Catherine Middleton

**Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge** (Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; born January 9, 1982) is a member of the British royal family.

Her husband, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, is second in the line of succession to the British throne, making Catherine a likely future queen consort. They married on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey. They had three children— Prince George of Cambridge (b.2013), Princess Charlotte of Cambridge (b.2015), and Prince Louis of Cambridge (b.2018) are third, fourth, and fifth in the line of succession to the British throne, respectively.

## Early Life

### Birth

Catherine Elizabeth Middleton was born at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading on 9 January 1982 into an upper-middle-class family. She is the eldest of three children born to Michael Middleton (b. 1949) and his wife, Carole (née Goldsmith; b. 1955). Middleton has a younger brother James and younger sister Pippa.

### Christening

She was baptized at St Andrew's Bradfield, a local parish church, on 20 June 1982

## Education

e attended St. Andrew's School in Pangbourne, Berkshire, until he was thirteen years old. Upon reaching high school, she was enrolled at Marlborough College a private school. There, Catherine became a popular and sporting girl, acting as captain of the field hockey team and organizer of the school's tennis games. It passed eleven exams of the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSEs) and three exams of Advanced Level (A-level).

After finishing her studies at Marlborough in July 2000, Catarina opted for a gap year before university. She was studying at the British Institute in Florence, participating in a volunteer program in Chile, and in a program for the Round the World Challenge, in the Solent Strait. Some sources claim that Catherine enrolled at the University of St. Andrews in Fife, Scotland, because she was the same one that Prince William had chosen and that she was persuaded by her mother to abandon her first choice of university.

However, this story is considered pure fiction by those who know the Middleton family, especially because, at the beginning of the University, Catherine was dating Rupert Finch, at the time, a senior law student and William had an affair with Carly Massy-Birch , also a student. At this university, she graduated in Art History.

## Official Appearances

On March 31, 2004, the lovers were finally caught kissing in the Klosters Mountains, when the prince confirmed their courtship. The relationship would have blossomed between weekends at Queen Elizabeth II's property, Balmoral Castle, in country houses and in Catherine's apartment in London's Chelsea neighborhood. The two would also travel to Kenya together in the summer of 2005.

On June 23, 2005, Kate and Guilherme graduated from St. Andrews, respectively, in Art History and Geography, in a ceremony attended by Queen Isabel II, Prince Charles and his wife Camila, Duchess of Cornwall. From then on, Catarina would live in London.

## Personal Life

### Marriage

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. Prince 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 were 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. The Duke and Duchess owned an English Cocker Spaniel, Lupo, from December 2011 to November 2020.

### Children

Catherine's first pregnancy was announced on 3 December 2012. She was admitted on 22 July 2013 to the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital, London, where Prince William had been delivered. Later that day, she gave birth to Prince George. On 8 September 2014, it was announced that the Duchess of Cambridge was pregnant with her second child. She was admitted on 2 May 2015 to the same hospital and gave birth to Princess Charlotte. The Duchess's third pregnancy was announced on 4 September 2017, Prince Louis was born on 23 April 2018. The family officially reside at Kensington Palace.

## Titles

* 9 January 1982 – 29 April 2011: *Miss Catherine Middleton*
* 29 April 2011 – present: *Her Royal Highness* The Duchess of Cambridge
	+ *In Scotland*: 29 April 2011 – present: *Her Royal Highness* The Countess of Strathearn

Northern Ireland is represented by a third title, Lady Carrickfergus.