Who is Catherine, Princess of Wales?

Catherine Elizabeth Middleton was born at the Royal Berkshire
Hospital in Reading on 9 January 1982 into an upper-middle-class family.
She was baptised at St Andrew's Bradfield, a local parish church, on
20 June 1982.

Here you can see a part of the interior of the

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's home:

Kensington Palace in London

Family

She is the eldest of three children born to Michael Middleton (b. 1949)
and his wife, Carole (née Goldsmith; b. 1955),a former flight dispatcher
and flight attendant, respectively, who in 1987 founded Party Pieces,
a privately held mail order company that sells party supplies and decorations
with an estimated worth of £30 million.

By the early 20th century, the Middleton family had married into the
British aristocracy and benefited financially from trust funds which they
established over 100 years ago.

Her Middleton relatives, including her great-grandmother Olive Middleton,
played host to members of the British royal family in the 1920s and 1930s.

Her mother's family are descended from coal miners, and have been
described as working-class.

Catherine has a younger sister, Pippa, and a younger brother, James.

Childhood & youth

The family moved from Bradfield Southend, Berkshire, to Amman, Jordan,

in May 1984, where her father worked for British Airways.

Middleton attended an English-language nursery school.

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.

In 1995, the Middletons moved to the village of Bucklebury. She studied
at Downe House School. She was a boarder at Marlborough College,
a co-educational independent boarding school in Wiltshire.

Middleton showed talent in sports and was captain of the women's
field hockey team.While at Marlborough, she underwent an operation
on the left side of her head, reportedly to remove a lump.

After her studies, 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.

She worked as a deckhand at the Port of Southampton in the
summer preceding university.

Middleton subsequently enrolled at University of St Andrews in Fife,
Scotland, studying history of art. She briefly studied psychology
before focusing solely on art history.
She worked part-time as a waitress during her studies.

While attending university, she achieved a gold Duke of Edinburgh Award.
Middleton was an active member of The Lumsden Club, which held
fundraisers and community projects each year.

In 2005, Middleton graduated from the University of St Andrews with
an undergraduate MA (2:1 Hons) in the history of art.

A royal romance

In 2001, Middleton met Prince William while they were students in
residence at St Salvator's Hall at the University of St Andrews.She reportedly
caught William's eye at a charity fashion show at the university in 2002
when she appeared on the stage wearing a see-through lace dress.

The couple reportedly began dating in 2003. During their second year,
Middleton shared a flat with William and two other friends.

From 2003 to 2005, they both resided at Balgove House on the Strathtyrum
estate with two roommates.

After her graduation, Middleton and her family were faced with intensive
tabloid press scrutiny. She was often photographed daily by the paparazzi outside
her flat and work over the course of their relationship. 

She attended William's Passing Out Parade at the Royal Military Academy
Sandhurst on 15 December 2006. In April 2007, they ended their relationship.

She and her family attended the Concert for Diana in July 2007,
where she and William sat two rows apart. It was subsequently reported that
the couple had reconciled.

On 17 May 2008, Middleton attended the wedding of William's cousin
Peter Phillips to Autumn Kelly in William's stead, and met
Queen Elizabeth II for the first time.

Middleton attended the Order of the Garter procession at
Windsor Castle in June 2008, where Prince William was made a
Royal Knight of the Garter.

On 19 July 2008, she was a guest at the wedding of Lady Rose Windsor
and George Gilman. Prince William was away on military operations in
the Caribbean, serving aboard HMS Iron Duke. 

In June 2010, the couple moved into a cottage on the Bodorgan Estate in
Anglesey, Wales, where Prince William resided during his RAF search-
and-rescue training and subsequent career.

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.

We learned that day that our television was ready for a replacement because the
wedding dress of the Duchess of Cambridge turned out green.   

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".

On this link you can see a youtube movie of the royal wedding. 

The couple were given the country home, Anmer Hall, on the
Sandringham Estate, as a wedding gift from the Queen.The
Duke and Duchess owned an English Cocker
Spaniel, Lupo, from December 2011 to November 2020.

On 3 December 2012, St James's Palace announced that
the Duchess was pregnant with her first child. The announcement was made
earlier in the pregnancy than is usual as she had been admitted to
King Edward VII's Hospital suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum,
a severe form of morning sickness. She remained in hospital for three days. 

Prince George was born at St Mary's Hospital in London on 22 July 2013.
The severe morning sickness returned with the subsequent pregnancies,
forcing Catherine to cancel her official engagements.

