Catherine, Princess of Wales

Catherine Elizabeth Middleton was born on 9 January 1982 at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading into an upper-middle-class family.[4][5][6][7] She was baptised at St Andrew's Bradfield, a local parish church, on 20 June 1982.[8][9][10] She is the eldest of three children born to Michael Middleton (b. 1949)[11] and his wife, Carole (née Goldsmith; b. 1955),[12] 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.[13][14] By the early 20th century, the Middleton family had married into British aristocracy[15] and benefited financially from trust funds which they had established over a century ago.[16][17][5][18][19][20][21] 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.[22] Her mother's family are descended from coal miners, and have been described as working-class.[23][24] She has a younger sister, Philippa, and a younger brother, James.[25]

The family moved from Bradfield Southend, Berkshire, to Amman, Jordan, in May 1984, where Middleton attended an English-language nursery school.[26][27][28][29] 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.[30] In 1995, the Middletons moved to the village of Bucklebury[31][32] where she studied at Downe House School.[33] Middleton was a boarder at Marlborough College, a co-educational boarding school in Wiltshire,[34][35] where she showed talent in sports and was captain of the women's field hockey team.[36] While at Marlborough, she underwent an operation on the left side of her head, reportedly to remove a lump.[37] She obtained three A-Levels in 2000, with an 'A' in mathematics, an 'A' in art, and a 'B' in English.[38]

Despite being offered a seat at the University of Edinburgh,[39] 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.[40] She worked as a deckhand at the Port of Southampton in the summer preceding university.[41] 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.[42] She worked part-time as a waitress during her studies.[43] While attending university, she achieved a gold Duke of Edinburgh Award.[44] Middleton was an active member of The Lumsden Club, which held fundraisers and community projects each year.[45] In 2005, Middleton graduated from the University of St Andrews with an undergraduate MA (2:1 Hons) in art history.[46]

In November 2006, Middleton commenced part-time work for twelve months as an accessory buyer with the clothing chain Jigsaw.[47] In 2007, she curated a photography exhibition to mark the book launch of "Time to Reflect", by Alistair Morrison, to raise funds for UNICEF.[48] In 2008, Middleton made several trips to Naomi's House Hospice, where she brought gifts and read to children.[49][50] 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.[51] Middleton also worked until January 2011 at the family business in catalogue design and production, marketing, and photography.[2][52] 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.[53] Middleton also helped coordinate the Boodles Boxing Ball, which raised money for the charity.[54][55]

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.[56][57] In 2018, Catherine's total net worth was estimated between £5–7.3 million, the majority of which was from her parents' company.[56][57]

Middleton's first public appearance with Prince William following their engagement announcement in November 2010 was at a fundraising event organised by the Teenage Cancer Trust in December 2010.[110] She was formally introduced to public life on 24 February 2011, when the couple attended a lifeboat-naming ceremony in Trearddur, near their home at that time in Anglesey, North Wales.[111][112] A day later they appeared in St Andrews to launch the university's 600th anniversary celebrations.[113] In March 2011, the couple toured Belfast.[114] Catherine's first official engagement after the wedding came in May, when she and William met U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at Buckingham Palace.[115] William and Catherine's first royal tour of Canada took place in July 2011.[116] The couple's activities included attending celebrations for Canada Day.[117][118][119] The tour also included a two-day trip to California which was also Catherine's first visit to the United States.[120][121] On 27 October 2011, she undertook her first solo engagement at a reception for In Kind Direct, hosted at Clarence House, stepping in for the then Prince Charles.[122]

Catherine and William in Ottawa during their first royal tour of Canada, 2011. It was the first of their two visits to the nation.

On 2 November, Catherine and William visited the UNICEF Supply Division for malnourished children in Copenhagen, Denmark.[123][124] On St. Patrick's Day in 2012, Catherine carried out the traditional awarding of shamrocks to the Irish Guards at their Aldershot base in her first solo military engagement.[125] On 19 March, she gave her first public speech for the opening of a children's hospice opened by her patronage, East Anglia's Children's Hospices.[126] William and Catherine were announced as ambassadors for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.[127] As part of her role, Catherine attended numerous sporting events throughout the games.[128] In September 2012, the couple embarked on a tour of Singapore, Malaysia, Tuvalu, and the Solomon Islands to commemorate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee across the Commonwealth.[129] During this overseas visit, she made her first official speech abroad, while visiting a hospice in Malaysia, drawing on her experience as patron of East Anglia's Children's Hospices.[130][131] The couple attended further celebrations of the Jubilee throughout the year, including the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant in July.[132][133][134]

