

She briefly studied psychology before focusing solely on art history. Middleton subsequently enrolled at University of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland, studying history of art. She worked as a deckhand at the Port of Southampton in the summer preceding university. Despite being offered a seat at the University of Edinburgh, she took a gap year, studying at the British Institute of Florence in Italy and travelling to Chile to participate in a Raleigh International programme. She obtained three A-Levels in 2000, with an 'A' in mathematics, an 'A' in art, and a 'B' in English. While at Marlborough, she underwent an operation on the left side of her head, reportedly to remove a lump. She was a boarder at Marlborough College, a co-educational independent boarding school in Wiltshire Middleton showed talent in sports and was captain of the women's field hockey team. In 1995, the Middletons moved to the village of Bucklebury. She boarded part-weekly at St Andrew's in her later years. When her family returned to Berkshire in September 1986, she was enrolled aged four at St Andrew's School, a private school near Pangbourne in Berkshire. Middleton attended an English-language nursery school. The family moved from Bradfield Southend, Berkshire, to Amman, Jordan, in May 1984, where her father worked for British Airways. She has a younger sister, Philippa, and a younger brother, James. Her mother's family are descended from coal miners, and have been described as working-class.

Her Middleton relatives, including her great-grandfather Richard Noël Middleton and his wife Olive, played host to members of the British royal family in the 1920s through to the 1940s. By the early 20th century, the Middleton family had married into the British aristocracy and benefited financially from trust funds which they established over 100 years ago. 1955), a former flight dispatcher and flight attendant, respectively, who in 1987 founded Party Pieces, a privately held mail order company that sells party supplies and decorations with an estimated worth of £30 million. 1949) and his wife, Carole (née Goldsmith b.

She is the eldest of three children born to Michael Middleton (b. She was baptised at St Andrew's Bradfield, a local parish church, on 20 June 1982.

Catherine, Princess of Wales, GCVO (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton 9 January 1982) is a member of the British royal family.
