Here is a look at the life of the Princess of Wales, the former Catherine (Kate) Middleton.
Personal
Birth date: January 9, 1982
Birth place: Reading, Berkshire, England
Birth name: Catherine Elizabeth Middleton
Father: Michael Middleton, former airline pilot, now mail-order business owner
Mother: Carole (Goldsmith) Middleton, former flight attendant
Marriage: Prince William, The Prince of Wales (April 29, 2011-present)
Children: George Alexander Louis, Charlotte Elizabeth Diana and Louis Arthur Charles
Education: University of St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland, 2005, MA, Art History
Other Facts
Is the eldest of three children of self-made millionaires.
Her engagement ring belonged to Princess Diana.
Timeline
2001 - Meets Prince William at University of St. Andrews.
2002-2005 - Shares living quarters with William and several other college students.
2003 - Begins dating Prince William around Christmas.
April 1, 2004 - First public sighting of the couple, a ski trip in Switzerland, is reported.
2006-2007 - Works as an accessories buyer for British ladies’ fashion chain store Jigsaw.
March 2007 - Ends relationship with Prince William, but within months they are on again.
October 2010 - Becomes engaged to Prince William during a trip to Kenya.
November 16, 2010 - Prince Charles officially announces the engagement to the world.
April 19, 2011 - The Middleton family coat of arms is unveiled.
April 29, 2011 - Marries Prince William at Westminster Abbey and becomes Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge.
June 2011 - The Duke and Duchess make an apartment on the grounds of Kensington Palace their London home.
June 30-July 8, 2011 - The couple’s first official trip to a foreign country, Canada.
July 8-10, 2011 - Visits Los Angeles, where she and William visit a job fair for veterans and an arts center in a low-income neighborhood. It is her first trip to the United States.
July 22, 2011 - Her wedding dress is put on display at Buckingham Palace.
January 5, 2012 - Announces the four charities she will support as a patron: the Art Room, which helps disadvantaged children express themselves through art; the National Portrait Gallery, which houses a famous collection of royal paintings and photographs; East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices, which helps children with life-threatening conditions; and Action on Addiction, which assists those with addiction issues.
March 19, 2012 - Gives her first official public address at East Anglia’s Children’s Hospice facility in Ipswich, England.
September 2012 - The French magazine Closer runs photographs of the Duchess privately sunbathing topless. The pictures also run in the Irish Daily Star newspaper.
September 17, 2012 - The Duchess and William file a complaint in France against the photographer who took the topless sunbathing pictures. They are seeking damages and would like to prevent further publication of the photos. The French magazine Closer, the Irish Daily Star and the Italian magazine Chi have each published some of the topless photos.
December 3, 2012 - The royal household announces that the Duchess is pregnant. According to the announcement, she is admitted to hospital with acute morning sickness.
July 22, 2013 - The Duchess gives birth to the couple’s first child, a son weighing 8 lbs., 6 oz. The baby is named Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge.
May 2, 2015 - The Duchess gives birth to the couple’s second child, a daughter weighing 8 lbs, 3 oz. The baby is named Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana of Cambridge.
February 17, 2016 - Guest edits Huffington Post UK as part of her Young Minds Matter initiative.
April 30, 2016 - As part of a partnership with the British National Portrait Gallery, the Duchess will appear on the cover of the centenary issue of fashion magazine British Vogue, and have two of her portraits hung in the gallery.
September 4, 2017 - Kensington Palace issues a statement that the Duchess is pregnant. The baby will be her and Prince William’s third child.
September 5, 2017 - A French court rules that the topless sunbathing pictures of the Duchess were an invasion of privacy, awarding her and William 100,000 euros (about $119,000) in damages.
April 23, 2018 - The Duchess gives birth to the couple’s third child, a son weighing 8 lbs., 7 oz. The baby is named Prince Louis Arthur Charles of Cambridge.
November 27, 2020 - The Duchess and the Royal Foundation release the findings of a study on how Covid-19 has impacted parents and caregivers of those raising children under the age of five. The study relied in part on a survey of more than half a million people about the early childhood years in the UK.
June 18, 2021 - The Duchess launches The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood. In a video announcing the center’s creation, the duchess says the goal is to “raise awareness of why the first five years of life are just so important for our future life outcomes.”
September 8, 2022 - Queen Elizabeth II dies, and Charles ascends to the throne.
September 10, 2022 - King Charles III announces William will be given the title Prince of Wales, making Catherine Princess of Wales.
January 17, 2024 - Kensington Palace says the Princess of Wales will spend up to two weeks recovering in hospital after undergoing abdominal surgery.
March 11, 2024 - Apologizes for an edited official photograph that was recalled by a number of international news agencies over concerns it had been manipulated. Catherine says she is sorry for “any confusion” caused by the image after her “experiment” with photo editing. The photograph, released to mark Mother’s Day in the UK, was the first official picture of Catherine since she underwent abdominal surgery in January.
March 22, 2024 - Reveals she has been diagnosed with cancer and is in the “early stages” of treatment.
June 15, 2024 - Makes her first public appearance since being diagnosed with cancer, joining other royals in London for Trooping the Colour, the King’s official birthday parade.