The first engagement that Catherine carried out after the birth of Prince George was in late August 2013, when she accompanied her husband to meet runners preparing for an ultra-marathon in Anglesey.[135] At the beginning of March 2014, it was announced that the couple would be accompanied by their son on an upcoming tour of New Zealand and Australia from 16 to 25 April.[136] The tour was Catherine's first visit to the area and Prince George's first major public appearance since his christening in October 2013.[137] The tour itinerary included visiting the Plunket Society for children and visiting fire-damaged areas in New South Wales.[138] In June 2014, the couple visited France to attend the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings at Gold Beach.[139] On 21 July 2014, it was announced that Catherine would be making her first solo trip, visiting the island of Malta on 20–21 September 2014, when the island was celebrating its 50th independence anniversary.[140] Her trip was cancelled, with her husband taking her place, after the announcement of her second pregnancy in early September.[141] In December 2014, the couple visited the United States and attended a charity dinner at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.[142]

Catherine on an official visit to Stockholm, Sweden, in 2018

In October 2015, she attended her first state banquet at Buckingham Palace, held to host Chinese President Xi Jinping.[143] In April 2016, Catherine and William undertook a tour to India and Bhutan.[144] Activities included visiting children's charities such as Childline India, as well as a visit to Lingkana Palace.[145][146] Later that month, the couple met again with the Obamas at Kensington Palace.[143] The couple toured Canada again in September 2016.[147] On 11 October 2016, Catherine made her first solo foreign trip to The Netherlands.[148] Countries visited by the couple in 2017 include France, Poland, Germany, and Belgium.[149][150][151][152] Catherine takes official portraits of her children and joined the Royal Photographic Society in 2017.[153] She visited Luxembourg City in May 2017 for the Treaty of London commemorations.[154] In January 2018, the couple visited Sweden and Norway.[155] In February 2019, William and Catherine carried out a two-day visit of Northern Ireland, visiting Belfast, Fermanagh, and Ballymena.[156][157]

In June 2019, Catherine took the royal first salute, typically received by the Queen, at the Beating Retreat military pageant.[158][159] Catherine accompanied her husband on a tour of Pakistan in October 2019, the royal family's first visit to the country in 13 years.[160] The couple conducted an interview for CNN in Lahore while visiting the SoS Children's Village, where Catherine gave a speech relating to her work on the early years.[161][162] In March 2020, the couple carried out a three-day tour of Ireland, visiting County Meath, Kildare, and Galway.[163] In October 2020, William and Catherine met President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and First Lady Olena Zelenska at Buckingham Palace, the first royal engagement held at the residence since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.[164] In December, the couple embarked on a three-day tour of England, Scotland, and Wales via the British Royal Train "to pay tribute to the inspiring work of individuals, organisations and initiatives across the country " in 2020.[165][166][167] Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed his support for the initiative, while First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon criticised the tour, citing travel restrictions; UK, Scottish and Welsh governments were consulted before planning the tour.[168][169] In May 2021, the couple returned to Scotland for an extensive tour of Edinburgh, Fife and Orkney.[170] In Cornwall on 11 June 2021, William and Catherine attended the G7 summit for the first time.[171] Catherine visited primary students alongside US First Lady Jill Biden and participated in a roundtable discussion focusing on early childhood education.[172]

Catherine, William, their children and other royals on the balcony of Buckingham Palace following the Platinum Jubilee Pageant on 5 June 2022

In February 2022, she visited Denmark to celebrate historic ties between the UK and Denmark and also to celebrate milestones of both countries' monarchs.[173] In March 2022, William and Catherine embarked on a tour of Belize, The Bahamas and Jamaica to commemorate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.[174] On 27 September 2022, Catherine and William visited Anglesey and Swansea, which marked their first visit to Wales since becoming the Princess and Prince of Wales.[175] In November 2022, they welcomed President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa and attended a state dinner in honour of his visit.[176]

Catherine wore dresses designed by Alexander McQueen at Trooping the Colour in 2013 and 2019 respectively.