 

She gave birth to Princess Charlotte on 2 May 2015 and to Prince Louis on
23 April 2018. It was amazing that the Duchess of Cambridge showed her
three children on the day they were born. 

Prince George became third in the line of succession to 

the British throne, while Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are fourth and fifth,
respectively. The family officially reside at Kensington Palace in London

Duty

Middleton's first public appearance with Prince William following their
engagement was at a fundraising event organised by the Teenage Cancer
Trust in December 2010. 

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 the time in Anglesey, North Wales. 

A day later they appeared in St Andrews to launch the university's 600th
anniversary celebrations. In March 2011, the couple toured Belfast.
The Duchess of Cambridge's first official engagement after the wedding
came in May, when she and the Duke met U.S President Barack Obama
and First Lady Michelle Obama at Buckingham Palace.

The Duke and Duchess's first royal tour of Canada took place in July 2011.
The couple's activities included attending celebrations for Canada Day.
The tour included a two-day trip to California. 

On 26 October 2011, she undertook her first solo engagement at a reception
for In Kind Direct, hosted at Clarence House, stepping in for the Prince of Wales.

On 2 November, Catherine and William visited the UNICEF Supply Division 

for malnourished children in Copenhagen, Denmark.On St. Patrick's Day in 2012, 

the Duchess carried out the traditional awarding of shamrocks to the Irish Guards 

at their Aldershot base; this was her first solo military engagement.

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. 

The Duke and Duchess were announced as ambassadors for the 2012 

Summer Olympics in London. As part of her role, Catherine attended numerous 

sporting events throughout the games.

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. 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.The Duke and Duchess attended
further celebrations of the Jubilee throughout the year, including the Thames
Diamond Jubilee Pageant in July.

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.

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.

The tour was Catherine's first visit to the area and Prince George's first major 

public appearance since his christening in October 2013.The tour itinerary 

included visiting the Plunket Society for children and visiting fire-damaged 

areas in New South Wales.

In June 2014, the couple visited France to attend the commemoration of the 

70th anniversary of the Normandy landings at Gold Beach. 

On 21 July 2014,it was announced that the Duchess 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. 

Her trip was cancelled, with the Duke taking 

her place, after the announcement of her second pregnancy in early September.
In December 2014, the couple visited the United States and attended a charity
dinner at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

On 4 August 2014, the Duchess of Cambridge also visited Liège in Belgium.
She attended the Ceremony at the Allies' Memorial in Cointe during Ceremonies
organized by the Belgian federal government to commemorate
the 100th anniversary of the First World War at Basilique de Cointe.
She was accompanied by the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry
(now the Duke of Sussex). See this link.

In October 2015, the Duchess attended her first state banquet at Buckingham Palace,
held to host Chinese President Xi Jinping.In April 2016, Catherine and William
undertook a tour to India and Bhutan.

Later that month, the couple met again with the Obamas at Kensington Palace.

The Duke and Duchess toured Canada again in September 2016. 

On 11 October 2016, Catherine made her first solo foreign trip to The Netherlands.

Countries visited by the couple in 2017 include France, Poland, Germany, and 

Belgium.

The Duchess takes official portraits of her children and joined the Royal
Photographic Society in 2017.She visited Luxembourg City in May 2017 for the
Treaty of London commemorations.In January 2018, the couple visited Sweden
and Norway.In February 2019, the Duke and Duchess carried out a two-day visit
of Northern Ireland, visiting Belfast, Fermanagh, and Ballymena.

In June 2019, the Duchess took the royal first salute, typically received by
the Queen, at the Beating Retreat military pageant.Catherine accompanied her
husband on a tour of Pakistan in October 2019, the royal family's first visit to the
country in 13 years.

In March 2020, the couple carried out a three-day tour of Ireland, visiting
County Meath, Kildare, and Galway. 

In October 2020, the Duke and Duchess met Volodymyr Zelensky, the
President 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.

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.

In May 2021, the couple returned to Scotland for an extensive tour of
Edinburgh, Fife and Orkney.In Cornwall on 11 June 2021, William and Catherine
attended the G7 summit for the first time. The Duchess visited primary students
alongside First Lady Jill Biden and participated in a roundtable discussion
focusing on early childhood education.

Charity

Following her marriage, the Duchess assumed royal duties and commitments in
support of the Queen.

In March 2011, the Duke and Duchess set up a gift fund held by The
Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry to allow well-wishers who
wanted to give them a wedding gift to donate money to charities they care
about instead.

