's course for the moment. They both need to experience independence and freedom in order to learn the art of making wise choices about life. Perhaps they will get back together sometime in the future, who knows! But it will be a different relationship and they will be looking for different things. In a sense love never dies, but it does change - it needs to breathe! It is when it can't that it dies.

Pat Younge, Waterford, Ireland

I consider that no one has any right to intrude in the relationship between Prince William and Miss Middleton, less Prince Charles. it is their own business and people should think in much more important matters, like the war in Mesopotamia or the future of the UK, than this broken love affaire. But everybody might agree that her behaviour through these four years was quite impeccable. She never said a word to the press; she had a very low profile. Only we have seen her in official events just lately, when she showed up when Prince William received his title as officer of the Guards. I had personally a great sympathy for this young lady, and I feel certain sadness for her, taking into account that she was a victim of some yellow press like the late Diana Princess of Wales had been for years, including the day that she perished in Paris. We must hope that whenever he will marry, he will not repeat the disastrous errors of his father, which destroyed the life of his mothe

Doctor Louis A. F. v. Wetzler, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Both Kate & Wills are to young for such commitment, to a disfunctional firm. Give Wills a chance to mature before he settles. He is just a Spencer in the house of Windsor.
Kate missed out on title. But what the heck she came close to it.

ViVi, Amsterdam, Netherlands

How on earth can this story precede the one about 36 dead in a suicide bombing in Iraq on the BBC news?

Ken.Wyatt, Todmorden, UK

Whilst I think that it as a shame that Prince William and Kate Middleton have called it a day it is probably better now rather than later.
What I do deplore is the attitude of your columnist, referrign throughout to William and Middleton. Why not William and Kate or Prince William and Miss Middleton?

J R Polden, Hornchurch, UK

FORNICATION / ADULTRY: it was doomed from the very first day.

Of course I'm speaking from experience...

To think the parents supported this is terribly sad...just awful.

No morals, no values...no God...no nothing...just too much money. And this kid will head "The Church of Blighty" one day?

Confess your sins, repent, and live clean lives! PLEASE!!!

Victoria, Biarritz, FRANCE

William is held in great affection by the British public in a way that his father has never achieved. But William should not abuse that affection particularly in this age of ultra intrusive media attention. Is it that William the worlds most eligible bachelor fancy's himself as a bit of a ladys man? If so he would do well to realise that not every girl he gets involved with will be as intelligent principled and discrete as Kate Middleton. If any indiscretions become public he will gradually lose the respect of the public as previous royals have. He has been fortunate to apparently meet the right girl for him at an early age and the British public by and large have been really pleased for them both. He is a fool not to seal the deal. She was once reported as saying that he was lucky to have her and how right she was. One can only hope for his sake that he realises his mistake. As for Kate she may come to see this as a lucky escape. There are plenty of other women few are Kate Middletons

Brychan Roberts, Brecon Beacons, Wales

Kate's far too good for him.

eddie foster, plakias, crete, greece

This is a real tragedy! Of course, Kate wants to get married and have a family. She is certainly old enough to get married now! These are the best years of her life. The odds of a woman marrying after age 25 goes down dramatically.
Shades of Charles and Camilla. They should have married years ago.
William and Kate will never be happy if they do not go ahead and get married. Here's hoping they do not marry others on the rebound.
Go ahead, William. Get Kate and go to the justice of the peace. To heck with what other people think. It's your life.
William, if you love Kate, you won't let anything stand in your way of marrying her!!! Don't live a life of regret!

Lambert, Atlanta, U.S.A.

To Godwin,London;
Actually there are many wonderful ,mature, honest young women;Kate Middleton is just one of them.The question is more;can William with his background stay with one ,or is such a woman too mature for him?

Joanne, Vancouver, Canada

Comments about the royal family behaving badly / having faults / not being the best role models etc. When the people who passed those judgements can be better royals than our current family then they have the right to judge. But seeing as very few people actually know what it is like to be royal how can we ever know how easy/hard or even enjoyable it is. Leave off, they are just normal people like you and me and are bound to have the same trials and tribulations if not quite a few more we will be lucky never to experience. William and Kate have no need to satisfy the publics' wants for them, and hopefully soon everyone will leave them alone.

Nicola, Cambridge, England

They split up. People do it all the time, sadly much further down the line than William and Kate were. I think they deserve the right to choose their future without being judged by every Tom, Dick and Harry who thinks he knows what's best for the royal family.

Good luck to both William and Kate, and may they both lead happy lives - regardless of who they choose to spend them with.

Dan, Canterbury, Kent

matured and honest person like kate middleton is hard to find this day,i am so sad since i heard of the end of their relationship and i am still now. there is so many young and matured men out there hoping and praying to have a girl like kate as a girlfriend or wife and not some of the drunkers and one night stand girl

Godwin, london, uk

It's most amusing to read all the comments. Everyone is soooooo well informed, and knows so much about the inner workings of the Windsors. If this is so boring, why take the time to read the article and respond to it? Most of the nasty sniping sound like so much sour grapes to me. To some of my fellow Americans: I'd take the Windsors any day over the Texas Trash we now have in "power".

John McIlray, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA

So they 'met each other too early'? I go to university and I believe I have the inside scoop on this one. When a relationship between two young people is going well but one or both of those involved secretly has the nagging feeling that (despite the wonderfulness of their partner) they ought to be sleeping with many different people, a prosperous relationship ends. The reason given? They just 'met too early'. If we had met five years later then maybe...

It's a familiar story. Most young people are not satisfied with receiving the kind of fulfilment an intimate relationship offers from just the one individual. Perhaps their relationship has succumbed to this.

On the other hand, this story falls into the realm of Prince William and Kate Middleton's private life. PRIVATE - that means NOT public. I'm not sure the media or the public should be so swift in offering judgemental explanations for the failure of the relationship. It's none of their business.