The Princess, prominent for her fashion style, has been placed on numerous "best dressed" lists.[317][318] The Daily Telegraph selected her as the "Most Promising Newcomer" on its 2006 list of style winners and losers.[319] Tatler placed her at number eight on its annual list of the top ten style icons in 2007.[320] People featured her on its 2007 and 2010 best-dressed lists.[321] She was named one of Richard Blackwell's ten Fabulous Fashion Independents of 2007.[322] In June 2008, Style.com selected her as its monthly beauty icon.[323] In July 2008, Vanity Fair included her on its international best-dressed list.[324] In February 2011 the Global Language Monitor named her the Top Fashion buzzword of the 2011 season.[325] In May 2011, she was ranked ninth in FHM's top 10 list of the "World's Most Beautiful Women".[326][327] In 2011, the British publication The Beauty Magazine named her "England's Best-dressed Personality" and the "Most Elegant Woman in the World".[328][329] She was named the "Most Beautiful Woman of the Year" by The Beauty Magazine in 2011 and 2012.[328][329] In January 2012, the Headwear Association voted her "Headwear Person of the Year".[330] She was number one on Vanity Fair's annual best dressed lists in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013; she also appeared as the cover star in 2012.[331] In 2011, 2012 and 2013, she was listed as one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World.[332] In 2014, she was lauded as a British cultural icon, with young adults from abroad naming her among a group of people who they most associated with UK culture.[333][334] The then Duchess was named in the International Best Dressed Hall of Fame List in the same year.[335]

In June 2016, she took part in her first magazine shoot for British Vogue's centenary issue, appearing on the cover.[336][337] The shoot took place on the Sandringham Estate; Catherine was involved in selecting her wardrobe of "off-duty jeans and shirts" reflecting her love of the countryside.[338] The spread was dubbed as the "most personal and natural royal portraits ever undertaken by Vogue". The photoshoot was done in collaboration with her patronage, the National Portrait Gallery, where two pictures from the shoot were displayed.[339] In 2018, Tatler named her on its list of Britain's best dressed people, praising her for "recycling her looks, rather than wearing them as one-offs", as well as her use of "both high street and high-end brands".[340] She topped Tatler's Best Dressed List in 2022.[341]

The "Kate Middleton effect" is the trend that the Princess is reported to have had in sales of particular products and brands.[342][343] In 2018, Brand Finance's research cited Catherine as the "Most Powerful Royal Fashion Influencer", retaining that pieces in her wardrobe increase desirability among 38 per cent of American shoppers.[343] The Princess has been credited for popularizing nude pumps and hosiery in the early years of her marriage.[344][345] During daytime engagements, she has been noted to favor coatdresses, tea dresses, waxed jackets, lavallière blouses, blazers, and skinny jeans.[346] While Catherine wears items from many new designers, she has also worn dresses by Catherine Walker, who designed many of Diana's favourite evening gowns and day suits.[347] She has worn outfits, hats and ensembles by many other fashion designers.[348][349] The brands she favours are noted in the media.[348][349] Catherine has worn Jenny Packham numerous times, most notably outside the Lindo Wing after giving birth to each of her children in 2013, 2015, and 2018 respectively,[350] and at the No Time to Die premiere in London when she appeared in a dress inspired by Shirley Eaton's character in Goldfinger.[351] Alexander McQueen has been referred to as Catherine's "go-to" brand since her wedding in 2011, and she has worn designs to several annual events including Trooping the Colour, Royal Ascot and the British Academy Film Awards, as well as state banquets and receptions.[352] She has worn several high-street brands during official engagements and projects, most frequently Topshop and Zara.[353][354] Believed to be influenced by the style and fashion choices of Diana, Princess of Wales,[355] Catherine has developed a "caring wardrobe" similar to that of her mother-in-law, with colourful fabrics, skirt suits, and bright hues suitable for visiting hospitals and schools.[356]

Catherine, who attended the 71st British Academy Film Awards, did not participate in Time's Up movement calling for women to wear black on the red carpet.[357] Royal protocol forbids members of the royal family from taking part in political movements but she wore a black sash and carried a black handbag as a variation to the informal black dress code.[358][359] In March 2018, together with the then-Countess of Wessex, she hosted the Commonwealth Fashion Exchange reception at Buckingham Palace during the 2018 London Fashion Week.[360] In 2021, it was reported that Catherine boosted the British fashion industry up to £1 billion within a year.[361] She was also chosen as one of the 25 most influential women in the United Kingdom by British Vogue in August 2021.[362]

