Kate Middleton was once a normal university student, but that didn't stop Prince William
from falling for her. They tied the knot in 2011, and Middleton went from a normal girl
to the Duchess of Cambridge. Here's how she's changed since her royal wedding.
Kate Middleton was an average college girl who attended St. Andrews University.
While visiting University College in London, Middleton revealed,
"I started off doing Psychology at St. Andrews, with History of Art."
After briefly studying psychology, she settled on an art history degree.
And it may have been because of her art history courses that she met Prince William,
who later made a switch from art history to geography.
After university, Middleton had two normal jobs. First,
she was employed at Party Pieces, a business owned by her parents.
Then, Middleton became an accessories buyer for fashion brand Jigsaw. Even
if she was dating the prince, she never let that change her down-to-earth personality.
Belle Robinson, the co-founder of Jigsaw, said of Middleton in an interview with Evening Standard,
"She sat in the kitchen at lunchtime
and chatted with everyone from the van drivers to the accounts girls."
Things changed when she formally married into royalty, but Middleton still put her degree to
good use. She's patron of the Art Room Charity and curated a photography exhibit in 2020.
Kate Middleton took on a whole new set of royal duties as the Duchess of Cambridge.
Being a duchess might sound glamorous, but it's actually really hard work.
As a whole, the royal family carries out 2,000 royal engagements each year,
mostly in the areas of public and charitable services. While there's a lot of fun rivalry
between family members, it's impressive to note just how hard Middleton works.
During her third pregnancy, when she also suffered from severe morning sickness, Middleton had more
public engagements than either Prince William or Prince Harry, according to Town & Country.
Over the years, Middleton really stepped into her role by taking on more patronages,
mostly in the areas she's truly passionate about, like those concerning children
and art. As reported in 2020, she researched children's development up to age 5, and how
parents can best facilitate a healthy and sturdy foundation for their children from the beginning.
"It's going to take generations and I'm keen to support this for the long term."
Kate Middleton's fashion sense was always stylish, and it used to be within the realm of the average
person's budget. But after marrying Prince William, that all changed. Now she wears some
of the most amazing designer pieces, all fitted to perfection. One of her favorite designers is
Alexander McQueen, which she can be seen wearing often. For instance, Middleton stunned everyone
with her amazing wedding dress designed by McQueen's Sarah Burton, and unsurprisingly, it was
one of the most expensive outfits the Duchess of Cambridge has ever worn. She also wore a glamorous
off-the-shoulder black and gold embellished McQueen dress for the 2017 BAFTA red carpet.
But Middleton is a fan of a number of other designers as well. Emilia Wickstead is one
she wears often, like when she donned a festive tartan skirt that cost $1,112,
or a bright yellow coat dress by the same designer that she wore for a garden party
at Buckingham Palace that cost $1,729. She made headlines when she wore a Gucci blouse,
which cost $1,300, backwards to an event in London, making quite a statement. Middleton
will always be a fashion trendsetter, just one who can afford super expensive things these days.
Kate Middleton might have an epic wardrobe, but she has to stick to a number of fairly
strict rules when it comes to what she wears in public. The tiaras Middleton has worn in the past
are strictly reserved for women who are married, according to Marie Claire, and under that tiara,
hair is expected to be tidy. Neutral or unpolished nails are the norm,
and hemlines are supposed to be below the knee. But those are just the more traditional rules.
Some rules are simply rules because of the queen's dislike of that particular item,
like wedge shoes, which are not to be worn in front of her. You may have noticed Middleton's
huge hat collection as well. As noted by the BBC, royal women always wear hats to fancy
outings. And Middleton usually wouldn't wear black unless it was for mourning or Remembrance Day.
Having a designer wardrobe is amazing, but Kate Middleton also
has an impressive collection of jewelry that's been gifted or lent to her by the
royal family. The engagement ring Middleton was given, which features a 12-carat oval
sapphire that dates back to the mid-19th century, belonged to Princess Diana.
It was then passed down to Prince Harry, who gave it to his brother to propose to Middleton with.
She also has a collection of tiaras at her disposal now that she's married to a member
of the royal family. The one she wore on her wedding day was a Cartier Halo tiara,
lent to Middleton by the queen. According to Tatler,
"[The Cartier Halo tiara features] 739-brilliant cut diamonds and 149 baguette diamonds."
The tiara dates back to 1936, with Queen Elizabeth being the first to wear it. Middleton's other
famous tiara is the Lover's Knot tiara, which was frequently spotted on Princess
Diana. And possibly one of Middleton's first of many gifts from Prince William
was the rose gold Victorian ring he gave her in university that she later wore for graduation.
Kate Middleton has likely always cared about giving back to people,
or had certain charities close to her heart. But after becoming a royal,
Middleton has been able to give back to her community. Now a patron of multiple organizations,
Middleton's daily work is usually paying visits to these places to make a good impression.
Some of the charities she supports focus on research
to create foundations for people to live healthy, well-rounded lives,
such as Action for Children and Action on Addiction. Others focus on her love of art
like the National Portrait Gallery and Natural History Museum. With her royal prestige,
Middleton's role as patron makes her a sponsor of these organizations, rather than just a donor,
meaning she will have a long-time relationship with the various charities and organizations she's
a patron to. It's amazing that Middleton can give back in a way she likely couldn't have before.
