Why did Prince William take so long to propose to Princess Catherine

why did Prince William take so long to propose to Princess Catherine the prince had been dating Catherine for several years and many feared that he would not dare to propose to her but William had his own reasons for delaying the engagement he admitted that he didn't want to repeat the fate of his father and many other family members who went through a divorce so William wanted to make sure that Catherine was really the one the prince was also giving Catherine a chance to decide whether she wanted to tie her fate to the royal family and condemn herself to the scrutiny of the public Catherine herself commented in on the years of waiting for the proposal noted that during that time she was able to better understand herself and mature it helped her to better perform her job as the wife of the air to the throne