Who is Catherine Elizabeth Middleton? The royal world of England knows her as Kate Middleton. Middleton is the fiancée of Prince William of Wales. Their wedding is to take place on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey with the day declared a bank holiday in the UK. Middleton grew up in Chapel Row at Bucklebury, Berkshire[1], and after attending Marlborough College, studied at the University of St Andrews, where she met Prince William in 2001. They started a relationship, followed by media attention, triggering complaints by Middleton that the media were harassing her. In April 2007, the press reported that William and Middleton had split up.
They continued to be friends and later in 2007 they reunited. Since then, Middleton has attended many high-profile royal events. She has been admired for her fashion sense and has been placed on numerous "best dressed" lists. Since her relationship with Prince William began, Middleton has received widespread media attention and there was much speculation that they would eventually marry. On 16 November 2010, the office of the Prince of Wales at Clarence House announced their engagement. The date and location of the wedding were announced one week later.Biography
Early life
Middleton was born 9 January 1982 to a Jewish mother at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading.[2]:32 She is the eldest of three children born to Carole Elizabeth (born 1955, née Goldsmith), an English stewardess, and Michael Francis Middleton (born 1949), who had worked as a steward before becoming a flight dispatcher for British Airways. Her parents married on 21 June 1980 at the Parish Church of Dorney, Buckinghamshire,[3] and in 1987 founded Party Pieces, a mail order company that sells party supplies and decorations.[4][5]Middleton's paternal family came from Leeds, West Yorkshire, and her great-grandmother Olivia was a member of the Lupton family, who were active for generations in Leeds in commercial and municipal work.[5] Through Olivia Lupton, her ancestors include The Rev. Thomas Davis, a Church of England hymn-writer.[6][7] Carole Middleton's maternal family, the Harrisons, were working class labourers and miners from Sunderland and County Durham.[8] Middleton has two siblings, Philippa Charlotte, known as "Pippa" (born 1983),[9] and James William (born 1987).[10] Pippa Middleton, a graduate of the University of Edinburgh, has received press coverage since her sister became famous, with focus on her relationships and lifestyle.[11]
Middleton's family were in Amman, Jordan, for British Airways from May 1984 to September 1986, where Middleton went to an English language nursery school,[12] before returning to their home in Berkshire.[13] After her return from Amman, Middleton was educated at St. Andrew's School in the village of Pangbourne in Berkshire, then briefly at Downe House,[14] before moving on to Marlborough College, a co-educational independent school in Wiltshire,[15] followed by the University of St Andrews in Fife, where she met William and graduated with a 2:1 (Hons) in the History of Art.[16]
Career
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In November 2006, Middleton accepted a position as an accessory buyer with the clothing chain Jigsaw.[17] In September 2007, it was reported that Middleton was planning to give up her job as an accessory buyer to become a professional photographer. It was announced that she intended to take private classes with photographer Mario Testino, who had taken several well-known photographs of Diana, Princess of Wales and her sons. Middleton and Testino apparently were introduced by Prince William. Testino later denied that Middleton was going to be working for him.[18]Fashion icon
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Middleton has been featured in several best-dressed lists and was selected by The Daily Telegraph as the "Most Promising Newcomer" in its 2006 list of style winners and losers.[19] Tatler placed her at number 8 on its yearly listing of the top ten style icons in 2007.[20] She was featured in People magazine's 2007 and 2010 best-dressed lists.[21] Middleton was named as one of Richard Blackwell's ten "Fabulous Fashion Independents" of 2007.[22] In June 2008, Style.com selected Middleton as its monthly beauty icon.[23] In July 2008, Middleton was included in Vanity Fair's international best-dressed list.[24] In February 2011, Middleton was named the Top Fashion Buzzword of the 2011 season by the Global Language Monitor.[25]Prince William
Middleton's unsubstantiated status as the girlfriend of William brought her widespread media coverage in the UK and abroad and she was often photographed on her daily outings. On 17 October 2005, she complained through her lawyer about harassment from the media, stating that she had done nothing significant to warrant such publicity.[26] In February 2006, it was announced that Middleton would receive her own 24-hour security detail supplied by the Royalty and Diplomatic Protection Department. This fueled further speculation that she and William would soon be engaged, since she would not otherwise be entitled to this service.