The gift fund supported 26 charities of the couple's choice, incorporating the 

armed forces, children, the elderly, art, sport and conservation.

In June 2012, The Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry was renamed
The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, 

to reflect Catherine's contribution to the charity.The charity is now (in 2022) listed as
The Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

The Duchess's charity work focuses mainly on issues surrounding young
children, mental health, sport, addiction, and art.Her impact on charitable
donations and project visibility has been called the "Kate effect".

She has a number of charitable patronages: Action for Children, the All England
Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, the Anna Freud Centre, East Anglia's Children's
Hospices (EACH), Evelina London Children's Hospital, Family Action, the
National Portrait Gallery, the Natural History Museum, NHS Charities Together,
Place2Be, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, SportsAid, 

The 1851 Trust, The Foundling Museum, The Lawn Tennis Association, the 

Royal Photographic Society, and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The Duchess, as a history of art graduate, takes an interest in art and handpicked 

the Art Room, which helped disadvantaged children access art therapy before their 

closure, as well as the National Portrait Gallery. She acquired patronage of
The Lawn Tennis Association, the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, 

Action for Children, and the Royal Photographic Society after they were passed 

down by the Queen.

In December 2015, she assumed the patronage of the Royal Air Force Air
Cadets for youths 12–19 years of age. The Duke of Edinburgh, who had been 

patron of the RAF Cadets for 63 years, formally handed over during an 

audience at Buckingham Palace.Catherine was also a local volunteer leader 

with The Scout Association in north Wales,of which the Queen is patron, 

before being made co-president in September 2020, alongside the 

Duke of Kent.

The Duchess is a keen sportswoman and attends Wimbledon annually, as patron 

of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. In 2012, together with the 

Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry, Catherine launched Coach Core. 

The programme was set up following the 2012 Olympics and provides 

apprenticeship opportunities for people who desire to pursue a career as a 

professional coach.

As of 2018, Coach Core has had over 400 apprentices and graduates across 

10 locations. In 2014 she and the Duke were awarded Honorary Life Membership 

of the Marylebone Cricket Club.

 In July 2019, she lent her support to Backyard Nature, a campaign created to inspire
"children, families and communities to get outside and engage with nature".

In August 2019, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge competed in the King's 

Cup yachting regatta to raise money for eight different charities.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Catherine undertook many in-person and 

virtual engagements supporting National Health Service workers.

In May and June 2020, the Duke and Duchess, alongside their children,
delivered food parcels made on the Sandringham Estate to local isolated
pensioners during lockdown.The Duchess discreetly volunteered with the
Royal Voluntary Service during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Duchess has called herself an "enthusiastic amateur photographer" 

and has taken official portraits of her children, as well as other members of 

the royal family.

As patron of the Royal Photographic Society she and other photographers 

took part in an exhibition to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of the Holocaust.

Photos taken by Catherine of the Holocaust survivors were later included in an 

exhibition at the Imperial War Museum.

With the National Portrait Gallery, Catherine curated an exhibition of Victorian 

photography, with a thematic focus on childhood. 

In May 2020, the Duchess launched "Hold Still", a project to capture people's 

life during lockdown, which garnered 31,000 submissions.

In July 2020, the exhibition was released, with the final 100 photographs 

being displayed online. In October 2020, the portraits were displayed 

on 112 public sites, including billboards, murals, and posters, across 

80 towns and cities.

In October 2021, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited the Royal 

Botanical Gardens in Kew, London to take part in Generation Earthshot, 

an educational initiative inspired by the Earthshot Prize. 

Catherine hosted a Christmas carol concert called "Together At Christmas" 

at Westminster Abbey in December 2021, honouring charities and individuals 

that served the communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The concert was produced by Westminster Abbey and BBC Studios 

Events Productions and broadcast by ITV. The Duchess played the piano
during a performance of "For Those Who Can't Be Here" by Tom Walker.

You can see this performance on Youtube on this link. 

2022

On her father-in-law's accession to the throne on 8 September 2022,
Catherine also became Duchess of Cornwall and Duchess of Rothesay.
She was thus briefly called "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of
Cornwall and Cambridge". 

On 9 September 2022, the King announced the appointment
of William as Prince of Wales, with Catherine becoming
Princess of Wales. She has since been known as
"Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales", and as
"Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Rothesay" in Scotland

Conclusion

I hope this post will become larger over the years as Catherine Middleton,
the Duchess of Cambridge 

will grow in her role as future queen.

Source pictures: Wikipedia + book covers