Catherine Elizabeth "Kate" Middleton Prince William
Catherine Elizabeth "Kate" Middleton (born 9 January 1982) is the fiancée of Prince William of Wales. Their wedding is to take place on 29 April 2011. Middleton grew up in Chapel Row at Bucklebury, Berkshire, England, and studied in Scotland at the University of St Andrews, where she met Prince William in 2001. They started a romantic relationship that continued until a break-up lasting for several months in 2007. However, they continued to be friends and rekindled their relationship later that year.
Since then, Middleton has attended many high-profile royal events. She has been admired for her fashion sense and has been placed on numerous "best dressed" lists. Once their relationship became public, Middleton received widespread media attention and there was much speculation that they would eventually marry. On 16 November 2010 the office of the Prince of Wales at Clarence House announced their engagement, with details announced one week later.
Early life and family
Middleton was born at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading.:32 She is the eldest of three children born to Carole Elizabeth (née Goldsmith), a flight attendant, and Michael Francis Middleton, who also worked as a flight attendant prior to becoming a flight dispatcher for British Airways. Her parents married on 21 June 1980 at the Parish Church of Dorney, Buckinghamshire, and in 1987 founded Party Pieces, a successful mail order company that sells party supplies and decorations. Middleton's two siblings are a sister, Philippa Charlotte, known as "Pippa" (born 1983), and a brother, James William (born 1987). The family have complained about press harassment of Pippa and their mother since Middleton's engagement.
Middleton's paternal family came from Leeds, West Yorkshire, and her great-grandmother Olivia was a member of the Lupton family, who were active for generations in Leeds in commercial and municipal work. Her ancestors include The Rev. Thomas Davis, a Church of England hymn-writer. Carole Middleton's maternal family, the Harrisons, were working class labourers and miners from Sunderland and County Durham.
Middleton's parents were based in Amman, Jordan, working for British Airways from May 1984 to September 1986, where Middleton went to an English language nursery school, before returning to their home in Berkshire. After her return from Amman, Middleton was educated at St. Andrew's School in the village of Pangbourne in Berkshire, then briefly at Downe House. She continued her studies at Marlborough College, a co-educational independent boarding school in Wiltshire,[19] followed by the University of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland where she met William. She graduated with a 2:1 (Hons) in the History of Art.
Career
In November 2006 Middleton accepted a position as an accessory buyer with the clothing chain Jigsaw. In September 2007 it was reported[citation needed] that Middleton was planning to give up her job as an accessory buyer to become a professional photographer. It was announced[citation needed] that she intended to take private classes with photographer Mario Testino, who had taken several well-known photographs of Diana, Princess of Wales and her sons. Middleton and Testino apparently were introduced by Prince William. Testino later denied that Middleton was going to be working for him.
Public image and style
Middleton has been featured in several best-dressed lists and was selected by The Daily Telegraph as the "Most Promising Newcomer" in its 2006 list of style winners and losers. Tatler placed her at number 8 on its yearly listing of the top ten style icons in 2007. She was featured in People magazine's 2007 and 2010 best-dressed lists. Middleton was named as one of Richard Blackwell's ten "Fabulous Fashion Independents" of 2007. In June 2008 Style.com selected Middleton as its monthly beauty icon. In July 2008 Middleton was included in Vanity Fair's international best-dressed list. In February 2011 Middleton was named the Top Fashion Buzzword of the 2011 season by the Global Language Monitor.
Prince William
Middleton's status as the undeclared girlfriend of William brought her widespread media coverage in Britain and abroad and she was often photographed on her daily outings. On 17 October 2005 she complained through her lawyer about harassment from the media, stating that she had done nothing significant to warrant such publicity.[30] In February 2006, it was announced that Middleton would receive her own 24-hour security detail supplied by the Royalty and Diplomatic Protection Department. This fuelled further speculation that she and William would soon be engaged, since she would not otherwise be entitled to this service.
No engagement occurred and Middleton was not granted an allowance to fund this security. Media attention increased around the time of Middleton's 25th birthday in January 2007, prompting warnings from both Charles and William and from Middleton's lawyers, who threatened legal action. Two newspaper groups, News International, which publishes The Times and The Sun, and the Guardian Media Group, publishers of The Guardian, decided to refrain from publishing paparazzi photographs of her. Middleton attended at least one event as an official royal guest, William's Passing Out Parade at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on 15 December 2006. In December 2007 it was reported that Middleton had moved in with Prince William at Clarence House, the residence of the Prince of Wales in London. Clarence House later denied this.
On 17 May 2008 Middleton attended the wedding of William's cousin Peter Phillips to Autumn Kelly, which the prince did not attend. On 19 July 2008 she was a guest at the wedding of Lady Rose Windsor and George Gilman. William was away on military operations in the Caribbean, serving aboard the HMS Iron Duke. In 2010 Middleton pursued an invasion of privacy claim against two agencies and photographer Niraj Tanna, who took pictures of her over Christmas 2009. Middleton obtained a public apology, £5,000 in damages, and legal costs.
