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Catherine, Princess of Wales (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; 9 January 1982), is a member of the British royal family. She is married to William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne. Born in Reading, Catherine grew up in Bucklebury, Berkshire. She was educated at St Andrew's School and Marlborough College before studying art history at the University of St Andrews in Scotland where she met Prince William in 2001. She held several jobs in retail and marketing and pursued charity work before their engagement was announced in November 2010. They married on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey; she became Duchess of Cambridge. The couple have three children: George, Charlotte, and Louis. Catherine holds patronage with over 20 charitable and military organisations including the Anna Freud Centre, Action for Children, SportsAid, and the National Portrait Gallery. She undertakes projects through the Royal Foundation, with her charity work focusing on issues surrounding early childhood care, addiction, and art. To encourage people to discuss their mental health problems, Catherine envisioned the mental health awareness campaign Heads Together, which she launched with her husband William and brother-in-law Harry in April 2016. The media have called Catherine's impact on British and American fashion the "Kate Middleton effect". Time listed her as one of the most influential people in the world in 2011, 2012 and 2013 and as a finalist in 2018. On 9 September 2022, she became Princess of Wales when her husband was created Prince of Wales by his father, King Charles III. Early life, education and career Catherine Elizabeth Middleton was born on 9 January 1982 at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading into an upper-middle-class family. She was baptised at St Andrew's Bradfield, a local parish church, on 20 June 1982. Her parents, Michael Middleton and Carole (née Goldsmith), were a flight dispatcher and flight attendant at British Airways, respectively; she is the eldest of their three children. In 1987, her mother founded Party Pieces, a privately held mail order company that sold party supplies and decorations. Following her mother's retirement and the buyout of her majority shareholding, the new business management at that stage encountered difficulties after axing the quarterly product catalogue. Party Pieces was subsequently rescued from administration in 2023 by millionaire entrepreneur James Sinclair. By the early 20th century, the Middleton family had married into British aristocracy and benefited financially from trust funds which they had established over a century ago. Her Middleton relatives, including her great-grandparents Noël and Olive Middleton, played host to members of the British royal family in the 1920s through to the 1940s. Her mother's family are descended from coal miners, and have been described as working-class. She has a younger sister, Philippa, and a younger brother, James. The family moved from Bradfield Southend, Berkshire, to Amman, Jordan, in May 1984, where Catherine attended an English-language nursery school. When her family returned to Berkshire in September 1986, she was enrolled aged four at St Andrew's School, a private school near Pangbourne in Berkshire. She boarded part-weekly at St Andrew's in her later years. In 1995, her family moved to the village of Bucklebury where she studied at Downe House School. Middleton was a boarder at Marlborough College, a co-educational boarding school in Wiltshire, where she showed talent in sports and was captain of the women's field hockey team. She obtained three A-Levels in 2000, with an 'A' in mathematics, an 'A' in art, and a 'B' in English. Despite being offered a seat at the University of Edinburgh, Middleton took a gap year, studying at the British Institute of Florence in Italy and travelling to Chile to participate in a Raleigh International programme. She worked as a deckhand at the Port of Southampton in the summer preceding university. She subsequently enrolled at the University of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland, to study art history. She briefly studied psychology before focusing solely on art history. She worked part-time as a waitress during her studies. While attending university, she achieved a gold Duke of Edinburgh Award. Middleton was an active member of The Lumsden Club, which held fundraisers and community projects each year. In 2005, she graduated from the University of St Andrews with an undergraduate MA (2:1 Hons) in Art History. In November 2006, Middleton commenced part-time work for twelve months as an accessory buyer with the clothing chain Jigsaw. In 2007, she curated a photography exhibition to mark the book launch of Time to Reflect, by Alistair Morrison, to raise funds for UNICEF. In 2008, Middleton made several trips to Naomi's House Hospice, where she brought gifts and read to children. Later that year, she organised a 1980s-themed roller disco fundraiser which raised £100,000, split between Oxford Children's Hospital, for the construction of Tom's Ward to treat pediatric cancer, and Place2Be, an organisation which provides mental health counselling to school children. She also worked until January 2011 at the family business in catalogue design and production, marketing, and photography. While working for the company, she launched the firm's junior brand for toddlers, and began working with the Starlight Children's Foundation, which helps terminally ill youth, providing party essentials for sick children. Middleton also helped coordinate the Boodles Boxing Ball, which raised money for the charity. Prior to her marriage, she lived in an apartment owned by her parents in Chelsea, London, with her sister. Initially, the media reported her first name as "Kate", which is a diminutive form of "Catherine". The name "Kate Middleton" persisted in the public sphere despite changes in Catherine's name and titles later in life. The British media opt for "Kate" in their articles as a result of search engine optimisation. Personal life Pre-marriage relationship with Prince William In 2001 Middleton met Prince William while they were students in residence at St Salvator's Hall at the University of St Andrews. She reportedly caught William's eye at a charity fashion show at the university in 2002 when she appeared on the stage wearing a see-through lace dress. The couple began dating in 2003. During their second year, Middleton shared a flat with William and two other friends. From 2003 until 2005, they both resided at Balgove House on the Strathtyrum estate with two roommates. In 2004 the couple briefly split but later rekindled their relationship. After her graduation, Middleton and her family were faced with intensive tabloid press scrutiny. She attended William's Passing Out Parade at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in December 2006. In April 2007, they ended their relationship. She and her family attended the Concert for Diana in July 2007,.... Discover the Katie Nicholl popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Katie Nicholl books.