Women Fitness Team sat down to select Style Icon 2012. It was strange that there was no argument or a selection tie. It was unanimously agreed between all that Kate Middleton (Elizabeth Catherine), Duchess of Cambridge is Style Icon 2012. Here is her complete story till date.
Duchess of Cambridge (Catherine Elizabeth “Kate” Middleton) in 2012, she was selected as one of The 100 Most Influential People in the World by Time Magazine. In January 2012, she was voted ‘Head wear Person of the Year’. Middleton was number one on Vanity Fair’s annual Best Dressed lists in 2010, 2011 and in 2012 also its cover star. She was awarded the accolade of ‘Best Celebrity Smile’ in May 2012 after placing first in a poll by Bupa.
Following international attention regarding the wedding, Lifetime aired a TV movie entitled William & Kate on 18 April 2011, in the US. The film premiered in the UK on 24 April 2011. Middleton was played by Camilla Luddington and Prince William by Nico Evers-Swindell. TV programmes were also shown in the UK prior to the wedding which provided deeper insights into the couple’s relationship and backgrounds, including When Kate Met William and Channel 4’s Meet the Middletons.
A second TV movie is being produced that covers similar ground to William & Kate. That movie, titled William & Catherine: A Royal Romance and filmed in Bucharest, stars Alice St. Clair as Kate Middleton and Dan Amboyer as Prince William. Of note in this second television movie is the appearance of Jane Alexander as the Queen and Alias alum Victor Garber as the Prince of Wales. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the movie aired 27 August 2011 in the United States on the Hallmark Channel.
She was born on 9th January 1982, She is the wife of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. The Duke of Cambridge is second in line to the thrones, after his father, of the 16 Commonwealth realms and the Duchess is expected to eventually become queen consort.
Catherine grew up in Chapel Row, a village near Newbury, Berkshire, England. She studied Art History in Scotland at the University of St Andrews, where she met the then Prince Willia
m of Wales in 2001. Their engagement was announced on 16 November 2010, and she attended many high-profile royal events before they married on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey. Catherine has created a major impact upon British fashion which has been termed the “Kate Middleton effect”, and On 3 December 2012, St James’s Palace announced that the Duchess was pregnant and expecting her first child.
Catherine Elizabeth Middleton was born at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading on 9 January 1982 and christened at St Andrew’s Bradfield, Berkshire, on 20 June 1982. She is the eldest of three children born to Carole , a former flight attendant, and Michael Middleton, who also worked as a flight attendant prior to becoming a flight dispatcher for British Airways. Her parents were married on 21 June 1980 at the Parish Church of Dorney, Buckinghamshire. In 1987, they founded and became owners of Party Pieces, a mail order company that sells party supplies and decorations. Party Pieces is a private company with an estimated worth of £30 million; Middleton has a younger sister, Pippa and a younger brother, James Middleton. The family has complained about press harassment of Pippa and Carole since Middleton’s engagement.
Middleton’s paternal ancestors were from Leeds, West Yorkshire. Her paternal great-grandmother Olive was a member of the Lupton family, who were active for generations in Leeds in commercial and municipal work.
Middleton’s maternal ancestors, the Harrisons, were working-class labourers and miners from Sunderland and County Durham.
Michael and Carole Middleton worked for British Airways in Amman, Jordan from May 1984 to September 1986. In Jordan, Middleton went to an English language nursery school before returning to their home in Berkshire. Following her return from Amman, Middleton was enrolled at St Andrew’s School near the village of Pangbourne in Berkshire, then briefly at Downe House. She attended Marlborough College, a co-educational independent boarding school in Wiltshire, and graduated from the University of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland, with an undergraduate MA in the History of Art. She supports Premier League football team Reading F.C.
In November 2006, Middleton accepted a position as an accessory buyer with the clothing chain Jigsaw. She also worked part-time until January 2011 as a catalogue photographer, webpage designer and marketing officer for her parents’ firm Party Pieces. Despite this, at one point she was nicknamed “Waity Katie” by the media for her apparent lack of work ethic and seeming lack of desire to work, in preference for awaiting a wedding proposal.
In 2008, it was reported that she had quit her job at Jigsaw to become a professional photographer, intending to take private classes with photographer Mario Testino, who had taken several well-known photographs of Diana, Princess of Wales, and her sons. Testino later denied that Middleton was going to be working for him.
Catherine became prominent for her fashion style and has been placed on numerous “best dressed” lists. She 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 their monthly beauty icon. In July 2008, Middleton was included in Vanity Fair’s international best-dressed list. In February 2011, she was named the Top Fashion Buzzword of the 2011 season by the Global Language Monitor.
Middleton is known for mixing couture pieces, often by British designers, with ‘High Street’ retail fashion. Designers worn by Middleton include Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen, Issa; Jenny Packham; Beulah London; Alice Temperley; Erdem; Burberry; and Catherine Walker. High street labels worn by Middleton include Reiss, Zara and L.K.Bennett.
In 2001, Middleton met Prince William while they were students at the University of St. Andrews. The couple began dating as early as 2002, although their relationship remained unconfirmed. On 17 October 2005, Middleton complained through her lawyer about harassment from the media, stating that she had done nothing significant to warrant publicity. In February 2006, it was announced that Middleton would receive her own 24-hour security detail supplied by the Royalty Protection branch. Many speculated that she and Prince William would soon be engaged, since she would not otherwise be entitled to this service.
No engagement was forthcoming and Middleton was not granted an allowance to fund this security. Media attention increased around the time of her 25th birthday in January 2007, prompting warnings from both The Prince of Wales and Prince 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: Prince William’s Passing Out Parade at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on 15 December 2006.
