'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton is one of the most well-known and beloved members of the British royal family. Since she was announced as a part of the royal family in 2010, people have been fascinated with Prince William's wife. The couple got married in Westminster Abbey in 2011 and have since given birth to three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
The Princess of Wales, whose real name is Catherine Middleton was born in Reading, Berkshire, and garnered a lot of attention over the past decade. People from across the world have questions about her upbringing and what she did before meeting the Prince of Wales, William.
Kate studied History of Art at the University of St. Andrews. After she graduated, Kate worked as an assistant accessories buyer at Jigsaw, a fashion chain. She has also worked at her family's company Party Pieces, which was started by her parents Michael and Carole in 1987.
A look at Kate Middleton's education background
Kate Middleton was born on January 9, 1982, in Reading, Berkshire. She was raised in Bucklebrry, West Berkshire, and attended St. Andrews School for prep school. According to the royal biographer, Katie Nicholl in the book, Kate: The Future Queen, the first time Kate saw the Prince was when they were both nine years old.
The prince who played hockey as a left back on Ludgrove's Colts team was visiting St. Andrews. The biographer mentioned that Kate was one of the "best hockey and rugby players" in her school as well.
"Of course, the arrival of the prince generated a flurry of excitement. It was the first time Kate had set her eyes on the young prince but certainly not the last,” the biographer added.
She is described as a studious person who excelled academically and scored a tally of 11 GCSEs at the College. According to Tatler, following her education at the prep school, Kate studied at Marlborough College in Wiltshire. Brittanica reported that while she was at Marlborough, Kate Middleton was the school's hockey team captain.
At the time, Prince William was at Eton's College in Windsor, which is an hour's drive away from Marlborough College. Nicholls recalled talking to some of Kate's friends from Marlborough College, who said that she didn't meet the prince at St. Andrews College.
"I was speaking to some of her friends at Marlborough School, which is where [Kate] went before St. Andrews. And they said, 'Uh-uh, she didn’t meet him at St. Andrews, she met him before she got there, while she was at school during her sixth form through some of her friends," Katie wrote.
Kate showed her excellence in A-level exams when she got As in both Maths and Art and a B in English. Following this, Kate took a gap year and went to Chile for a Raleigh International program.
Kate Middleton and University of St. Andrews in Scotland
Cosmopolitan reported that a careers advisor at Marlborough, Jasper Selwyn said that after achieving good results in the A-levels Kate planned to attend the University of Ediburgh. Jasper noted that she had even arranged to stay at the university in Scotland.
However, she reportedly pulled out her admission from the college at the last moment and applied for St. Andrews University in Scotland. In The Palace Papers, Tina Brown said that Kate Middleton's mother, Carole potentially influenced the former's decision to switch universities.
Kate Middleton studied art history at St. Andrews University in 2001 and graduated with a 2:1, an upper second-class honors degree in 2005. Her now-husband Prince William was also enrolled in the same course and year, initially. However, he later changed his major to Geography and graduated with a 2:1 degree as well.
After their engagement in 2010, Prince William spoke to the press about Kate and said that he felt like there was "something very special about her." He added that he felt like there was something about her that he wanted to know, noting that they ended up becoming friends for a while, which he noted was a "good foundation."
“We ended up being friends for a while and that just sort of was a good foundation. Because I do generally believe now that being friends with one another is a massive advantage. And it just went from there,” the Prince told the press.
According to Westminster Abbey's official website, Prince William proposed to Kate Middleton, while they were on a vacation in Kenya. The Royal family announced that William was engaged to Kate in November 2010 and they got married in Westminister Abbey on April 29, 2011.