No engagement occurred and Middleton was not granted an allowance to fund this security. Media attention increased around the time of Middleton's 25th birthday in January 2007, prompting warnings from both Charles and William and from Middleton's lawyers, who threatened legal action. 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 photographs of her.[27] Middleton attended at least one event as an official royal guest, William's Passing Out Parade at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on 15 December 2006.[28] In December 2007, it was reported that Middleton had moved in with Prince William at Clarence House, the residence of the Prince of Wales in London.[29] Clarence House later denied this.[30]On 17 May 2008, Middleton attended the wedding of William's cousin Peter Phillips to Autumn Kelly, which the prince did not attend.[31] On 19 July 2008, Middleton attended the wedding of Lady Rose Windsor and George Gilman. William was away on military operations in the Caribbean, serving aboard the HMS Iron Duke.[32] On 28 February 2010, The Times reported that Middleton was pursuing an invasion of privacy suit against photographer Niraj Tanna who took pictures of her over Christmas 2009,[33] although they were never published in Britain. Middleton has not pursued the claim against the photographer.
Breakup and reconciliation
On 14 April 2007, The Sun newspaper broke a "world exclusive" suggesting that Prince William and Middleton had split up.[34] Other media outlets such as the BBC confirmed the story as the day progressed. The couple decided to break up during a holiday in the Swiss resort of Zermatt.[35][36] Clarence House made only one comment about the relationship's end, according to The Times, stating, "We don't comment on Prince William's private life."[37] Newspapers speculated about the reasons for the split, although these reports relied on anonymous sources.The original report in The Sun quoted a "close friend of the couple" as saying that Middleton felt William had not been paying her enough attention. The paper highlighted reports that William had been spending time with other young women, and said the Prince, aged 24 at the time of the split, felt he was too young to marry.[38] A report in the Daily Mail blamed a desire by royal courtiers not to "hurry along" a marriage announcement, and William's desire to enjoy his bachelor status within his Army career. The Mail also suggested that William's friend Guy Pelly encouraged the Prince to take a "careless approach" to relationships. The same article suggested that Middleton had "expected too much" in wanting William to demonstrate his commitment to her.[39]
In June 2007, Middleton and William insisted they were "just good friends" following reports of a reconciliation.[40] Middleton and her family attended the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium, where she and William sat two rows apart.[41] The couple were subsequently seen together in public on a number of occasions, and several news sources, including the BBC and the Daily Mail, stated that they had "rekindled their relationship."[42] Middleton also joined William and Charles on a deerstalking expedition at Balmoral[43] and attended the wedding of William's cousin, Peter Phillips, even though William, due to a prior commitment, did not. In April 2008, Middleton accompanied William when he was awarded his RAF wings at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell.[44] On 16 June 2008, Middleton attended William's investiture into the Order of the Garter along with the Royal Family.Engagement and wedding
Main article: Wedding of Prince William of Wales and Kate Middleton
Prince William and Kate Middleton became engaged in October 2010 in Kenya, East Africa, during a 10-day trip to the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy to celebrate William's passing his RAF helicopter search and rescue course.[45][46] Clarence House announced the engagement on 16 November 2010.[47][48] The couple are to marry in Westminster Abbey on 29 April 2011.[49] It is customary for royal men to receive a dukedom when they marry; possible dukedoms for William after his marriage are Windsor, Clarence, Cambridge, Sussex, Kendal, Avondale, and Strathearn.[50] As the wife of a royal duke and prince, Middleton would assume the title of duchess.[50]
In Letters Patent dated 21 August 1996 (shortly before the divorce of the Prince and Princess of Wales) it was acknowledged that, "by convention", the wife of a son or grandson of the Sovereign is entitled to the style title or attribute of "Royal Highness".[51] If William were not given a title, then after the wedding, Middleton would by convention (unless explicitly vetoed by the Queen), be known as Her Royal Highness Princess William of Wales[52] taking her husband's first name on marriage (as with Princess Michael of Kent).[53] If, however, William is given a title, Middleton would be known as "Her Royal Highness The Duchess [or other rank if appropriate] of N".
On 16 February 2011, Clarence House announced that Middleton's and William's first royal tour of Canada would take place in July 2011.[54] She was formally introduced to public life on 24 February 2011, two months before the wedding, when she and William attended a lifeboat naming ceremony in Trearddur, North Wales.[55]
The couple married on April 29, 2011.
Film
A Lifetime TV movie entitled William and Kate aired in the U.S. on 18 April 2011. Middleton is played by Camilla Luddington and William by Nico Evers-Swindell.[56]TLC Channel has had a documentary commissioned on the love story of the couple - 'William and Kate: A Royal Romance' produced by TVF International in 2011.
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