THE word blossomed could’ve been created for her. Over the years, the Princess of Wales has gone from a carefree college student and shy newlywed to a confident queen-to-be, universally recognised for her glamour and poise, work ethic and down-to-earth sensibility.
She’s the jewel in the monarchy’s future – and Princess Diana herself couldn’t have wished for a better partner for her beloved eldest son.
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
She was born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton on 9 January 1982, the eldest of Carole and Michael Middleton’s three children.
The Middletons’ roots stretch back to a family of coal miners in the north of England, and Carole and Mike have always worked hard – she as an air hostess and he as a British Airways flight dispatcher, before they started their successful online party business Party Pieces.
Kate and her younger siblings Pippa and James Middleton, grew up in the quaint village of Bucklebury, where home was a sprawling red-brick manor called Oak Acre.
Kate spent her primary school years at St Andrew’s School in Pangbourne, Berkshire, and has described her time there as some of her “happiest years”. She was sporty and earned top honours in hockey, swimming and athletics.
“She was a really lovely, warm girl who didn’t have a bad bone in her body,” one of Kate’s classmates recalls.
Kate then went to Marlborough College, a private co-ed high school, where she thrived both acedemically and on the sports field. She completed her A-levels in 2000.
Princess Diana herself couldn’t have wished for a better partner for her beloved son
MEETING PRINCE CHARMING
It’s a modern-day fairytale: two attractive young people meeting at one of
