Kate Middleton always had all the ingredients to be a princess. She’s warm, beautiful, compassionate, demure, resilient, and a great mother.
But before she married Prince William to become the Duchess of Cambridge, the Princess of Wales, and the future Queen, she was just a normal girl — a Muggle. So join us as we get to know the real Kate Middleton!
A Princess Is Born
Catherine Elizabeth Middleton was born in Reading, Berkshire, on January 9th, 1982. Her parents, Michael Middleton and Carole (née Goldsmith) worked as flight dispatchers and attendants at British Airways. She has two younger siblings, Philippa “Pippa” and James.
Her dad’s grandparents, Noël and Olive Middleton, often hosted the royal family, and he benefited hugely from their generous trust funds. On the other hand, Carole comes from working-class coal miners in industrial County Durham, though she claims to be related to the Queen Mother.
Life in Jordan
In May 1984, the Middletons moved from Berkshire to work for British Airways in sunny Amman, Jordan. Kate attended an English-language nursery school. But Micheal and Carole missed England’s green and lush countryside, so they soon returned to the UK in September 1986.
Four-year-old Kate attended St Andrew’s School, a private school near Pangbourne in Berkshire. The following year, Carole founded Party Pieces, a mail-order company that sold party supplies and decorations. The company took off, and Michael eventually left British Airways to work with his wife.
School Life
In 1995, the Middleton family moved to the picturesque country village of Bucklebury, where Kate boarded at the all-girls Downe House School. She played Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady but was badly bullied, so her parents packed her off to Marlborough College.
At the prestigious Wiltshire school, Kate showed an aptitude for sport, captaining the girls’ field hockey and swim teams and playing netball. While at Marlborough College, Kate had an operation to remove a lump from the left side of her head.
Pip and Squeak
According to Dylan Howard’s book, Royals at War, Kate’s first friend at Marlborough College described her as “shy and gawky.” Another described her as “thin and pale” with “very little confidence.” One teacher explained that Kate was so nervous that she hardly spoke in her early days.
However, they all said Kate warmed up and won friends in her first year. One school had guinea pigs named Pip and Squeak. Since Kate’s sister was called Pippa, she became known as Pip, and Kate was nicknamed Squeak!
Gap Year
After overcoming her shyness, Kate excelled at school. She studied chemistry, biology, and art A-levels. Her exam grades were good enough to win a spot at the University of Edinburgh, but she took a gap year.
Kate studied at the British Institute of Florence, Italy, and traveled to Chile for the Raleigh International program. Weirdly, the month she arrived in Chile, Prince William had just left the same international program during his gap year. Make of that what you will!
Trader Kate
When she returned to Blighty, Kate worked as a deckhand in the Port of Southampton and helped at her mom’s party company. Party Pieces was making millions, and Kate became a great saleswoman. One colleague even admitted, “Catherine had all the makings of a fantastic trader.”
The insider added, “Everybody thinks of her now as a mother and future Queen — whatever that means. But she’s got a shrewd eye for profit and a very hard head on her shoulders.”
The Glossy Posse
Due to her elite schooling, Kate was part of an exclusive, wealthy social club called The Glossy Posse. The group was known for partying and hanging out with young royals like Prince William and Harry.
According to Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand’s royal biography Finding Freedom, “A number of her girlfriends were paid-up members of the Glossy Posse of Berkshire-Gloucestershire socialites who party with the princes.” But Kate would have to wait until university to meet her Prince Charming…
Pulling the Strings
Now would probably be a good time to bring up the notion that Carole Middleton may have masterminded her daughter’s relationship with Prince William. Gossip magazines and Netflix’s The Crown have often called Carole a social climber, and compared her match-making antics to Mrs. Bennet from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
After her gap year, Kate was due to attend the University of Edinburgh. However, when Buckingham Palace announced Prince William would attend the University of St Andrews, Kate suddenly switched to the same university.
University Life
In 2005, Matthew Bell wrote in The Spectator magazine, “It has been suggested that her mother persuaded Kate to reject her first choice [Edinburgh] on hearing the news and take up her offer at St. Andrews instead.” Furthermore, Kate initially signed up to study psychology but switched to art history.
