Catherine, princess of wales date of birth
Catherine, Princess of Wales
Member of the British royal family (born )
For Catherine, Princess of Wales (–), see Catherine of Aragon.
"Kate Middleton" redirects here. For the New Zealand diver, see Kate Middleton (free-diver).
Catherine, Princess of Wales (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton;[a] 9 January ), is a member of the British royal family.
She is married to William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne.
Born in Reading, Catherine grew up in Bucklebury, Berkshire.
Kate middleton biography online To encourage people to discuss their mental health problems, she envisioned the mental health awareness campaign Heads Together, which she launched with her husband William and brother-in-law Harry in April She attended an English nursery school there and returned to Reading with her family in Catherine is a keen sportswoman and attends Wimbledon annually. Military and armed forces.She was educated at St Andrew's School and Marlborough College before earning a degree in art history at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, where she met Prince William in and graduated in She held several jobs and pursued charity work before their engagement was announced in November She became Duchess of Cambridge by her marriage on 29 April at Westminster Abbey.
The couple have three children: George, Charlotte, and Louis.
Following her marriage, Catherine has undertaken royal duties and commitments in support of the British monarch. She has represented the royal family on official overseas tours and has played a significant role in various charitable activities by undertaking projects through the Royal Foundation, with her charity work primarily focusing on issues surrounding early childhood care, addiction, and art.
Kate middleton biography london Archived from the original on 16 May After her graduation, Middleton and her family faced intensive tabloid press scrutiny due to her relationship with William. On her first day at co-ed Marlborough, some particularly mean-spirited boys began rating incoming students based on attractiveness and personality. On July 22, , at p.Catherine holds patronage with over 20 charitable and military organisations including the Anna Freud Centre, Action for Children, SportsAid, and the National Portrait Gallery. To encourage people to discuss their mental health problems, she envisioned the mental health awareness campaign Heads Together, which she launched with her husband William and brother-in-law Harry in April
Catherine's relationship with the media has been closely scrutinised, particularly regarding her efforts to maintain privacy amidst significant media attention and public interest.
The media have referred to her impact on British and American fashion as the "Kate Middleton effect". Time listed her as one of the most influential people in the world in , and On 9 September , she became Princess of Wales when William was created Prince of Wales by his father, King Charles III.
Early life and education
Catherine Elizabeth Middleton was born on 9 January at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading into an upper-middle-class family with ties to the landed gentry.[7] Her parents, Michael Middleton and Carole (née Goldsmith),[9] were a flight dispatcher and flight attendant at British Airways, respectively.
She was baptised at St Andrew's Bradfield, a local parish church, on 20 June [10][12] She has two younger siblings, Philippa ("Pippa") and paternal family benefited financially from trust funds; her great-grandparents Noël and Olive Middleton played host to members of the British royal family in the s through to the s.[16][17] Her maternal family are descended from coal miners and have been described as working-class.[18][19]
Middleton's family moved from Bradfield Southend, Berkshire, to Amman, Jordan, in May , where Catherine attended an English-language nursery school.[20][21] When her family returned to Berkshire in September , she was enrolled aged four at St Andrew's School, a private school near Pangbourne in Berkshire.
Kate middleton jewish roots Military and armed forces. Archived from the original on 24 March Currently, Prince George is second in line to the British throne following his father, William. Duchesses of Rothesay.She boarded part-weekly at St Andrew's in her later years.[23] In her mother founded Party Pieces, a privately held mail order company that sold party supplies and decorations.[24][25] In the family moved to the village of Bucklebury[26][27] where Catherine studied at Downe House School.[28] She was a boarder at Marlborough College, a co-educational boarding school in Wiltshire,[29] where she showed talent in sport and was captain of the girls' field hockey team.[31] While attending the school, she was awarded a gold Duke of Edinburgh Award.[32][33] She also underwent an operation on the left side of her head, reportedly to remove a lump, during the same period.[34]
Despite being offered a place at the University of Edinburgh,[35] Middleton 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 worked as a deckhand at the Port of Southampton in the summer preceding university. She subsequently enrolled at the University of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland, where she initially studied psychology before focusing solely on art history.[38] She worked part-time as a waitress during her studies.[33] Middleton was an active member of The Lumsden Club, which held fundraisers and community projects each year.[39] In she graduated from the University of St Andrews with an undergraduate MA ( Hons) in Art History.[40]
Personal life
Relationship with Prince William
In Middleton met Prince William while they were students in residence at St Salvator's Hall at the University of St Andrews.[41][b] She reportedly caught William's eye at a charity fashion show at the university in when she appeared on the stage wearing a see-through lace dress.[43] The couple began dating in [44] During their second year, Middleton shared a flat with William and two other friends.[45] From until , they both resided at Balgove House on the Strathtyrum estate with two roommates.[46] In the couple briefly split but later rekindled their relationship.[47]
After her graduation, Middleton and her family faced intensive tabloid press scrutiny due to her relationship with William.[48] In November , she commenced part-time work for twelve months as an accessories buyer with the clothing chain Jigsaw.[50] She also worked as a project manager in the family business, where she was responsible for the website and catalogue.[51][52]
Middleton attended William's Passing Out Parade at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in December [53][54] In April , they ended their relationship.[55] It was subsequently reported that the couple had reconciled.[57] In May , Middleton attended the wedding of William's cousin Peter Phillips to Autumn Kelly in place of William, and met Queen Elizabeth II for the first time.[58][59]