Speaking to The Times for her 40th birthday, her aides stated that Catherine does not accept "advice on a PR basis" and will "never do something because she thinks the media will like it."[363] Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, Catherine and William's former private secretary, stated that "she has that almost old-fashioned, Queen Mother attitude to drama – she just doesn't do it."[363] In December 2022, Catherine was found to be the second most liked member of the royal family by statistics and polling company YouGov,[364] while an Ipsos favourability poll in April 2023 suggested that she was the most liked member.[365] In March 2023, The Independent included her in its "Influence List 2023".[366]

The death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in Paris while being chased by paparazzi in 1997,[367] influenced her elder son, William's, attitude towards the media.[368] William and Catherine have requested that, when off-duty, their privacy should be respected.[368]

After her graduation from university, Middleton was faced with widespread press attention and was often photographed by the paparazzi.[66][68] On 17 October 2005, she complained through her lawyer about harassment from the media, stating she had done nothing significant to warrant publicity and complained that photographers were permanently stationed outside her flat.[369][370] Former royal press secretary Dickie Arbiter stated that her treatment by the press drew parallels to the tumultuous experience of William's mother in the early years of her marriage.[371] Between 2005 and 2006, Middleton's phone was hacked 155 times according to former News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman, who was involved in a phone hacking scandal by the newspaper that targeted the royal family.[372] In 2005 after Middleton was chased by the paparazzi on her way to an interview, William consulted her and her father and penned a legal letter to newspapers requesting that they respect her privacy.[373] In April 2006, her lawyers issued new warnings to the Daily Mail, the Daily Star and The Sun and the picture agencies Big Pictures and Matrix after they published photographs of Middleton on a bus during a shopping trip.[374]

Media attention increased around the time of her 25th birthday in January 2007, where twenty photographers and five television crews photographed her leaving for work.[375][369] Warnings were issued by the then Prince Charles, Prince William, and Middleton's lawyers, who threatened legal action.[376] Two newspaper groups, News International, which publishes The Times and The Sun; and the Guardian Media Group, publishers of The Guardian, decided to refrain from publishing paparazzi pictures of her, but continued to use photographs of Middleton at public events.[377][378] In March 2007, her lawyers filed a formal complaint to the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) over a photograph published on the Daily Mirror that was taken as a result of harassment.[379] In April 2007, Middleton reached a settlement with the Daily Mirror, which was followed by a warning by the PCC over press treatment of Middleton.[380] In July 2007, MPs on the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee stated in a report on press regulation that Middleton was the victim of "clear and persistent harassment" by the paparazzi and criticised the lack of intervention by the PCC, who circulated a letter from Middleton's solicitors on the issue of press harassment but said they were not directly asked by her lawyers to act.[380][381]

In 2010, Middleton pursued an invasion of privacy claim against two agencies and photographer Niraj Tanna, who took photographs of her playing tennis over Christmas 2009 while on holiday in Cornwall.[382][383] Middleton was awarded £5,000 damages, legal costs, and an apology from the photographic press agency Rex Features Ltd.[384][385] She announced that the money would be donated to charity.[384] In 2011, close associates of Jonathan Rees, a private investigator connected to the News International phone hacking scandal, stated that he had targeted Catherine during her period as William's girlfriend.[386]

In May 2011, the Middleton family complained to the Press Complaints Commission after photographs of Catherine, her sister, and their mother in bikinis while on holiday in 2006 on board a yacht off Ibiza were published in the Mail on Sunday, Daily Mail, News of the World, and Daily Mirror.[387] One of the photographs showed Catherine's sister topless, which prompted the family to complain about newspapers breaching the editors' code of practice by invading their privacy.[387] In September 2011, Daily Mail, the Mail on Sunday, and Daily Mirror all agreed to have the images removed from their website and never publish them again following a deal negotiated by the Press Complaints Commission.[388]

In September 2012, the French edition of Closer and the Italian gossip magazine Chi, published photographs of Catherine sun-bathing topless while on holiday at the Château d'Autet[368] (a private château on a 260-ha estate 71 km[389] north of Aix-en-Provence). Analysts from The Times believed the photographs were taken from the D22 (Vaucluse) road half a kilometre from the pool—a distance that would require an 800-mm or a 1000-mm lens.[390] On 17 September 2012, William and Catherine filed a criminal complaint with the French prosecution department and launched a claim for civil damages at the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Nanterre.[391] The following day the courts granted an injunction against Closer, prohibiting further publication of the photographs and announced a criminal investigation would be initiated.[392] Under French law, punitive damages cannot be awarded[393] but intrusions of privacy are a criminal offence carrying a maximum jail sentence of one year and a fine of up to €45,000 for individuals and €225,000 for companies.[394][395] In September 2017, Closer was fined €100,000 and its editor Laurence Pieau and owner Ernesto Mauri were each fined €45,000.[396]

