Kate Middleton

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (Catherine Elizabeth "Kate"; née Middleton; born 9 January 1982), is the wife of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and a member of the British Royal Family. The Duke of Cambridge is second in line to the thrones, after his father, of the 16 Commonwealth realms and, should he eventually accede to them and normal protocol be followed, the Duchess will become the 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 William 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 in 2012, she was selected as one of The 100 Most Influential People in the World by Time Magazine. On 3 December 2012, St James's Palace announced that the Duchess was pregnant and expecting her first child.