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…
