top of page

HRH Catherine, the Princess of Wales

Catherine Elizabeth Middleton was born January 9th 1982 at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, United Kingdom. She is the eldest child of Carole and Michael Middleton and older sister to Philippa (Pippa) Matthews and James Middleton. The Middletons moved to Amman Jordan in 1984 where Catherine attended an English Nursery School.
When the family returned to Berkshire in 1986, Catherine was enrolled a St. Andrews school where she boarded part-weekly in later years. She went on to study at Downe House School and Marlborough College where she played sports and acted in plays. She took a gap year after graduating studying at the British Institute of Florence and travelling to Chile to participate in the Raleigh International program. Catherine went on to attend the University of St. Andrews in 2001, where she met Prince William.
Catherine earned an undergraduate MA (2:1 hons) in History of Art. After meeting in 2001, William and Catherine began dating in 2003 and were engaged in 2010. Their wedding was held at Westminster Abbey on 29th April 2011 and an estimated 300 million people watched the couple exchange vows. The wedding was declared as a bank holiday and was celebrated throughout the United Kingdom. Members of both families were present including Her Majesty the Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Carole and Mike Middleton. Catherine wore a custom dress by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, two famous British designers. The gown featured flowers from each of the four countries of the United Kingdom and later went on display at Buckingham Palace.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (as they were known at the time) lived in Norfolk and Wales during the early years of their marriage while Prince William was still working as a search and rescue pilot. Catherine began working on projects centered around helping those with addiction, children hospices, mental health, arts, sports, the outdoors and supporting the military. In 2017 she, along with Prince William and Prince Harry, launched Heads Together, with the goal of destigmatizing mental health and beginning a global conversation around the issue. Her brother, James, has shared how Catherine supported him in his mental health struggles.
During her work she noticed a common thread of several of the most difficult struggles adults faced could be traced back to the earliest years of their lives. This inspired her to begin to focus on the earliest years of our lives (pregnancy through age five) with the goal of giving every child the very best start. In 2021 she launched the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood which aims to provide tangible solutions to giving children the skills, resources and tools they need to become healthy adults.
Catherine shares three children with Prince William (HRH Prince George of Wales, HRH Princess Charlotte of Wales and HRH Prince Louis of Wales). The Princess of Wales is incredibly close with her family and she has two siblings (Pippa Matthews and James Middleton) as well as brothers and a sister-in-law (Prince Harry, James Matthews and Alizee Middleton (nee. Thevenet). She has three nieces (Grace Elizabeth Jane Matthews, Rose Matthews and Lilbet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor) and two nephews (Arthur Michael William Matthews and Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor).
The Cambridges reside at Kensington Palace in London and spend holidays at Anmer Hall in Norfolk.

HRH Catherine, the Princess of Wales
bottom of page