Engagement and wedding
Prince William and Kate Middleton became engaged in October 2010 in Kenya, East Africa, during a 10-day trip to the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy to celebrate William's passing his RAF helicopter search and rescue course. Clarence House announced the engagement on 16 November 2010. The couple are to marry in Westminster Abbey on 29 April 2011, with the day declared a bank holiday in the United Kingdom.
Kate's dress to become instant global focus
LONDON: Two billion viewers, 1,900 guests, four bridesmaids and two cakes -- but when Prince William and Kate Middleton marry on Friday, there can only be one dress.
All eyes will be on Kate's wedding gown as she makes the long walk down the aisle at Westminster Abbey, as a symbol of her personality, her style and
crucially, what kind of queen she may one day become.
"It's the dress that is going to receive the most instant and global attention ever," said Edwina Ehrman, curator of a forthcoming exhibition on wedding gowns at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Palace officials have refused to divulge details of the dress to ensure the maximum impact when Kate steps out of the car -- but also ensuring that expectations are impossibly high.
"This dress is so much more than a dress," said Alexandra Shulman, the editor of the British edition of Vogue, in a recent article.
"Her dress is not simply her wedding dress but a big flag, symbolising her taste, her commitment (or otherwise) to fashion, her attitude to money at a time when the country is in economic doldrums."
From the moment she appears, Kate's gown will become the subject of countless blogs and Tweets, while retailers will move quickly to get reproductions on the high streets and the image printed on souvenirs.
"We have to remember that this dress is going to be seen forever. She is our future queen," said Caroline Castigliano, a British wedding dress designer.
The media have named several candidates to make the gown. Much attention has surrounded Sarah Burton, a British designer and creative director at Alexander McQueen, who was reportedly recommended to Kate by Shulman.
Other fashion editors have tipped Sophie Cranston, a relative unknown who worked for McQueen before setting up her own label, Libelula.
But in the absence of hard facts, experts are left to speculate on what kind of dress would suit Kate and what would be fitting of the bride of the second-in-line to the throne.
William's mother Diana wore a voluminous fairytale gown with a huge train when she married Prince Charles in 1981, but modern fashion demands something sleeker. Kate will also want to make the most of her slim figure.
However, she must also meet the demands of her 13th century Gothic surroundings, not to mention the expectations of the assembled guests and the estimated two billion viewers watching on television at home.
"Westminster Abbey is a vast building and she will look like a tiny speck unless she wears something with some length in a train, or volume," Ehrman told AFP.
The dress will almost certainly be white and most commentators believe Kate will wear a veil, although whether this will be accompanied by a tiara, the ultimate royal accessory, depends on what image Kate wants to project.
"The unknown is how far she's going to present herself as absolutely the traditional bride, and how far her designer might collaborate with her just to give her that bit of difference," Ehrman said. (AFP)
Before taking to the water, the royal couple were welcomed to their third Canadian province on Monday with cheering, waving crowds excited to catch a glimpse of royalty at Province House. The site is the home of Prince Edward Island's legislature and of a historic meeting 146 years ago that paved the way for Confederation, when Canada laid the foundation for uniting the provinces and territories to form a country.
Kate sported a cream pencil dress by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen, who designed the wedding grown she wore during their wedding ceremony April 29. William wore his traditional dark suit and red tie.
For the third time during their nine-day Canadian tour, William spoke in French and English to address the crowds.
"We have both so looked forward to this day, and discovering more about your beautiful island," he said.
The royal pair delighted the several thousand people gathered at the site by walking over to shake some of their hands and stop for a quick chat, while others handed them flowers, including the east coast Canadian flower, Lupins, and hand-held Canadian flags, while snapping photos.
Jennifer Thomson, 26, had a poster saying "Kate can I borrow your outfit?"
"I think she's setting a new fashion trend and I personally love them and would love to wear them," she said, adding it was important for the couple to come to Canada. "I think it will only strengthen the ties between Canada and England and the monarchy."
The smiling couple hopped into a landau led by Canadian mounties to take them to Confederation Landing for another walk-about before heading to Dalvay by-the-Sea, a scenic resort along the island's north shore. At the resort, William will pilot a Canadian military helicopter and land it on the water for the first time as part of a military emergency training exercise.
Prince William, a Royal Air Force rescue helicopter pilot, requested the training exercise at Prince Edward Island as part of his visit. Canada is the only country that trains its Sea King helicopter pilots to do a controlled landing on water should there be an emergency. The Sea King, which William flies back in the U.K, has the ability to land on water because of its amphibious hull.
The royal pair will get some exercise by participating in a dragon boat race, with the two steering opposing teams before heading to meet an actress that plays the fictional star of Anne of Green Gables, which Prince Edward Island is famed for.
On Sunday the couple thrilled hundreds of adoring fans in Quebec with an unscheduled walkabout in a city that was the site of the key British victory in the conquest of the French.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, as they are officially known, encountered small but vocal protests, but that did not deter the couple from charming the Quebeckers with an unexpected walkabout. The royal couple went to the barricade, chatting and shaking hands with enthusiastic supporters in the square around City Hall before leaving by motorcade.
The newlyweds on Monday were on the fifth of a nine-day trip to Canada, part of their first official overseas trip since their April 29 wedding. They leave for a three-day trip to California on July 8.
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