In December 2012, two Australian radio hosts, Michael Christian and Mel Greig, called King Edward VII's Hospital where Catherine was an in-patient for hyperemesis gravidarum. Pretending to be the Queen and the Prince of Wales, Greig and Christian spoke to a nurse on Catherine's ward, enquiring about her condition. Following a hospital inquiry and a public backlash against the hoax, Jacintha Saldanha, the nurse who put the call through to the ward, committed suicide.[397] The radio hosts subsequently apologised for their actions.[398]

In February 2013, Chi published the first photos of Catherine's exposed baby bump, taken during her vacation on the private island of Mustique. The British press refused to publish the paparazzi shots.[399] While Catherine was visiting the Blue Mountains in Sydney, a picture was taken of her bare bottom as her dress blew up. Many newspapers outside the UK published the picture.[400] In October 2014, Catherine and William sent a legal letter to a freelance photographer who had put their son George and his nanny "under surveillance", asking the individual to stop "harassing and following" them.[401] On 14 August 2015, Kensington Palace published a letter detailing what it stated were the "dangerous" and invasive efforts of the media to get paparazzi pictures of Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Jason Knauf, communications secretary to the Cambridges, wrote the letter to media standards organisations in various countries.[402]

In March 2019, the royal family introduced new rules for followers commenting its official social media accounts in response to the online abuse aimed at Catherine and her sister-in-law Meghan.[403]

In May 2020, Kensington Palace said that the cover story of Tatler magazine titled "Catherine the Great" contained "a swathe of inaccuracies and false misrepresentations". Despite the palace's statement that most of the material was not given to them before publication, the magazine's editor-in-chief announced that he would stand behind the story as the palace had been aware of it for months.[404] In September 2020, after pressure from the couple's lawyers, the magazine removed remarks on Catherine's family and other similar claims from the online version of the story.[405]

Four successive generations of the Princess's ancestors had lived at Potternewton Hall Estate, near Leeds

The Princess of Wales's father is Michael Francis Middleton, son of Captain Peter Francis Middleton, who, along with their forebears, were from Leeds, West Yorkshire.[419] Robert Lacey describes Michael Middleton's family as having aristocratic ties, with Florence Kitson, Lady Airedale (1868–1942) being his distant relative.[420] Catherine's paternal great-grandmother Olive Christiana Middleton (née Lupton) and her cousin the Baroness von Schunck (née Kate Lupton) were members of the Lupton family who are described as landed gentry and as such, were invited to the coronation of King George V and Queen Mary in 1911.[421][422] Four successive generations of Catherine's ancestors had lived at Potternewton Hall Estate, the family seat, including Catherine's great-grandmother Olive Middleton, her father, politician Francis Martineau Lupton, his mother, educator Frances Elizabeth Lupton and her father, epidemiologist and surgeon Thomas Michael Greenhow.[423][424][425]

Catherine's maternal ancestors, the Harrisons, were working-class labourers and miners from Sunderland and County Durham.[426] Ancestors through her maternal line include Sir Thomas Conyers, 9th Baronet (1731–1810), who was a descendant of Edward IV through his illegitimate daughter Elizabeth Plantagenet.[427] Other paternal ancestors are Sir Thomas Fairfax (1475–1520) and his wife Anne Gascoigne, who was a descendant of Edward III.[428][429]

• Jobson, Robert (2010). William & Kate: The Love Story. London: John Blake Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84454-736-4.
• Morton, Andrew (2011). William & Catherine: Their Story. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-64340-9.
• Nicholl, Katie (2015). Kate: The Future Queen. Hachette. ISBN 978-1602862609.
• de Vries, Susanna (2018). Royal Marriages: Diana, Kate, Camilla. Pirgos Press. ISBN 978-1-92528-364-8.

• The Princess of Wales at the official website of the British royal family
• The Princess of Wales at the website of the Government of Canada
• Portraits of Catherine, Princess of Wales at the National Portrait Gallery, London
• Catherine, Princess of Wales at IMDb
• The Prince and Princess of Wales on Instagram