Before marrying Prince William, Kate Middleton wouldn't have been living in a huge country home
gifted by the queen herself. Middleton lives in a three-story building located on the Sandringham
Estate next to the Sandringham House where the queen usually gets away for Christmas.
Anmer Hall is a huge 18th-century building that has undergone a complete refurbishment costing an
estimated 1.5 million pounds, and was redecorated by Middleton so she could add her own personal
touch. While Middleton is usually private about showing off the inside of her home, people were
able to get a brief look inside with the numerous Zoom calls she made during the 2020 lockdown.
Nowadays, Middleton is lucky enough to treat that home as her escape from her normal, but still
luxurious, apartment in Kensington Palace. Though it's called an apartment, it's anything but small,
with an estimated 20 rooms, while the palace itself surrounds three courtyards.
Kate Middleton has to stick to a strict dress code, and as a public figure,
she's got the rest of the world judging her fashion choices too, something she wouldn't
have had to deal with in her pre-duchess days. On a public outing wearing shorts in 2019,
the press was all over it, as it was her first time in eight years to wear shorts in public,
and notably, the first time ever as a royal doing so.
That wasn't the only time she was publicly criticized for her outfits. During the 2018
BAFTA Awards, many women were attending dressed in black to show their support for the Time's
Up movement. But instead, Middleton opted for a green dress with a black sash, causing backlash
among people who didn't think she was supporting the cause. However, others said the black sash was
a nod to the movement. The reason she didn't wear black, most likely, was because members of the
royal family aren't allowed to be affiliated with politics, according to Marie Claire.
Surely a huge change in Kate Middleton's life after marrying Prince William was
the fact that she wasn't supposed to be affiliated with politics anymore,
thus giving up her right to vote. While there's no British law that states the royals can't vote,
according to Vanity Fair, Queen Elizabeth II has remained politically neutral. Similarly,
it's expected that princes and duchesses like Middleton keep up neutrality as well.
This is why it's assumed that Middleton didn't wear black at the 2018 BAFTAs.
But Kate Middleton has spoken up on her political views at least once.
She wrote an article for HuffPost about children's education and mental health, sharing,
"The mental health of our children must be seen as every bit as important as their physical health."
If Middleton hadn't become a duchess, she probably would have been more politically active.
Kate Middleton is a huge sports fan, and now as a duchess, she's been able to attend some of the
biggest and most important sports and cultural events in the world. Events at Wimbledon seem
to be her favorite, as she's been spotted in many photos cheering alongside Prince William.
She and Meghan Markle have also been to watch tennis pro Serena Williams
play on more than one occasion. And even though Wimbledon was closed due to COVID-19 in 2020,
it didn't stop the duchess from helping to create a video in its honor. Middleton
has also attended the Olympics, and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Kate Middleton has gone global, visiting some of the most amazing world landmarks. We don't
know how much of a globetrotter Middleton would have been if she hadn't married Prince William,
but she surely wouldn't have had the opportunity to make so many high-profile visits. Take her Taj
Mahal visit, for example. Prince William and Kate Middleton visited the important landmark in India,
and when they did, a reporter asked them what they thought. Per Hello! magazine, Middleton said,
"It's been really incredible to learn about the romance of the building,
and really beautiful architecture."
The monument is also, for a lot of people,
associated with William's mother, Princess Diana, which added a sentimentality to the visit.
Middleton has also been on many royal tours and has been photographed in a plethora
of luxurious places, including Australia, Singapore, and in front of the Eiffel Tower.
We already mentioned the fashion rules, but there are also royal etiquette rules that
Kate Middleton has to follow. Getting married to Prince William and becoming a royal meant
a whole new set of protocols regarding everything from the way Middleton ate
to the way she sat. In fact, she became so known for her sitting style,
to the side with her ankles crossed, that it became known as "the duchess slant."
Curtsying to the queen isn't a rule but a tradition many follow, and many have to
learn the proper way to drink tea. And Middleton always needs to stop eating when the queen does.
"Because if you did, your neck would break. It would fall off."
Middleton, who the press still refers to as Kate,
never uses her nickname when she's with the royal family. It's either the Duchess or Catherine.
With Prince William being second in line to the throne, Kate Middleton will inevitably be queen
consort someday. Some experts believe she is already preparing for the role,
as they believe Prince Charles, the heir, may hand the crown straight to William. In
recent years, Middleton has been taking on more responsibilities, from becoming a patron to more
organizations than before, taking over some from the queen herself, to her research on the early
years of childhood. Even the way she dresses suggests her knowledge of her future role.
"I hope we'll be able to have a happy family ourselves."
But Middleton, with the larger workload,
has said she's suffered from "mum guilt." On the podcast Happy Mum, Happy Baby,
Middleton opened up about how she manages work and family as a mother. She explained,
"I was having doubts and questions about
the guilty element of being away for work and things like that."
Kate Middleton's life is drastically different
since marrying Prince William with new work and her three children,
who are now heirs to the throne, but fortunately Middleton likely has a ton of support.
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