Catherine has always had a strong and friendly family behind her, standing by her side and, most importantly, her mother Carole, who for the sake of her daughter is not even afraid to argue with the Queen.
Lady without a title
Getting pregnant with her first daughter at 26 by a simple air traffic controller (and being a flight attendant herself), Carole could not have imagined that she was carrying her country's future ruler. Yes, she couldn't give birth in a palace, but still, she had always wanted the best for herself and her family, so it wasn't in her nature to sit around.
Born into a poor family of a truck driver and a housewife, Carole Goldsmith had never had any illusions that one day a handsome prince would take her to his castle. Such suitors did not fall from the sky – they were met in Cambridge or at social events.
Of course, with her father's income, private institutions were out of the question. The girl graduated from a public school, after which she started working for British Airways as a stewardess. That's where she met her future husband, air traffic controller Michael Middleton. The guy, of course, was not a prince and could not boast kinship with any baronet, but at least came from a wealthy family. His grandmother Olive was descended from centuries-old clan of merchants Lupton.
But as it turns out, a fairy tale can also come to the house of an ordinary flight attendant. To somehow entertain her young daughters (James was not born until 1987), Carole began to sew them bright costumes and arrange holidays, props for which she made herself. So the Middletons came up with the idea of selling decorations and supplies for children's events, which in a few years began to bring good income. The money they made was even enough to send the elder Catherine in a private elementary school. Yes, Carole, of course, understood that she would have to cut expenses, but her children were able to take the first step toward the life she had dreamed of.
So by 1987 Carol and Michael had three long-awaited babies, they loved each other and were quite well-off.
In the late '80s, Michael's grandmother left him a few trust funds. Overnight, the family of Kate, Pippa and James became millionaires. Not very rich, of course, but now they could afford a little more.
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The art of waiting
It seemed that Carole's dream came true. Her children got very good education and, more importantly, a great upbringing. When Kate was deciding which university to enroll, Carole talked her into taking a gap year to enter the University of St Andrews, where Prince William was to enter the following year. And within a year Kate was a fellow student of the heir to the British Throne.
Kate and Prince William's relationship lasted for nearly nine years. Carol was always there for her daughter. A special bond had grown stronger between her and the now grown-up Kate, so Catherine always knew where to go for support in the moments when she was stalked by paparazzi, faced press gossip, or had the first disagreements with the royal family.
"Kate has always stayed afloat because of her mother's faith in her," says journalist Katie Nicholl, who specializes in Cambridge family history.
Source: marieclaire.com
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