Kate Middleton extracted from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia

Kate Middleton
Born	9 January 1982 (1982-01-09) (age 26) Reading, Berkshire, England
Parents	Michael and Carole Middleton

Catherine Elizabeth "Kate" Middleton (born 9 January 1982) is an Englishwoman known for her relationship with Prince William of Wales.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Relationship with Prince William 3 End of Relationship and Reconciliation 4 Recent events 5 Notes 6 External links

Early life

Middleton was born at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, Berkshire, England and was baptised in the Church of England.^[1] She is the elder daughter of businessman Michael Francis Middleton, an airline pilot at the time of her birth.^[2][3] Her mother, Carole Elizabeth Middleton, née Goldsmith, was a flight attendant (air hostess). Her mother's family has coal-mining roots tracing back to Hetton-le-Hole, in the City of Sunderland, while her father was born in Leeds. Middleton's parents now own Party Pieces, a mail order company that sells children's party paraphernalia, and are self-made millionaires.^[4] She has a younger sister, Philippa ("Pippa") and a younger brother, James.

Middleton was raised in Bucklebury, Berkshire, in the south of England.^[1] She went to St Andrew's School, Pangbourne until she was 13 and attended Marlborough College (the same school William's cousin Princess Eugenie of York attends), where she passed eleven GCSEs and three A-level examinations. Like the Prince, Middleton was a student at the University of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland. She graduated in 2005 with a 2:1 degree in History of Art.

While attending the University of St Andrews in 2001, Middleton met Prince William of Wales. At the time, Middleton was in her first year at St Andrews. She and Prince William have been involved in an on-off relationship, possibly since as early as 2001, that has been the subject of intense media attention.

Relationship with Prince William

Middleton's status as the girlfriend of Prince William brought her widespread media coverage in the UK and abroad, and she was often photographed on her daily outings. On October 17, 2005, she complained through her lawyer about harassment from the media, stating that she had done nothing significant to warrant much publicity.

In February 2006, it was announced that Middleton would receive her own 24-hour security detail supplied by the Royalty and Diplomatic Protection Department. This fueled further speculation that she and Prince William would soon be engaged, since she would not, otherwise, be entitled to this service. No engagement occurred, and Middleton was not granted an allowance to fund this security. However, media attention greatly increased around the time of Middleton's 25th birthday in January 2007, prompting warnings from both Prince Charles and Prince William and from Middleton's lawyers, who threatened legal action. As a result, two newspaper groups, News International, which publishes The Times, and the Guardian Media Group, publishers of The Guardian and The Observer, decided to refrain from publishing paparazzi photographs of her.^[5]

Middleton attended at least one event as an official royal guest, Prince William's "Passing-Out" parade at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on December 15, 2006. It was reported by the Daily Mail, a British tabloid newspaper, that she was invited by the Queen to Christmas lunch in 2006, which would have made her the first unmarried partner of a royal to be asked to the festive celebrations at the royal estate of Sandringham House near Sandringham, Norfolk. Middleton declined the offer, preferring to spend Christmas with her own family. The article claimed she refused to attend any future gathering with the Queen and Royal Family unless she and William were married.^[6] According to the December 2006 issue of People,^[7] a palace "insider" stated that Middleton was not at this time being groomed or being advised to be a future princess.

Nevertheless, retailers such as Woolworths were preparing commemorative merchandise to be ready should an engagement announcement occur.^[8]

End of Relationship and Reconciliation

On April 14, 2007 The Sun newspaper broke a 'world exclusive' suggesting that Prince William and Kate Middleton had split up.^[9] 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.^[10][11]

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." Newspapers speculated about the reasons of 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 Middleton 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.

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 William's friend Guy Pelly encouraged the Prince to take a "careless approach" to relationships. The same article suggested that Middleton had "expected too much" in wanting William to demonstrate his commitment to her.^[12]

In June 2007, Middleton and Prince William insisted they were "just good friends" following reports of a reconciliation.^[13] Middleton and her family attended the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium; however, she and William sat two rows apart.^[14] Since then, the couple has been seen together in public on a number of occasions, and according to several news sources including the BBC and the Daily Mail, has now "rekindled their relationship".^[15] Middleton also joined William and Charles on a deerstalking expedition at Balmoral.^[16]

Recent events

In early 2006, it was rumoured that Middleton intended to found her own mail order company. However, a key investor stepped down, and Middleton decided to hold off on this plan. In November 2006, she accepted a position as an assistant accessories buyer with the British clothing chain Jigsaw, a company owned by close family friends of Middleton.^[17]

The conservative Daily Mail newspaper reported that after passing out of Sandhurst in December 2006, Prince William was told that if he wished to pursue an Army career, Middleton could not travel with him on Army time or live with him on base unless they were married. According to the article, the couple were told that since William's professional obligations, such as charities and public engagements, were likely to increase, along with his military duties, they either needed to get engaged or cool the relationship off for a while, an anonymous security source reported.^[18] Prince William himself has stated that he does not intend to marry until he is at least 28 or at 30.^[7][19]

In March 2007, the Daily Mail also, for the first time, painted Middleton in an unflattering light. The article claimed that Middleton had started to use her status as Prince William's girlfriend to her advantage, that she had accepted free gifts, such as a £1,000 Burberry Manor bag and a £300 handbag from Melissa del Bono. According to the Daily Mail, Audi gave Middleton a discount after she bargained with them for a new car. Another claim was that she had argued with a parking warden on receiving a ticket and used front doors (after fixing her hair and makeup) to leave night clubs instead of private exits, allowing the paparazzi to take photos, even though she had threatened legal action against photographers in the past. Finally, the article suggested that Middleton had had little contact with her university friends since becoming involved with Prince William.^[20]

In September, 2007, it was reported that Middleton was planning to give up her job as an accessories buyer to become a professional photographer. Moreover, it was said that she wanted to take some time for herself. Some months later, it was announced that she intended to take private classes with internationally-renowned photographer Mario Testino, who had taken several well-known photographs of the late Princess of Wales and her sons. Middleton and Testino apparently were introduced by Prince William. Testino later denied that Kate was going to be working for him or had ever worked for him.^[21] In December, 2007, it was also reported that Middleton had moved in with Prince William at Clarence House, the residence of the Prince of Wales in London.^[22] Clarence House later denied this.^[23]

In April of 2008, Prince William landed his RAF Chinook helicopter in the back garden of Kate Middleton's parents' home. This sparked controversy over the use of RAF equipment being at the prince's disposal. ^[24]

Notes

External links

• BBC profile
• Kate Middleton Photo Gallery
• Press plea for privacy
• Middleton — middle-class rose fated not to be Queen
• What next for the OTHER (less grumpy) love birds?
• William & Kate Engagement Talk Rings Out At The Palace 3 December 2006
• Love nest photos rile William 12 December 2005
• Kate, the coalminer's girl
• The Royalist: Now TEN Police Officers Guard Kate Middleton 6 January 2006
• Deer hunter Kate under fire for going shooting with Royals 15 October 2007