Middleton

"Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge." //Newsmakers//. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2011. //Gale Biography In Context//. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge Assistant accessories buyer, Jigsaw, 2006-07; associate, Party Pieces, 2007-09.
 * **Born:** January 09, 1982 in Reading, United Kingdom
 * **Nationality:** British
 * **Occupation:** Duchess
 * By marriage created Her Royal Highness Princess William Arthur Philip Louis, Duchess of Cambridge, Countess of Strathearn, Baroness Carrickfergus, April 29, 2011
 * Born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton, January 9, 1982, in Reading, Berkshire, England; daughter of Michael (a company owner) and Carole (a company owner; maiden name, Goldsmith) Middleton; married William, Prince of Wales, April 29, 2011. Education: University of St. Andrews, M.A. (honors), 2005. St. Andrew's Prep School, Down House, Marlborough College, University of St. Andrews
 * The 29-year-old, who met the grandson of Queen Elizabeth II at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, became the first "commoner"--that is, a person with no title or blood ties to England's aristocracy--to marry a future King of England in more than 350 years. The Queen bestowed on the newlyweds the title to the Dukedom of Cambridge, making the former Miss Middleton officially "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge."
 * Carole's mother's family had been coal miners in the northeast of England as recently as the 1930s.
 * Tabloid lore fixes the date of March 27, 2002, as the turning point in the ostensibly platonic relationship between Middleton and the prince. That night, she modeled in a charity fashion event at St. Andrews Bay Hotel, and the press sensationalized the prince's reaction to the transparent dress Middleton wore, and the fact that William had paid a few hundred dollars for a front-row seat. In the fall of 2003, as they started their third year at St. Andrew's, they moved with friends to a private estate outside of town, Balgove House, which had to be specially outfitted with bulletproof windows and bombproof doors to ensure the safety of the heir. William was always accompanied by a phalanx of security men, even in his classes.
 * Middleton and the prince were often photographed socializing together, but always in a group. The first published pictures of them alone surfaced on April 1, 2004, when they shared a ski lift at the posh Swiss resort of Klosters. Both earned their university degrees in June of 2005
 * While William began his military career--obligatory for an heir to the British throne--at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Middleton lived in a flat in London's ritzy Chelsea neighborhood that her parents had bought for their children to share. For a time, she worked as an accessories buyer for Jigsaw, a clothing chain, but was hounded relentlessly by paparazzi. When she was with William--either at London nightclubs, during his weekend breaks from Sandhurst, or on longer vacations at various luxury resorts--they were cosseted by his bodyguards. On her own, however, Middleton was followed everywhere, because as a mere girlfriend of a royal family member she was not entitled to her own security detail.
 * With no formal engagement announcement forthcoming, the press dubbed Middleton "Waity Katie." The couple spent much of 2009 apart, with Middleton in Berkshire, where she worked for her parents' company, while the prince completed his Royal Air Force training. They resumed living together in early 2010 after William was assigned to an air base on Anglesey Island in Wales. In October of 2010, the couple vacationed in Kenya, where William formally proposed to Middleton with his late mother's legendary diamond-and-sapphire engagement ring. The engagement was announced to the world on November 16, 2010, and the couple stood for a photo call at St. James' Palace, followed by a television interview to British broadcaster ITV. These were the first remarks ever voiced by Middleton to a media source. "Over the years William has looked after me, he's treated me very well, as the loving boyfriend he is," were among the first words she spoke, according to the Times of London. "He is very supportive of me through the good times and also through the bad times."
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