Catherine Middleton

**Catherine, Princess of Wales** (Catherine Elizabeth Middleton, born January 9, 1981) is a member of british royal family.

In 2011, Catherine was created *Duchess of Cambridge* preceding her marriage to Prince William, son of King Charles III. They have three children: Prince George (b.2013), Princess Charlotte (b.2015) and Prince Louis (b.2018), who are 2nd, 3rd and 4th in Line of succession.

## Early life

Middleton was born on 9 January 1982 at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading into an upper-middle-class family. She was baptised at St Andrew's Bradfield, a local parish church, on 20 June 1982.

She is the eldest of three children born to Michael Middleton (b. 1949) and his wife, Carole (née Goldsmith; b. 1955), a former flight dispatcher and flight attendant respectively at British Airways. In 1987, her mother founded Party Pieces, a privately held mail order company that sold party supplies and decorations, which collapsed into administration in 2023.

By the early 20th century, the Middleton family had married into British aristocracy and benefited financially from trust funds which they had established over a century ago. Her Middleton relatives, including her great-grandfather Richard Noël Middleton and his wife Olive, played host to members of the British royal family in the 1920s through to the 1940s. Her mother's family are descended from coal miners, and have been described as working-class. She has a younger sister, Philippa, and a younger brother, James.

## Education and career

The family moved from Bradfield Southend, Berkshire, to Amman, Jordan, in May 1984, where Middleton attended an English-language nursery school. When her family returned to Berkshire in September 1986, she was enrolled aged four at St Andrew's School, a private school near Pangbourne in Berkshire. She boarded part-weekly at St Andrew's in her later years.

In 1995, the Middletons moved to the village of Bucklebury where she studied at Downe House School. Middleton was a boarder at Marlborough College, a co-educational boarding school in Wiltshire, where she showed talent in sports and was captain of the women's field hockey team. While at Marlborough, she underwent an operation on the left side of her head, reportedly to remove a lump. She obtained three A-Levels in 2000, with an 'A' in mathematics, an 'A' in art, and a 'B' in English.

Despite being offered a seat at the University of Edinburgh, she took a gap year, studying at the British Institute of Florence in Italy and travelling to Chile to participate in a Raleigh International programme. She worked as a deckhand at the Port of Southampton in the summer preceding university. Middleton subsequently enrolled at the University of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland, studying art history. She briefly studied psychology before focusing solely on art history. She worked part-time as a waitress during her studies. While attending university, she achieved a gold Duke of Edinburgh Award. Middleton was an active member of The Lumsden Club, which held fundraisers and community projects each year.

In 2005, Middleton graduated from the University of St Andrews with an undergraduate MA (2:1 Hons) in art history.

In November 2006, Middleton commenced part-time work for twelve months as an accessory buyer with the clothing chain Jigsaw.

In 2007, she curated a photography exhibition to mark the book launch of "Time to Reflect", by Alistair Morrison, to raise funds for UNICEF. In 2008, Middleton made several trips to Naomi's House Hospice, where she brought gifts and read to children. Later that year, she organised an '80s-themed roller disco fundraiser which raised £100,000, split between Oxford Children's Hospital, for the construction of Tom's Ward to treat pediatric cancer, and Place2Be, an organisation which provides mental health counselling to school children.

Middleton also worked until January 2011 at the family business in catalogue design and production, marketing, and photography. While working for the company, she launched the firm's junior brand for toddlers, and began working with the Starlight Children's Foundation, which helps terminally ill youth, providing party essentials for sick children. Middleton also helped coordinate the Boodles Boxing Ball, which raised money for the charity.

Prior to her marriage, Middleton lived in an apartment owned by her parents in Chelsea, London alongside her sister, which was estimated to be worth £1–1.4 million. In 2018, Catherine's total net worth was estimated between £5–7.3 million, the majority of which was from her parents' company.

