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Prince William - Source: Reuters -
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Kate Middleton is a patient gal, but her perseverance is unlikely to be rewarded with an engagement ring from Prince William this Christmas.
Dubbed "Waity Katie" by the British press, the 26-year-old is yet to receive a royal proposal despite being William's on-off paramour for the past six years.
The rumour mill had been running hot earlier this year that a royal engagement was on the cards for this Christmas, with a wedding to follow in the middle of 2009.
But the speculation dampened down considerably in recent months after William, 26, revealed a change of heart about quitting the military to become a full-time working royal.
After a brief split last year, the couple spent 2008 appearing as devoted as ever.
Kate marked her return to the public stage in April when she was photographed beaming with pride as she watched William receive his RAF pilot wings at an official function.
Engagement rumours began to swirl, as royal commentators interpreted her attendance at the ceremony as firm confirmation they were back together.
The following month, the rumour mill went into overdrive when the couple shared a romantic holiday in the Caribbean and Kate made it known she wanted to be called by her birth name, Catherine.
Bookmakers were so certain a royal engagement was imminent that they stopped taking bets on whether William would pop the question.
Britain's Daily Mail suggested that Kate preferred to be called Catherine as the name was a "more formal moniker suitable for a future queen".
"Everyone knows it's about to happen with Kate and William but we were a little surprised about the request to call her Catherine," the paper quoted a close friend as saying.
"There's a distinct feeling that she has started to become very aware of her position."
More speculation followed when Kate turned down the chance to spend Christmas with the royal family for the second consecutive year.
Her decision to spend the festive season with her parents and sister hinted that it could be her last Christmas as a single woman.
However, William's recent decision to transfer from the army to air force in the new year appears to indicate that Kate might be spending a few more Christmases with her family.
William spent much of 2008 expanding his experience serving in Britain's defence forces in preparation for the day he becomes king and head of the nation's armed forces.
It had been expected that after two years in the army and two brief stints with the navy and air force this year, he would become a full-time working royal and undertake duties on behalf of the Queen in 2009.
But the young prince had a change of heart, announcing in September his desire to become a full-time pilot with the Royal Air Force.
At the time, William revealed he wanted to fly after completing a four-month training course with the RAF.
But his new-found love has not been without controversy.
While still in training with the RAF, William landed himself in hot water after he used a RAF Chinook helicopter to fly himself and younger brother Harry to a stag weekend on the Isle of Wight.
Just two weeks later, he again provoked a storm of outrage after he was caught flying a Chinook helicopter in a field adjoining Kate's family's sprawling country home in Bucklebury, Berkshire.
The head of the RAF was reported to have "erupted" with rage over the incidents.
But the RAF appears to have forgiven William and agreed to let him train to be a pilot in 2009.
William, who once said he would not marry until he was nearly 30, will be busy from January when he starts an 18-month training course to become a full-time pilot with the Royal Air Force's search and rescue squad.
His decision is likely to mean he will spend more time apart from Kate, especially after he earns his qualifications and begins missions from mountain rescues to disaster relief.
William is expected to be attached to the unit for at least 30 months after he finishes his training, so it is likely he will be in his early 30s before he considers whether he wants royal duties to be his full-time job.
Despite reports of Kate having a "minor wobble" after William announced his career plans in September, she appears content to stand by her prince ... and wait.
While William continues on his military career path, Kate's appears to have come to a halt.
Some media reports have described her as "workshy" while she waits to become a royal bride.
Kate quit her job as an accessories buyer for High Street chain Jigsaw at the end of 2007 and announced that she wanted to pursue a career as a photographer.
But after that failed to take off, commentators began questioning why she didn't have a job.
Reports emerged about how the Queen wanted Kate to get a full-time job or become involved with a charity before she marries William.
Royal sources were quoted as saying that the Queen was concerned William's image could suffer if the public did not consider Kate to be a working professional in her own right.
The scandal over her lack of a career eventually led to unnamed friends of Kate's giving in-depth interviews to celebrity magazine Hello! in September.
They insisted that far from being workshy, Kate was working for her parent's mail-order company, Party Pieces, photographing new stock for its website.
"She is working very hard for her parents at their company Party Pieces and has been doing so for the past few months on a daily basis," one said.
"She is a young woman who wants to keep active and that is why she is annoyed at the headlines saying she doesn't work.
"She is actually working full-time, is on the payroll and plans to continue doing the job."
Some argue her decision to work for her parents is probably wise as it enables her to keep a low profile.
Others, however, say that because she is not yet engaged to William there is no reason she should not go out to work in a regular job.
Given William's decision to pursue a career as a pilot, royal sources now believe an engagement could be at least another 18 months away.
"There is a lot of planning involved in a royal engagement," the source told The News of the World newspaper.
"A number of high-profile people have to be informed formally, and the couple have to be introduced to the prime minister of the day among others. All this takes time.
"As far as I am aware, I cannot see there being an engagement between the prince and Miss Middleton for at least 18 months."
Whether the predictions are correct or not, it appears "Waity Katie" will have to just keep on hoping her patience will be rewarded in the long run.