Funnily enough, that was the same subject Prince William had initially studied before switching to geography. But did Kate switch from universities to courses to get close to Prince William? Only she, and perhaps her mother, will know.
The Friend Zone
Either way, Kate met Prince William during their freshman year. Weirdly, she lived in the same dorm rooms, St. Salvator’s Hall and the two soon became friends. While studying, Will and Kate could often be seen sharing breakfast and carrying her bags to class.
However, all the prince’s valiant efforts at good, old-fashioned English chivalry were in vain. William was firmly in the dreaded friend zone, as Kate, who was gorgeous and popular, had a boyfriend, a “tall, dark and handsome aspiring lawyer” named Rupert Finch.
Kate Middlebum
According to Royals at War, at university, Kate developed “a childish love of pranking, which saw her go through the uncharacteristic phase of mooning surprised male students from her dorm windows, a habit that inspired the affectionate nickname Middlebum!”
“Clambering up to the dormitory windows, to the amazement and disbelief of her chums, Kate would drop her pants and treat passers-by to the sight of her bum, wiggling comically in the window. Kate would scream with laughter as cheers from the appreciative crowds outside egged her on.”
The Famous Fashion Show
Then, in March 2002, Prince William paid £200 to cheer Catherine on from the front row at one of her charity fashion shows. Kate walked on the stage, rocking a sheer black see-through lace dress, bandeau top, and bikini bottom.
When Wills saw Kate looking like a vision of beauty on the stage, he was sure she was the right girl for him. However, the path to true love is never easy, and the future Prince of Wales still had a mountain to climb.
Carpe Diem
Kate was very close to her boyfriend, but luckily for Wills, Rupert Finch was several years above them and graduated from St Andrews in the summer of 2002. Kate and Rupert continued dating, but long-distance relationships rarely work.
By the time the chilly Scottish autumn had rolled around, Kate and Rupert had split up. With the ex out of the way, Prince William seized the day and started dating Kate Middleton. But, to quote The Beatles, “they had to hide their love away…”
Secret Love
To protect themselves from the prying eyes of the paparazzi, Wills and Kate never showed any public affection and wouldn’t even sit next to each other at meals. However, during their sophomore year, Kate and two friends moved into Prince William’s apartment at Balgove House on the Strathtyrum Estate.
In 2004, the unthinkable happened, and Kate and Wills split up. Luckily, the hiatus was brief, and they soon realized they couldn’t live without each other, so they got back together.
Graduation Day
In the summer of 2005, Kate and William — or Steve as his friends called him to throw paparazzi off the scent — graduated from Scotland’s University of St Andrews. Kate received an undergraduate Master of Arts (MA) degree in Art History, gaining a 2:1 with honors.
Even though he’s from the British royal family, Prince William performed slightly less admirably than his girlfriend. Yes, folks, Prince William, the future King of England, only did well enough at university to receive an undergraduate MA in Geography with upper second-class honors.
Long Distance Lovers
After leaving university, Kate worked as a project manager for her mom’s mail-order party business. She oversaw the company website and catalog. Then, in 2006, she found an assistant accessories buyer job for the Jigsaw clothing brand in London.
Meanwhile, William joined the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Kate attended his Passing Out Parade in December 2006. Next, the prince joined his grandmother’s Royal Air Force. With Kate working in London and Wills earning his wings as a helicopter pilot, dating was tricky…
Kate and William Split Up
Then, in April 2007, Kate and William suddenly split up, most likely for several reasons. First, they were on different life paths: He was flying around the world in the military, and she was busy working in London. Second, the couple was under intense media pressure, with Kate often hounded by paparazzi.
Finally, William was also under intense scrutiny and wanted to be sure Kate was the right choice. His father, Prince Charles’ new wife, Camilla, believed Kate wasn’t posh enough!