## Personal life

In 2001, Middleton met Prince William while they were students in residence at St Salvator's Hall at the University of St Andrews. She reportedly caught William's eye at a charity fashion show at the university in 2002 when she appeared on the stage wearing a see-through lace dress. The couple began dating in 2003. During their second year, Middleton shared a flat with William and two other friends. From 2003 till 2005, they both resided at Balgove House on the Strathtyrum estate with two roommates. In 2004, the couple briefly split but rekindled their relationship soon afterwards.

After her graduation, Middleton and her family were faced with intensive tabloid press scrutiny. She was often photographed daily by the paparazzi outside her flat and work over the course of their relationship. This prompted multiple warnings from the Palace and Middleton's lawyers. She attended William's Passing Out Parade at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on 15 December 2006. In April 2007, they ended their relationship. She and her family attended the Concert for Diana in July 2007, where she and William sat two rows apart. It was subsequently reported that the couple had then reconciled. On 17 May 2008, Middleton attended the wedding of William's cousin Peter Phillips to Autumn Kelly in William's stead, and met Queen Elizabeth II for the first time.

Middleton attended the Order of the Garter procession at Windsor Castle in June 2008, where William was made a Royal Knight of the Garter. On 19 July 2008, she was a guest at the wedding of Lady Rose Windsor and George Gilman while William was away on military operations in the Caribbean, serving aboard HMS *Iron Duke*. In June 2010, the couple moved into a cottage on the Bodorgan Estate in Anglesey, Wales, where William resided during his RAF search-and-rescue training and subsequent career

Middleton and Prince William became engaged in October 2010, in Kenya, during a 10-day trip to the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy to celebrate William passing the RAF helicopter search and rescue course. Clarence House announced the engagement on 16 November 2010. William gave Middleton the engagement ring that had belonged to his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. Middleton, who was christened as a child, decided to be confirmed into the Church of England preceding her wedding. The confirmation service was conducted on 10 March at St James's Palace by the Bishop of London with her family and William in attendance.

The couple married in Westminster Abbey on 29 April 2011 (St. Catherine's Day), with the day declared a bank holiday in the United Kingdom. Estimates of the global audience for the wedding ranged around 300 million or more, whilst 26 million watched the event live in Britain alone. Her wedding dress was designed by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen. Upon her marriage, Catherine assumed the style "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge". The couple was given the country home, Anmer Hall, on the Sandringham Estate, as a wedding gift from the Queen. Catherine keeps bees on the grounds of Anmer Hall. Following their marriage in 2011, the couple used Nottingham Cottage as their London residence. They moved into the four-storey, 20-room Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace in 2013. Renovations took 18 months at a cost of £4.5 million. Kensington Palace became William and Catherine's main residence in 2017, moving from their country home, Anmer Hall. In 2022, it was announced that the couple, along with their children, would move to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor. They officially moved into the house in September 2022.

On 3 December 2012, St James's Palace announced that Catherine was pregnant with her first child. The announcement was made earlier in the pregnancy than is usual as she had been admitted to King Edward VII's Hospital suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, a severe form of morning sickness. She remained in hospital for three days. Prince George was born at St Mary's Hospital in London on 22 July 2013. The severe morning sickness returned with the subsequent pregnancies, forcing Catherine to cancel her official engagements. She gave birth to Princess Charlotte on 2 May 2015 and to Prince Louis on 23 April 2018. Prince George was third in the line of succession to the British throne, while Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis were fourth and fifth, respectively, at the times of their births. William and Catherine have owned two English Cocker Spaniels, named Lupo and Orla

## Titles

* January 9, 1981 - April 29, 2011: *Miss Catherine Elizabeth Middleton*
* April 29, 2011 - September 8, 2022: *Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge*
	+ in Scotland: April 29, 2011 - September 8, 2022: *Her Royal Highness The Countess of Strathearn*
* September 8, 2022 - September 9, 2022: *Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge*
	+ in Scotland: September 8, 2022 - present: *Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Rothesay*
* September 9, 2022 - present: *Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales*
* February 13, 2023 - present: *Her Royal Highness Countess of Chester*