Prince William and Kate and Catherine Middleton became engaged in October 2010 in Queen for Less Than a DayMiddleton
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| Prince William and Kate Middleton |
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| Prince William and Kate Middleton |
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| Prince William and Kate Middleton |
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| Prince William and Kate Middleton |
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| Prince William and Kate Middleton |
Prince William and Kate Middleton
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| Prince William and Kate Middleton |
Kate Middleton and Prince William Match Their Sweaters and Collars For a Prince William and Kate Middleton
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| Prince William and Kate Middleton |
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (Catherine Elizabeth; née Middleton; born 9 January 1982), is the wife of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. William is second in line to the thrones of the sixteen Commonwealth realms and, if he becomes king, she will become queen consort.[1] Catherine grew up in Chapel Row at Bucklebury, a village near Newbury, Berkshire, England.[2] She studied in Scotland at the University of St Andrews, where she met William in 2001. They started a romantic relationship that continued until a break-up lasting for several months in 2007. However, they continued to be friends and rekindled their relationship later that year.
Prior to the wedding, Catherine attended many high-profile royal events. Once their relationship became public, Catherine received widespread media attention and there was much speculation that she and William would eventually marry. Their engagement was announced on 16 November 2010, and they married on 29 April 2011 at Westminster AbbeyCatherine was born at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading on 9 January 1982 and christened at St Andrew's Bradfield, Berkshire on 20 June 1982.[3][4]:32 She is the eldest of three children born to Carole (née Goldsmith), a former flight attendant and now part-owner of Party Pieces, a private company with an estimated worth of £30 million,[5] and Michael Francis Middleton, who also worked as a flight attendant prior to becoming a flight dispatcher for British Airways, currently also an owner of Party Pieces. Her parents married on 21 June 1980, at the Parish Church of Dorney, Buckinghamshire,[6] and in 1987, founded Party Pieces, a mail order company that sells party supplies and decorations.[7][8] Her siblings are Philippa "Pippa" Charlotte[9][10] and James Middleton.[9][11] The family has complained about press harassment of Pippa and their mother since Catherine's engagement.[12]
Catherine's paternal family came from Leeds, West Riding of 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.[13] Her ancestors include The Rev. Thomas Davis, a Church of England hymn-writer.[14][15][16][17] Carole Middleton's maternal family, the Harrisons, were working class labourers and miners from Sunderland and County Durham.[18]
Catherine's parents were based in Amman, Jordan, working for British Airways from May 1984, to September 1986, where Catherine went to an English language nursery school,[19] before returning to their home in Berkshire.[20] After her return from Amman, Catherine was educated at St Andrew's School near the village of Pangbourne in Berkshire, then briefly at Downe House.[21] She continued her studies at Marlborough College, a co-educational independent boarding school in Wiltshire,[22] followed by the University of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland where she met William. She graduated with an MA (2:1 Hons) in the History of Art.[23]In November 2006, Catherine accepted a position as an accessory buyer with the clothing chain Jigsaw.[24] She also worked part-time until January 2011 as a catalogue photographer, webpage designer and marketing officer for her parents' firm "Party Pieces". In 2008, it was reported that she had quit her job at Jigsaw to become a professional photographer, intending to take private classes with photographer Mario Testino, who had taken several well-known photographs of Diana, Princess of Wales and her sons.[25] Testino later denied that Catherine was going to be working for him.[26]Catherine is admired for her fashion sense and has been placed on numerous "best dressed" lists.[27][28][29] She was selected by The Daily Telegraph as the "Most Promising Newcomer" in its 2006 list of style winners and losers.[30] Tatler placed her at number 8 on its yearly listing of the top ten style icons in 2007.[31] She was featured in People magazine's 2007 and 2010 best-dressed lists.[32] Catherine was named as one of Richard Blackwell's ten "Fabulous Fashion Independents" of 2007.[33] In June 2008, Style.com selected Catherine as its monthly beauty icon.[34] In July 2008, Catherine was included in Vanity Fair's international best-dressed list.[35] In February 2011, Catherine was named the Top Fashion Buzzword of the 2011 season by the Global Language Monitor.[36]Catherine's status as the undeclared girlfriend of William brought her widespread media coverage in Britain 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.[37] In February 2006, it was announced that Catherine would receive her own 24-hour security detail supplied by the Royalty Protection branch (SO14). This fuelled further speculation that she and William would soon be engaged, since she would not otherwise be entitled to this service.No engagement was forthcoming and Catherine was not granted an allowance to fund this security. Media attention increased around the time of Catherine's 25th birthday in January 2007, prompting warnings from both Charles and William and from Catherine'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.[38] Catherine 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.[39] In December 2007, it was reported that Catherine had moved in with Prince William at Clarence House, the residence of the Prince of Wales in London.[40] Clarence House later denied this.[41]
On 17 May 2008, Catherine attended the wedding of William's cousin Peter Phillips to Autumn Kelly, which the prince did not attend.[42] On 19 July 2008, she was a guest at the wedding of Lady Rose Windsor and George Gilman. William was away on military operations in the Caribbean, serving aboard the HMS Iron Duke.[43] In 2010, Catherine pursued an invasion of privacy claim against two agencies and photographer Niraj Tanna, who took pictures of her over Christmas 2009.[44] Catherine obtained a public apology, £5,000 in damages, and legal costs.[45]On 14 April 2007, The Sun newspaper broke a "world exclusive" suggesting that Prince William and Catherine had split up.[46] 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.[47][48] 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".[49] 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 Catherine 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.[50] 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 a friend of William encouraged the Prince to take a "careless approach" to relationships. The same article suggested that Catherine had "expected too much" in wanting William to demonstrate his commitment to her.[51]
In June 2007, Catherine and William insisted they were "just good friends" following reports of a reconciliation.[52] Catherine and her family attended the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium, where she and William sat two rows apart.[53] 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".[54] Catherine also joined William and Charles on a deerstalking expedition at Balmoral[55] and attended the wedding of William's cousin, Peter Phillips, even though William, due to a prior commitment, did not. In April 2008, Catherine accompanied William when he was awarded his RAF wings at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell.[56] On 16 June 2008, Catherine attended William's investiture into the Order of the Garter, along with the Royal Family.Main article: Wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine Middleton
The newly married Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace
Prince William and Catherine Middleton became engaged in October 2010 in Kenya, East Africa, during a 10-day trip to the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy to celebrate William passing his RAF helicopter search and rescue course.[57][58] Clarence House announced the engagement on 16 November 2010.[57][59] The couple married in Westminster Abbey on 29 April 2011,[60] (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 the United Kingdom.[61][62]Prince William and Kate Middleton are movin’ on up! The newly married couple still rent their Angelsey Wales farmhouse, but they now have a place to call home in London. The Royal couple moved into Nottingham Cottage “Nott Cott” last week and they didn’t do much in the way of renovations — they just want to spend time in their cozy new apartment with each other!
The “starter home” consists of two-bedrooms with a few “snug” reception rooms and a small yard. Perfect for the couple that loves to spend every waking moment together. The residence formerly belonged to Princess Diana’s sister Lady Jane Fellowes and her husband Sir Robert Fellowes — the Queen’s former secretary.
“Although it’s not huge it’s their own space,” a source tells The Daily Mail. “They are delighted with it.”
Surprisingly, William and Kate weren’t too picky about fixing up their new digs. The romantic couple is just disappointed that there isn’t a garden for Kate to exercise her “green-thumb.”
“Kate has been overseeing a refurb there, but they haven’t done much to it,” the source continues. “It’s just a lick of paint to freshen the place up.”
Prince William and Kate Middleton