Walter, York, N. Yorks

Let's be honest - royal men since time immemorial have been fielding multi-bedmates. Prince William has been treated like he is this paragon of virtue, and that he would be so monogamous and faithful, but come on. He's only partly his mother's son. He is also his father's son, and part of a tradition of promiscuity that is attached to being a royal. It's amazing he stayed with the girl as long as he did, but hey, he can have his pick of the crop, and he has to do nothing to go out and get it; it literally falls into is lap. Put some perspective on it, and drop the "love, heats, and roses" sentimentality. This is what royal men do - married or not!

Ann Rogers, Seattle, WA USA

Ross McPharter, perhaps P J Plumb expects to pick up his news paper and read about important news that has real relevance and real consequences for the world, not something that could be a second rate story line in Coronation Street.

Ashley McDonald, Bolton, UK

I think that he is right to break it off. Kate is far to bright and intelligent to be associated with the royal family

Hatchet, Newcastle, Australia

What's so wrong with a university romance? Most of my friends (and my parents) are married to people they met at uni.

starling, Lancaster,

If it is so "B O R I NG!!!!" P J Plumb, why are you taking the trouble to post?
Is it because secretly, deep down you don't find it boring at all?

Ross McPharter, London,

Poor Wills... Even it wasnt for his soon to be job title, she would be miles out of his league..... just dont think he's cleverer enought to realise that.

Jamie Brown, Maidstone, England

It's a shame Charles & Camilla, I mean Wills and Kate have split up - maybe they will get together in 20 or 30 years, lets just hope we don't have another Diana..........

Louise, Melbourne, Australia

This headline is absolutely right. Though the couple might be close in age, by her behaviour it is clear that Kate is far more mature in herself and needs, and perhaps was ready for more stability and permanence, than William was prepared for. He deserves to have the life he wants until he is ready to settle down. It is so sad and meanspirited when this young man is being compared to his father every time he does something which does not suit the expectations of others. William is only 24 and needs to develop into his own person without being compared to his father in every action he takes. He has a lifetime ahead of him to be like his father! Just now, William wants to be like every other youngster: to have an enjoyable life when he is young before he settles into responsibilities. Kate Middleton might yet be the right woman for William, but only HE can find that out, not well meaning others with narrow expectations they keep pushing from the sidelines.

Elaine Sihera, Maidenhead, United Kingdom

she is too old and intelligent than him.she is free at last ,no more paparazzi...llgonde zimbabwe

lazarus, Sutton,surrey, england

The previous comments infuriated me! For goodness' sake, why can't the public just let this be? Yes, it's sad as Kate appeared to be a nice girl & we all want William to be happy, but if Charles did give his son some advice about not marrying too young, he did what any good father would have done. If this was the case, it's far likelier to have been because Charles does not want his son to increase his chances of a failed marriage by rushing into it, rather than 'dimishing chances of being accepted as king'. Give the royal family a break - at the end of the day they are human beings who have ups & downs like the rest of us.

Katy Webb, Paris, France

What's the big deal? They are just a couple splitting up? We should be talking about more serious issues affecting the world?

Rene, London, UK

What a pity...We all thought they will stay the course and become the first stable royals.

Lloyd Msipa, Barking Essex, UK

Should this be the lead headline with so much of importance going on in the world? The majority of us don't care about these people yet can't escape the daily media coverage. Why are you so obsessed with these privileged wasters?

Mick, Aberdeen, Scotland

What a dissapoitment William is.He is doing what his father did,step by step.He was supposedly more decisive,more strong from his father.But in the end he again proves to be a ditherer who wants to "fun"and party as if he hasnt for so many years now,avoiding duties having gap years and living a very protected life in University where he was free and was partying and having fun constantly.Harry in all his faults emerges as a much better character,who has his own mind,seems focused in what he wants in his life and most importantly he doesnt allow his father to take his decisions.This smells to me as if Charles told William he is too young to get marry,mainly cause he is afraid a young new Royal couple with deminish the chances he has to be an accepted King.Royals has learned nothing from the past and history repeats itself./

Nina Papas, London,Uk,

She's better off without the Windsors. They have a very poor track record for sustaining modern happy marriages. It's not worth being unhappy.

anne, Melbourne, Australia

I wonder if Harry and Chelsy are next?

Kim Righetti, Upland, Calif USA

Who cares.....it's just another couple breaking up their co-habitation.....B O R I NG!!!!

PJ Plumb, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

I wish them all the very best ...for the future ..I feel time alone will tell what the furture holds for them ............god bless them both ...............

maggie, toronto , Canada

Who cares about this upper class tosh gossip anyway

MJ Jones, Cardiff, Wales

much ado about nothing

Matthew, New York USA,

I believe that nobody should meddle in the relationship between Prince William and Miss Katherine Middleton, is their own business and people should think in much more important issues than the love affaire of the second in line to the British throne with the beautiful and smart Miss Middleton. But everybody might agree that her behaviour through these four years was quite impeccable. She never said a word to the press; she had a very low profile. Only we have seen her in official events just lately, when she showed up when Prince William received his title as officer of the Guards. I had personally a great sympathy for this young lady, and I feel certain sadness for her, taking into account that she was a victim of some yellow press like the late Diana Princess of Wales had been for years, including the day that she perished in Paris. We must hope that whenever he will marry, he will not repeat the disastrous errors of his father, which destroyed the life of his mother.

Louis A. F. v. Wetzler, Buenos Aires, Argentina

I see another Prince Charles, Camilla, and Princess Diana situation. Charles waited too long and now William will someday realize he also waited too long to marry the woman that he really loved.

Connie Carey, Sacramento, California, USA