On 17 May 2008, Middleton attended the wedding of Prince 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. Prince William was away on military operations in the Caribbean, serving aboard 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. She obtained a public apology, Ł5,000 in damages, and legal costs.
Prince William and Catherine Middleton became engaged in October 2010 in Kenya, East Africa, during a 10-day trip to the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy to celebrate Prince William’s passing his RAF helicopter search and rescue course. Clarence House announced the engagement on 16 November 2010. Prince William gave Middleton the engagement ring that had belonged to his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. He said about his decision to give his fiancée his mother’s ring, “It’s very special to me. As Kate’s very special to me now, it was right to put the two (Catherine and Diana) together. It was my way of making sure my mother didn’t miss out on today and the excitement, and the fact that we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together.” The couple married in Westminster Abbey on 29 April 2011 (St. Catherine’s Day) with the day declared a bank holiday in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Estimates of the global audience for the wedding ranged around 300 million or more, whilst 26 million watched the event live in Britain alone.
In October, several months after the wedding, Commonwealth leaders pledged that they would implement changes in British royal succession law to allow daughters of future monarchs to have equal rights to the throne.
On 3 December 2012, St James’ Palace announced that the Duchess was pregnant with her first child and had been admitted to the private King Edward VII’s Hospital Sister Agnes in London, suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum where she remained for three days.
Middleton was formally introduced to public life on 24 February 2011, two months before the wedding, when she and Prince William attended a lifeboat-naming ceremony in Trearddur, Anglesey, in North Wales. A day later they appeared in St Andrews to launch the university’s 600th anniversary celebrations. On 16 February 2011, Clarence House announced that the Duke and Duchess’s first royal tour of Canada would take place in July 2011.
In May 2011, shortly after the wedding, Clarence House announced that the Duke and Duchess would extend their tour to visit California. This was to be the Duchess of Cambridge’s first visit to the United States.
The Duke and Duchess meet with U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at Buckingham Palace a few weeks after the wedding.
The Duchess’s first official engagement after the wedding came in May, when she and her husband met with Barack Obama, the President of the United States, and First Lady Michelle. In June 2011, the Duke and Duchess presented medals to members of the Irish Guards.
On 26 October, Kate undertook her first solo event for In Kind Direct, stepping in for the Prince of Wales who was in Saudi Arabia. On 2 November, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited the UNICEF Supply Division Centre for supplying food to malnourished African children in Copenhagen, Denmark.
On St Patrick’s day, 17 March 2012, the Duchess carried out the traditional awarding of shamrocks to the Irish Guards at their base in Aldershot; this was her first solo military engagement. On 19 March she gave her first speaking engagement for the opening of the Treehouse, a new children’s hospice opened by EACH, a charity of which she is a patron.
The Duchess has involved herself with the charities supported by her husband and his brother, Prince Harry. On 29 September 2011, the Duchess officially became a patron of The Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry. In November 2011, April 2012 and November 2012, she and the Duke attended the biannual Princes’ Charities Forum, which unites the various charitable interests of the two princes. In June 2012, The Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry was renamed The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, to reflect Catherine’s contribution to the charity.
The Duke and Duchess were announced as Ambassadors for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, alongside Prince Harry. The Duchess attend both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Olympics. On 29 August 2012, the Duchess attended the Paralympic Opening Ceremony accompanied by her husband, the Duke of Cambridge. As part of her role, the Duchess attended numerous sporting events throughout the games.
In September 2012, the Duke and Duchess embarked on a tour of Singapore, Malaysia, Tuvalu and the Solomon Islands as part of the Royal Jubilee celebrations. During this overseas visit, the Duchess made her first official speech abroad, while visiting a hospice in Malaysia, drawing on her experience as patron of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices.
Patronages
In March 2011, William and Catherine set up a gift fund held by The Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry to allow well-wishers who want to give them a wedding gift to donate money to
charities they care about instead. The gift fund supported 26 charities of the couple’s choice, incorporating the armed forces, children, the elderly, art, sport and conservation. These causes are close to their hearts and reflect the experiences, passions and values of their lives so far.
In January 2012, the Duchess announced the first charities which she will support.
These are:
- The Art Room;
- The National Portrait Gallery, London;
- East Anglia’s Children’s Hospice (EACH);
- Action on Addiction.
She will also be a local volunteer leader with The Scout Association in Anglesey, north Wales, her marital home. In December 2012 Australian radio hosts Michael Christian and Mel Greig called King Edward VII’s Hospital Sister Agnes where the Duchess was an in-patient for a pregnancy-related medical condition. Pretending to be The Queen and The Prince of Wales, Christian and Greig telephoned the hospital and spoke with nurse Jacintha Saldanha and inquired about the Duchess’ condition. Following a hospital inquiry and a public backlash against the hoax, Saldanha was found dead in her room. The Australian radio hosts subsequently apologised for their actions.
Titles and styles
- Royal styles of The Duchess of Cambridge
- Reference style Her Royal Highness
- Spoken style Your Royal Highness
- Alternative style Ma’am
9 January 1982 – 29 April 2011: Miss Catherine Elizabeth Middleton
29 April 2011 – present: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge
in Scotland: 29 April 2011 – present: Her Royal Highness The Countess of Strathearn Catherine’s full title and style is Her Royal Highness Princess William, Duchess of Cambridge, Countess of Strathearn, Baroness Carrickfergus.
Unlike the majority of royal brides, and in contrast to most previous consorts-in-waiting for over 350 years, Catherine’s immediate family is neither royal nor aristocratic. On the morning of their wedding day on 29 April 2011, at 8:00 am, officials at Buckingham Palace announced that in accordance with royal tradition and on recognition of the day by the Queen, Prince William was created Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus.