WILL TO WED KATE
UK Prince to marry a former Model Kate Middleton
Kate Middleton was modeling lingerie before Prince William fell for her. He gave her his mother's diamond ring.
Before Kate, Prince went out with Carly Massy-Birch - a glamorous brunette during his first term at Saint Andrews University in Scotland.
News Headlines
Tuesday 16 November 2010:
William gives Kate Diana's ring
Prince William to marry girlfriend Kate Middleton
Royal wedding "the boost Britain needs"
Royal wedding "will give the country a boost"
Kate is not the "new Diana", nor should she be
Prince William seals engagement with Diana's ring
Prince William's fiancee Kate Middleton was happy to be marrying into Britain's royal family next year after he proposed using his late mother Diana's engagement ring.
Kate: "Diana is an inspiration"
Prince using his mother's engagement ring to propose to Kate.
On 16/11/2010 Prince William announces he intends to marry Kate Middleton in 2001.
Prince William and Kate had been seeing each other for 9 years.
A ring that sparkles with significance.
The blue sapphire and diamond ring was worn by Princess Diana.
WHO IS KATE MIDDLETON
Prince William used his mother's ring when he asked Kate Middleton to marry him.
Profile: Kate Middleton
Prince William's fiancee is a commoner who avoids the limelight – which could help her avoid the pitfalls of predecessors
Kate Middleton will be the first commoner to marry an heir presumptive to the throne in more than 350 years, since Anne Hyde wed the Duke of York, later James II, in 1660.
Even so, Hyde was the daughter of Charles II's lord chancellor and chief adviser, the future Earl of Clarendon – rather than, as 28-year-old Middleton is, the offspring of a couple who have made a fortune providing bags for children's parties.
Among Middleton's ancestors are Northumbrian miners and Kent builders' labourers. Her mother, Carole, was formerly a British Airways flight attendant – hence the snobbish jibes of some royal hangers-on about "doors to manual" – and her father, Michael, also once worked for BA as a dispatcher, making sure flights left on time and with the correct cargo. The couple met while working for BA and started their married life in a flat in Slough, just across the river from the future in-laws.
But it is the family business Party Pieces, launched by Carole Middleton from their home in one of Berkshire's prettier villages, which founded the family's wealth and gave their daughter entry into higher social circles. The company was one of the first to use the internet for mail-order selling and the children were used as models for its early catalogues.
Kate – christened Catherine Elizabeth – has a younger sister, Pippa, and brother, James. Theirs was an affluent upbringing: private schools, Brownies for Kate and skiing holidays, amateur dramatics (Middleton played Eliza Doolittle, the archetypal story of a working-class girl transformed into a lady, in a school production of My Fair Lady, aged 10) and sports.
At Marlborough public school in Wiltshire, she became captain of the hockey club and gained a reputation for quiet seriousness, unlike some of her contemporaries. As Jessica Hays, one of her schoolfriends, told the News of the World wonderingly: "I never once saw her drunk. Even after our GCSEs finished, she only drank a couple of glugs of vodka."
Although there were boyfriends, it may have been that Middleton was struck by the idea of the young prince long before she ever met him. At school she was known as the princess in waiting and, according to Hays, this time to the Mail on Sunday, was said to have joked: "There's no one quite like William – I bet he's really kind. You can just tell by looking at him." This may not have been an entirely farfetched ambition: certainly some of her Marlborough friends from the Cotswolds county set already knew the prince.
Both went up to St Andrews University in 2001 – Middleton with two As and a B at A-level – to read history of art and both were placed in the same hall of residence.
She first came to media attention while modelling for charity in a sheer black lace dress at a fashion show the following spring, where it was noticed that the prince had paid £200 for a front-row seat. Middleton was credited with helping to persuade William not to drop out of university at the end of his lonely first term and to switch courses to read geography.
The following year they shared a flat with two male students in a Georgian terraced house in the middle of St Andrews and the year after that the four of them moved on to a more remote cottage on a nearby country estate. In 2002, Middleton's parents bought a strategically useful flat in Chelsea which their daughter could use.
The pair have been an item, with only one apparent serious blip in their relationship ever since, for a few months in 2007. The blip was allegedly caused by Middleton's frustration about the prince's reluctance to commit fully to their relationship, earning Middleton the tabloid soubriquet "Waity Katie". They were soon seen out together again, though generally Middleton's public appearances, at events such as William's passing-out parades at Sandhurst and RAF Cranwell, have been carefully choreographed affairs.
Middleton was given a part-time job as an assistant accessories buyer by John and Belle Robinson, owners of the Jigsaw fashion chain – perfect for someone who might need to spend long weekends accompanying a prince on pheasant-shooting expeditions or operations in remote parts of the country with the RAF air-sea rescue service.
From the royal family's point of view, Middleton is serious and discreet. She does not fall out of nightclubs and she does not give interviews. Practically her only – overheard – quote has been "He's so lucky to be going out with me." So there is a chance of avoiding the pitfalls of some of the prince's predecessors: an arranged marriage to a dull princess he has scarcely met, or, like his father, to a much younger, aristocratic bride who has no interest in his interests.
William and Middleton, who we now know became engaged on holiday in Kenya last month, have been together already for longer and know each other better than those involved in previous royal matches and there is no sign of a royal mistress lurking in the shrubbery.
Middleton – unlike Hyde in 1660 – will certainly not have to be smuggled into the palace for a secret midnight marriage and won't face accusations that she has slept with half the court. No wonder the Queen is said to be delighted.
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CARLY MASSY-BIRCH
Carly... the beautiful brunette who dated William before Kate
This is the glamorous brunette with whom Prince William enjoyed a fling during his first term at St Andrews University.
Pretty actress Carly Massy-Birch dated Wills in their first term at university
Carly Massy-Birch, now 25, was reported to have dated the Prince shortly before he fell for Kate Middleton, leading to a rivalry between the two girls.
Now her parents have confirmed that their daughter and William were "an item", going out for a couple of months when they were "freshers" at the university.
But according to Mimi and Hugh Massy-Birch, there is no rift between Carly and Kate. The pair - along with the Prince - are the best of friends.
Mrs Massy-Birch said yesterday: "Carly will be really upset that this has come out. She went out with William for six or seven weeks when they first arrived at St Andrews.
"But there's absolutely no fall-out between her and Kate. In fact, all three of them are best friends.
"Carly has her own partner, with whom she is very much in love. She really wants Kate to marry Wills so that she can be sure of going to the wedding.
"If he falls for someone else, she's worried that she might miss out."
The Massy-Birches, who run a farm and camping park near Axminster, Devon, kept their actress daughter's relationship with the Prince a closely guarded secret.
However, Daily Telegraph diarist Celia Walden has claimed it was common knowledge among St Andrews students within weeks of the Prince's arrival there in 2001.
Soon after the relationship ended, William, now also 25, was seen escorting Miss Middleton, 26, to parties.
According to one account, Miss Massy-Birch felt a simmering resentment.
However, her mother said: "That really is rubbish. Carly has always been very close to Kate and William, and that has never changed.
"She has tried so hard to keep her friendship with him quiet - we all have - and so she will be upset by this.
"It was something that happened and everybody has moved on. She just wants to get on with her acting. She is based in London and has appeared in a few plays, including some on Radio 4."
Yesterday, photographs of the Prince appeared, showing him dancing with pretty, blonde 24-year-old Australian make-up artist Shery Scrivener at a party in September 2005.
She told a friend last night how the Prince had singled her out: "He came straight over, ignoring all the others. It made me feel very special.
"He focused completely on me ... as if nobody else existed. We spent almost all the night dancing together. It was really magical."
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After Carly, the Prince became interested in Kate, another student at the university.
Prince William was pictured with his new girlfriend Kate Middleton.
BBC: Thursday, 31 March 2005
The prince befriended Kate Middleton at St Andrew's University
Popular girl who caught royal eye
Photos of Prince William and girlfriend Kate Middleton have fuelled media speculation about their relationship.
The pair were pictured on Thursday in several tabloid newspapers beside Prince Charles on the annual royal trip to the Swiss skiing resort of Klosters.
The picture has been taken as an illustration of her increasing acceptance into royal circles.
The pair, both 22, met at St Andrew's University, where they were both studying history of art.
Prince William later switched to geography. Miss Middleton is credited with persuading him to continue his studies when he considered leaving university in his first year.
The eldest child of Michael and Carole Middleton of Bucklebury, Berkshire, Miss Middleton was educated at the exclusive Marlborough College.
Former classmates describe her as level-headed, popular and talented.
A-grade pupil
One, Charlie Leslie, said: "Kate is an absolutely phenomenal girl - really popular, talented, creative and sporty. She was captain of the school hockey team and played in the first pair at tennis."
A college master said: "I don't think you'd find anyone in Marlborough with a bad word to say about her. She excelled in all her subjects and was an A-grade pupil across the board."
While her parents continued to run their mail-order business "Party Pieces" from home, Miss Middleton's relationship with the prince apparently flourished during weekends alone on the Queen's Balmoral estate - at a secluded cottage given to William and Harry as a bolthole.
Press attention
She began sharing a four-bedroom townhouse in the Fife university town St Andrew's with William and two others at the start of their second academic year, before the four moved into a cottage outside the town for the third year.
The group have often been seen out on the town, drinking in bars including Ma Bells and the West Port.
Miss Middleton has been on several holidays with the prince and was one of a close coterie of friends invited to William's 21st birthday party at Windsor Castle.
Her appearance on the princes' annual skiing trip last year drew the attention of the press - and with the end of the pair's university career just months away it looks unlikely this will diminish.
Photos fuel speculation on prince
Photos of Prince William enjoying a ski holiday with his university friend Kate Middleton have fuelled media speculation about their relationship.
The prince was pictured with Miss Middleton at the Klosters skiing resort with his father, brother and friends.
It is the second time Miss Middleton has accompanied the Royals on their annual trip to the Swiss resort.
Charles' fiancee Camilla, who cannot ski, remained in the UK to finalise plans for their wedding on 8 April.
The images of William, 22, with Miss Middleton, were published in the Sun, Daily Mirror, Daily Express and the Daily Mail on Thursday.
The couple, who share a cottage at St Andrew's University, in Fife, Scotland, were photographed together by the paparazzi a year ago during their last trip to Klosters.
This year, photographers managed to secure images despite aides' attempts to make sure the holiday remained private.
The princes later held an official photo call in the village of Monbiel, 2km from the centre of Klosters, after poor weather forced the cancellation of the traditional mountain staging.
William and Harry were pictured alongside their 56-year-old father for the first time officially since his engagement was announced.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4397065.stm
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