The Real Reason
However, there might have been another reason. Mere days after the couple appeared moody at the Cheltenham Festival horseracing event on March 13th, 2007, Prince William was photographed partying with other girls. The Sun newspaper reported they split the following month over the phone.
Kate said, “I wasn’t very happy about it, but actually, it made me a stronger person. You find out things about yourself that you maybe hadn’t realized.” She spent the summer partying in London with her sister, Pippa.
They Rekindle Their Relationship
Three months later, William and Harry hosted the Concert for Diana, a benefit concert for their mother, who had passed away 10 years prior. Kate and her family attended the Wembley concert, and newspapers reported that Wills and Kate had “rekindled their relationship.”
The following summer, Kate attended Windsor Castle when William became a Royal Knight of the Garter. In 2010, the couple moved into a cottage on the Bodorgan Estate in Anglesey, North Wales, to get some peace and quiet.
Royal Engagement
In October 2010, the couple vacationed in Kenya’s Lewa Wildlife Conservancy to celebrate Prince William getting his RAF helicopter search and rescue wings. Wills asked Kate to marry him at a remote alpine cabin on Mount Kenya.
He got down on one knee and proposed with an 18-karat white gold ring with a 12-carat oval Ceylon sapphire and 14 round diamonds. The engagement ring once belonged to his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, whose nickname for William had been Wombat.
Planning the Wedding
Clarence House announced the engagement in mid-November, and the British public geared up for a grand royal wedding the following summer. The wedding would take place at Westminster Abbey, where Wombat’s parents, Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, had wed 30 years prior.
While not a full-state occasion, the couple had their work cut out inviting almost 2,000 guests — including ex-boyfriend Rupert Finch! Before the wedding, Kate moved into an apartment with her sister Pippa in London’s fashionable Chelsea. Their parents bought the flat for them.
Royal Wedding
Prince William and Kate Middleton’s royal wedding took place in Westminster Abbey on St Catherine’s Day, April 29th, 2011. The 29-year-old bride wore a custom Alexander McQueen wedding gown. Prince Harry was William’s best man, while Kate’s sister, Pippa, was her maid of honor.
Over a million people lined the route between Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace, and 300 million people tuned in to watch the £23.7 million event on television. Kate and Wills kissed on the balcony, but Pippa nearly upstaged her sister.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
Upon their marriage, the couple became the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and Kate was styled as Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Cambridge. As a wedding gift, Queen Elizabeth II gave Will and Kate her country house, Anmer Hall, a 10-bedroom, 19th-century Georgian manor with a swimming pool on the Sandringham Estate on the Norfolk Coast.
When they were in London, the Cambridges used the 20-room Nottingham Cottage, a grace-and-favor house on the grounds of Kensington Palace, which underwent an 18-month, £4.5 million renovation.
Honeymoon Period
After honeymooning in the Seychelles, the newlyweds happily settled in Bodorgan Estate, Anglesey, near William’s base as a Royal Air Force air sea rescue pilot. The couple soon expanded their family, but not with a child… With a dog! They got an English cocker spaniel puppy, Lupo.
Later, they added another cocker spaniel, Orla, to their family. Kate quickly jumped into the whirlwind of royal duties. The pair entertained the President of the United States and embarked on a tour of the USA and Canada.
Prince George
In late 2012, Kate was pregnant and suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, which caused severe morning sickness. Things got so bad that she was rushed to London’s King Edward VII Hospital in early December. Finally, the news was out. The Palace announced Kate was pregnant on December 6th.
Seven months later, Kate gave birth to a healthy, bouncing, 8lb 6oz son, Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge, on July 23rd, 2013, at London’s St. Mary’s Hospital, where his dad had also been born.
Nanny Carole
William, Kate, and baby George retreated to Kate’s parents’ home in Bucklebury, Berkshire, where the Duchess shunned a nanny in favor of her mother’s help. Carole Middleton must have been delighted, looking after her grandson, knowing that one day, he will be the King of England.
In 2014, Will and Kate took Prince George on a three-week tour of Australia and New Zealand. The trip caused consternation in the royal family as two heirs to the throne could not travel on the same flight.
