Kate Middleton: Recent News

Jul 30, 2012

Kate & William Are Among the Royals Cheering on Zara Phillips

Jul 29, 2012

Zara Phillips Makes Her Olympic Debut

Jul 27, 2012

Olympics Opening Ceremony Pays Tribute to British Favorites

Jul 26, 2012

William, Kate and Harry Greet the Olympic Torch at Buckingham Palace

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Kate Middleton: Snapshot

Name: Kate Middleton
Date of Birth: January 09, 1982
Birth Place: Berkshire, England

Royal insiders have called Kate Middleton, with her grace and sporty elegance, "a natural" as Prince William's wife.

The captivating brunette may not come from royalty, but she does have good breeding – her parents are self-made millionaires and she attended the prestigious and pricey private boarding school Marlborough College. After excelling at field hockey and cross-country running, Middleton studied art history at University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where she took William off the market in 2002.

After an eight-year fairy tale romance, William proposed to Middleton with his late mother Princess Diana's engagement ring.

On April 29, 2011, the couple married in a fairy tale ceremony at London's Westminster Abbey, ennobling the commoner as the Duchess of Cambridge.

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Kate Middleton: Five Fun Facts

Kate Middleton, who worked as an accessories buyer for British fashion chain Jigsaw, once had her sights on launching her own kids' clothing line.
After months of grueling training, Kate Middleton was forced to drop out of a charity rowing race across the English Channel. "It's a safety thing," Emma Sayle, captain of Middleton's ex-team, told PEOPLE. "The boats aren't designed for the sea. It's dangerous enough as it is without the world's paparazzi [chasing] us."
In March 2002, Prince William paid $200 to sit front row and watch a bikini-clad Kate Middleton walk down the runway of a student-run charity fashion show at University of St. Andrews.
In 2006, Woolworths created commemorative plates and mugs with Kate Middleton and Prince William's likenesses, amid engagement rumors that turned out to be false at the time.
As Kate Middleton prepared to celebrate her 25th birthday in 2007, a group of Kate aficionados launched the Unofficial Kate Middleton Fan Club. Their first announced meeting was held outside one of Middleton's favorite nightclubs, Boujis.

Kate Middleton: Biography

1990s: Bucklebury Babe
Michael and Carole Middleton, self-made millionaires who run a mail order company selling children's party toys, raise their three children in the genteel village of Bucklebury, England. Their oldest daughter, Kate, attends the $35,000-per-year boarding school Marlborough College and excels at field hockey and cross-country running.
2001: Fall
St. Andrews Friendship
Middleton attends the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where Prince William of Wales is also a student. Both major in art history before becoming close friends (William will later change his course of study to geography). That March, the dashing prince forks over $200 to sit front row to cheer on Middleton in a student-run charity fashion show. Middleton's walk down the runway in a sheer black sheath over a bandeau top and bikini bottom marks her first brush with the British press.
2002: Fall
Coed Roommates
Middleton and William, along with the Prince's Eton College pal Fergus Boyd and another female student, move into a four-bedroom apartment near the town center. Middleton doesn't see their platonic arrangement as "a big deal," says a pal. One local begs to differ, telling PEOPLE, "Everybody knows he is with Kate. They are together."