Kate Middleton’s life began modestly. She was born in 1982 to Carole and Michael, both employees at British Airways, 40 miles outside of London. Soon, she attended a rural preparatory school and eventually found her way to St. Andrews in Scotland—where she fell in love with a certain prince. The rest, as they say, is history. From her early childhood to life as duchess; from Graduation Day to the Big Day; from yellow hotpants to Alexander McQueen, see highlights from Kate’s 30 years.
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The Middletons moved to Jordan for a year in 1984, where Kate’s father, Michael, worked as a manager for British Airways. Kate attended an English-language nursery school in Amman.
© The Middleton Family via Flickr
After the Middletons returned from Jordan, they moved back into their suburban home outside London. Kate, here at 3 1/2, climbs a rock while on a family holiday in the Lake District.
© The Middleton Family via Flickr
Kate (here at age 5) went on to attend St. Andrew’s School in 1989. She was an active kid—playing field hockey and acting in school plays (including a starring role as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady).
© The Middleton Family via Flickr
Kate was all smiles upon her graduation from the University of St. Andrews, where she studied art history.
© The Middleton Family via Flickr
The young couple embraced on their graduation day from St. Andrews (he majored in geography) and celebrated later at the Boujis nightclub in London. Before they began dating, Will and Kate met as flatmates. “Well, I actually think I went bright red when I met you and sort of scuttled off, feeling very shy about meeting you,” Middleton later told William.
© The Middleton Family via Flickr
At a 2002 charity fashion show at St. Andrews, Kate modeled a see-through dress that was designed by her friend Charlotte Todd, a former student. When Kate strutted the runway in the dress, William famously murmured: “Wow, Kate’s hot.” Last March, the dress hit the block at a London auction. While Todd expected the dress might sell for anywhere between $11,000 and $14,000—it went for a whopping $125,884.
They were the hotpants seen 'round the world: Middleton arrived at the '80s-themed “Day-Glo Midnight Roller Disco” in South London on September 17, 2008, in a green sequined top and tiny yellow hotpants.
Anthony Jones / PA-Landov
On November 16, 2010, Kate and William appeared at St. James’s Palace to officially announce their engagement. Kate wore a blue Issa wrap dress—to match the sapphire of Diana’s engagement ring. The dress became an overnight sensation, selling out within 24 hours, and inspiring several knockoffs. Kate Style Mania is born.
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Days later, the pair appeared again for their official engagement portrait, shot by Mario Testino. The ring was, naturally, front and center – but Kate shined in a white dress by Reiss.
Mario Testino / Alpha-Landov
The speculation over who would design Middleton’s wedding dress reached fever pitch by April 2011. In the days before the wedding, Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen was spotted sneaking into the Goring Hotel, where Middleton set up camp before the wedding, raising the global alarm bells that she might wear a dress by McQueen. And indeed, it came true: when Middleton alighted on April 29th, she wore a sweeping ivory and white silk gazar hand-embroidered English and French Chantilly lace dress with 58 organza-covered buttons up the back, hand-sewn by the atelier. As The Daily Beast’s Robin Givhan put it, “In the end, the McQueen gown, designed by the house’s creative director, Sarah Burton, and hand-sewn by the atelier, did not change Western fashion as the world knows it. It did not alter everything that defines modern femininity. And it did not force a reassessment of what it means to be elegant, sophisticated, or sexy. But it was a gasp-inducing, slightly sexy gown worn by a beaming bride. It put a giddy smile on the young prince’s face and caused him to seemingly murmur: You look fabulous. And really, what more can one expect or hope for a wedding dress to do?”
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The new Duchess of Cambridge was equally stunning on her wedding night, when she wore a second dress by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen—this one a strapless white gazar evening dress with a sweetheart neckline and diamante-embroidered waist—which she paired with a mohair cardigan.
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The newlyweds met with Barack and Michelle Obama less than a month after their wedding. Kate wore a nude Reiss bandage dress – while Mrs. Obama donned a green embroidered dress by Barbara Tfank.
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Among their first duties as Duke and Duchess, William and Kate completed a tour of North America in July 2011. Though she was a field hockey star in her youth, Middleton didn’t get down and dirty at a pickup game during their visit to Yellowknife, Canada (maybe it was the dress and heels?). Wills, meanwhile, covered the court—though none of his three penalty shots hit the mark.
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In Los Angeles, they visited charity centers, a polo field, and attended a star-studded gala hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television, which honors talented young Brits in the film industry. Middleton wore a dazzling lavender McQueen dress to the event—and met celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez and Nicole Kidman.
The royal tour of Canada contained a few embarrassing moments. The first came when Kate’s yellow Jenny Packham dress with a flowing skirt caught the wind and gave everyone an eyeful. Then, came the hats. Kate wore an Alice by Temperly shirt, blue jeans—and a jaunty cowboy hat during their visit to a rodeo in Calgary on July 7th.
Time for the hunt? Catherine joins the Royal Family at Christmas Services at St. Mary's Church on the grounds of Sandringham Estate. The 2011 holiday marked the first time Catherine celebrated with the Royal Family, and a record crowd of 3,000 gathered to catch a glimpse of the party. But the holiday was married by the absence of Prince Philip, who was hospitalized on Dec. 23rd after suffering a heart attack.
The only party in town bigger than the Royal Wedding: Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee. After traveling around the world as part of the Jubilee Tour, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge joined in the weeklong festivities around London. On June 3, they rode the Spirit of Chartwell, a luxury barge festooned with flowers, with the Queen and the rest of the family—including Prince Philip, who was hospitalized for a bladder infection shortly after the riverboat pageant.
It seems only fitting that William and Catherine started the year off by getting a puppy—especially considering they ended the year by announcing another new addition to the family. She played with the royal puppy, who they named Lupo, at the Tusk Charity Polo match near Tetbury in June.
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What better way to spend the month after the Jubilee than at the Olympics? William and Catherine attended the Opening Ceremony—which featured a top-secret cameo by his grandmother!—on July 27. Less than a week later, they celebrated as Philip Hindes, Jason Kenny and Sir Chris Hoy of Great Britain win the gold and a new world record in the Men's Team Sprint Track Cycling final.
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Just days after topless photos of the duchess leaked, the royal couple was all smiles as they rode a canoe in the Solomon Island on Sept. 17. Although maybe they were still laughing at the reception: they were greeted by a group of bare-chested women as part of a traditional ceremonial welcome. Awkward.
Pool photo by Rick Rycroft
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge made the much-awaited announcement on Dec. 3rd that they are expecting their first child—although the news came as Catherine was hospitalized for hyperemesis gravidarum, a rare form of extreme morning sickness. They duchess spent three days in the hospital and was forced to cancel most of her public events as she recovered—and she missed the Royal Family's annual Christmas celebration. Estimated to be 12 weeks along on her birthday, Catherine will celebrate her 31st "privately," St. James's Palace confirmed.
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