By Chloe Schneider
It’s seventeen sleeps until the Royal Wedding and we simply can’t get enough of the romance, the fashion predictions and, of course, the bride-to-be so we thought we’d bring you a special edition celebrity spotlight on Kate Middleton. Come Royal Wedding day, you’ll be an expert on all things Kate!
The Beginnings
Born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton on the 9th of January 1982 at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, Berkshire, Kate was raised in a quiet English village forty-five miles west of London. The eldest of three children, the brunette beauty was raised in an idyllic family home. He father, an airline officer and her mother, a flight attendant later founded their own business ‘Party Pieces’, a company that sells party supplies and hosts children’s party. The business was a huge success and Carole and Michael Middleton became millionaires because of it.
University Days
Kate completed a History of Art degree at the University of St Andrews where she met Prince William who was also a student of the university. Interestingly, the university has been called ‘Britain’s top match-making university’ thanks to statistics that one in ten students marry a fellow student at the school. It is said to be a very small, intimate university in a small town.
Kate and William were friends for over a year and even lived together before they dated. There is much speculation that Kate attended St Andrews in hopes of meeting the Prince and that her mother pushed her to go there but the family and friends of the family deny such strategic plotting,
Either way, Kate’s participation in a 2002 fashion show where she strode the runway in a see-through dress (which will be auctioned off on Thursday) and caught the Prince’s attention who kissed her at a party later that night.
The two begun dating and had an on-off relationship up until late 2008 when the pair reconciled and Kate begun attending some big events with the Royals.
Career
Part of Kate’s appeal is her impeccable fashion sense. Her respectable but stylish looks have caught the medias eye, causing her name to land on more than a few ‘best-dressed’ lists.
And it seems Middleton has a professional eye for style as well. In November of 2006, she scored a position as accessory buyer with Jigsaw.
In September 2007, reports said Middleton was giving up this position to become a professional photographer. After this, rumours begun circulating that Kate was to have private classes with celebrated fashion and portrait photographer Mario Testino but he later denied the claims.
Today
After being nicknamed ‘Waity Katie’ by the media, William finally proposed to Kate in a bold move that upended the tradition of marrying within the royal bloodline. The two are set to be married at Westminster Abbey on 29 April 2011.
