Catherine Elizabeth - Kate Middleton

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (Catherine Elizabeth "Kate"; née Middleton; born 9 January 1982), is the wife of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. Following his father Charles, Prince of Wales, William is second in line to succeed his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, as monarch of 16 Commonwealth realms.
Catherine grew up in Chapel Row, a village near Newbury, Berkshire, England. She studied art history in Scotland at the University of St Andrews, where she met William in 2001. Their engagement was announced on 16 November 2010, and she attended many high-profile royal events before they married on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey.
Catherine has had a major impact upon British fashion which has been termed the "Kate Middleton effect", and in 2012 was selected as one of The 100 Most Influential People in the World by Time magazine. On 3 December 2012, St James's Palace announced that the Duchess was expecting her first child. She was admitted to hospital in early labour on the morning of 22 July 2013, and gave birth to Prince George of Cambridge on the same day.

The Royal Family of the
United Kingdom and the
other Commonwealth realms
Badge of the House of Windsor
HM The Queen
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh
HRH The Prince of Wales
HRH The Duchess of Cornwall
HRH The Duke of Cambridge
HRH The Duchess of Cambridge

HRH Prince George of Cambridge
HRH Prince Henry of Wales
HRH The Duke of York
HRH Princess Beatrice of York
HRH Princess Eugenie of York
HRH The Earl of Wessex
HRH The Countess of Wessex
HRH The Princess Royal
HRH The Duke of Gloucester
HRH The Duchess of Gloucester
HRH The Duke of Kent
HRH The Duchess of Kent
HRH Prince Michael of Kent
HRH Princess Michael of Kent
HRH Princess Alexandra
v t e
See also: Family of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Lupton family
Catherine Elizabeth Middleton was born at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading on 9 January 1982, and christened at St Andrew's Bradfield, Berkshire, on 20 June 1982.[10][11]:32 She is the eldest of three children born to Carole (née Goldsmith), a former flight attendant, and Michael Middleton, who also worked as a flight attendant prior to becoming a flight dispatcher for British Airways. Her parents were married on 21 June 1980, at the parish church of Dorney, Buckinghamshire.[citation needed] In 1987, they founded Party Pieces, a mail order company that sells party supplies and decorations. Party Pieces is a private company with an estimated worth of £30 million.[12][13][14] The Middletons have another daughter, Philippa "Pippa",[15][16] and a son, James William Middleton.[16] The family complained about press harassment of Pippa and Carole following Middleton's engagement.[17]
The Duchess's paternal ancestors were from Leeds, West Yorkshire. Her paternal great-grandmother, Olive, was a member of the Lupton family, who, for a number of generations, were woollen cloth merchants and manufacturers, active in civic affairs.[16][18] Her maternal ancestors, the Harrisons, were working-class labourers and miners from Sunderland and County Durham.[citation needed]
Michael and Carole Middleton worked for British Airways, in Amman, Jordan, from May 1984 to September 1986. In Jordan, Middleton went to an English language nursery school[19] before returning to their home in Berkshire.[20] Following her return from Amman, Middleton was enrolled at St Andrew's School near the village of Pangbourne in Berkshire, then briefly at Downe House.[citation needed] She attended Marlborough College, a co-educational independent boarding school in Wiltshire,[21] and graduated in 2005, from the University of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland, with an undergraduate MA (2:1 Hons) in the History of Art.[22] In November 2006, Middleton accepted a position as an accessory buyer with the clothing chain Jigsaw.[citation needed]
Public image and style[edit]

See also: Engagement announcement dress of Catherine Middleton
Catherine became prominent for her fashion style and has been placed on numerous "best dressed" lists.[23][24] She was selected by The Daily Telegraph as the "Most Promising Newcomer" in its 2006 list of style winners and losers.[25] Tatler placed her at number 8 on its yearly listing of the top ten style icons in 2007.[citation needed] She was featured in People magazine's 2007 and 2010 best-dressed lists.[26] Middleton was named as one of Richard Blackwell's ten "Fabulous Fashion Independents" of 2007.[citation needed] In June 2008, Style.com selected Middleton as their monthly beauty icon.[27] In July 2008, Middleton was included in Vanity Fair's international best-dressed list.[28] In February 2011, she was named the Top Fashion Buzzword of the 2011 season by the Global Language Monitor.[29] In January 2012, she was voted 'Headwear Person of the Year.'[citation needed] Middleton was number one on Vanity Fair's annual Best Dressed lists in 2010, 2011, and in 2012 also its cover star.[30][31] She was awarded the accolade of 'Best Celebrity Smile' in May 2012, after placing first in a poll by Bupa.[32]
Relationship with Prince William[edit]

Early relationship[edit]
In 2001, Middleton met Prince William while they were students at the University of St. Andrews. The couple began dating as early as 2002, although their relationship remained unconfirmed.[33][34][35] On 17 October 2005, Middleton complained through her lawyer about harassment from the media, stating that she had done nothing significant to warrant publicity.[36] In February 2006, it was announced that Middleton would receive her own 24-hour security detail supplied by the Royalty Protection branch (SO14). Many speculated that she and Prince William would soon be engaged, since she would not otherwise be entitled to this service.

HERO DYD