Catherine Elizabeth Middleton was born at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, UK on January 9, 1982. She is the oldest of three children born to Carole Goldsmith and Michael Middleton, who were married on June 21, 1980. Michael is descended from a line of barristers and muninipal workers from Leeds. Her mother's family were miners and labourers from Sunderland. She has a younger sister, Philippa Charlotte, and younger brother, James. Her father, is a former flight dispatcher for British Airways, while her mother was a former flight attendant. The family living in Amman, Jordan from May 1984 through September 1986 while Carole and Michael were based there. Upon returning to the UK in 1987, Carole started the business, Party Pieces, after observing the need for pre-made party bags. She was also motivated by the idea of become a stay at home mom. Carole began as a catalog company and early on, expanded by adding a website. The company became so successful, that Michael was able to quit his job and join the company. Today, the company has an estimated worth of £30 million.
Catherine when to St. Andrew's School as her primary school, and then Marlborough College, after a brief stint at Downe House. She went to university of St. Andrew's in Scotland in 2002 and started the same semester as William. They were originally the same major, History of Art, and became friends early on. When William was considering transferring to Cambridge, due to the isolation of St. Andrews' and troubles with his studies, it is believed to be Catherine who convinced him to stay and suggested the change in studies to geography. William and Catherine were friends for some time before the Charity Fashion show in March 2002. William bought tickets and saw Catherine walk the catwalk in a bikini and sheer black dress. He reportedly exclaimed "Kate's Hot!' and began to see her in a new light. She and William soon moved into a flat in St. Andrews with two other friends and the romance soon blossomed. The foursome moved to a cottage outside of town for the last year at university.
After graduation, William went on to Sandhurt Military Academy, while Catherine moved to London and began a job as an assistant accessories buyer at fashion chain, Jigsaw. In early 2007, news broke that the couple had split. Catherine became very visible to the media over that summer, and the couple reconciled in fall of 2007, much stronger than before.
The couple kept a low profile for the next 3 years, before announcing their engagement on November 16, 2010, after becoming engaged during a holiday in Kenya three weeks earlier. The couple were married on April 29, 2011, at Westminster Abbey, becoming the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Since the wedding, William and Catherine have taken on several public appearances, including a tour of Canada and California, USA.