Middleton also attended the Order of the Garter procession at Windsor Castle in June , where William was made a Royal Knight of the Garter.[60] In July , she was a guest at the wedding of Lady Rose Windsor and George Gilman while William was away on military operations in the Caribbean, serving aboard HMS Iron Duke.[61] In June , the couple moved into a cottage on the Bodorgan Estate in Anglesey, Wales, where William resided during his RAF search and rescue training and subsequent career.[62][63] Before her marriage, Middleton lived with her sister Pippa in an apartment owned by their parents in Chelsea, London.[64]
Marriage and children
Further information: Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, Wedding dress of Catherine Middleton, and Engagement dress of Catherine Middleton
Middleton and William became engaged in October , at a remote alpine cabin on Mount Kenya[65] during a ten-day trip to the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy to celebrate the prince's passing the RAF helicopter search and rescue course.[66][67] Clarence House announced the engagement on 16 November that year.[69] William gave her the engagement ring that had belonged to his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
Middleton was confirmed into the Church of England on 10 March at St James's Palace by the Bishop of London, with her family and William in attendance, preceding her wedding.[70][71]
The couple married on 29 April at Westminster Abbey on St Catherine's Day.[72] The day was declared a bank holiday in the United Kingdom.[72] Estimates of the global audience for the wedding ranged around &#;million or more, whilst 26&#;million watched the event live in Britain alone.[73][74][75]Her wedding dress was designed by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen.[76] Catherine was styled as "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge".[77] The couple were given the country home Anmer Hall, on the Sandringham House, as a wedding gift from the Queen.[78] Following their marriage in , the couple used Nottingham Cottage as their London residence.[79] They moved into the four-storey, room Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace in Renovations took 18 months at a cost of £ million.[80] Kensington Palace became William and Catherine's main residence in [81] The couple and their children officially moved into Adelaide Cottage in Windsor in September [82]
In December , St James's Palace announced that Catherine was pregnant with her first child.
The announcement was made earlier in the pregnancy than is usual as she had been admitted to King Edward VII's Hospital suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, a severe form of morning sickness.[83] She gave birth to Prince George at St Mary's Hospital, London, in July [84] The severe morning sickness returned with the subsequent pregnancies, forcing Catherine to cancel her official engagements.[85] She gave birth to Princess Charlotte in May [86] and to Prince Louis in April [87][88] George, Charlotte and Louis were respectively third, fourth and fifth in the line of succession to the British throne at the times of their births.
Kate middleton biography book In February , Catherine visited Denmark to learn about the country's plans for the social and emotional development of young people and also to celebrate milestones of both countries' monarchs. In February , Chi published the first photos of Catherine's exposed pregnant belly, taken during her vacation on the private island of Mustique which the British press refused to publish. In January , they announced the launch of a website designed to provide resources for teachers and schools seeking help in that area. Following her marriage, Catherine assumed royal duties and commitments in support of the British monarch.Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, they are now second, third, and fourth in line to the throne.[89] William and Catherine have owned two English Cocker Spaniels, named Lupo and Orla.[90][91]
Health
Kensington Palace announced in January&#; that Catherine had undergone a planned abdominal surgery for an undisclosed medical condition at the London Clinic.[92][93] She postponed all of her public engagements and duties through March that year.[94] The subsequent speculation about her absence from public view prompted various conspiracy theories about her health and garnered extensive media attention.[95][96] The speculation largely started after William withdrew from the thanksgiving service of his godfather, Constantine II of Greece, where he was slated to speak, citing an undisclosed "personal matter",[97] and was further fueled when her first official photo since the surgery was pulled from circulation by news agencies like the Associated Press, Reuters, Getty Images and others due to evidence of photograph manipulation.[98][99]
Catherine announced on 22&#;March, through a video message filmed by BBC Studios, that post-operative tests had found cancer, and the palace said she had been undergoing chemotherapy since late February.[][] Her medical leave from public engagements was subsequently extended.[] She made her first public appearance after her cancer diagnosis at the Trooping the Colour in June, having mentioned in a letter released by Kensington Palace the previous day that she was still undergoing treatment for cancer.[][] She continued to make occasional appearances over the following months amidst her ongoing cancer treatment.[] In September , Catherine, in a video message released by Kensington Palace, revealed that she had completed her chemotherapy treatment and that she was looking forward to resuming public engagements in the coming months.[] In October , she accompanied William on a visit to meet the families of the victims of the Southport stabbing, marking her first official public engagement since the completion of her chemotherapy treatment.[][] In January , Catherine visited the Royal Marsden Hospital, where she received her treatment for cancer, to thank doctors and nurses and meet with patients, marking her first solo public engagement since the completion of her chemotherapy treatment.
In an announcement, she also revealed that her cancer was in remission.[][]
Public life
Within the United Kingdom
Middleton's first public appearance with William following their engagement announcement in November was at a fundraising event organised by the Teenage Cancer Trust in December [] She made her first official public appearance in February , when the couple attended a lifeboat-naming ceremony in Trearddur, near their home at that time in Anglesey, North Wales.[][] In March , the couple toured Belfast.[] Catherine's first official engagement after her wedding came in May that year when she and William met Barack and Michelle Obama at Buckingham Palace.[] Reporters noted that warm words had been exchanged between the two families.[] In October , she undertook her first solo engagement at a reception for In Kind Direct, hosted at Clarence House, stepping in for Prince Charles.[] In March , Catherine gave her first public speech for the opening of a children's hospice opened by her patronage, East Anglia's Children's Hospices.[] She and William were announced as ambassadors for the Summer Olympics in London.[] As part of her role, Catherine attended numerous sporting events throughout the games.[] She and William also attended celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee throughout including the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant in July.[][]
In June , Catherine took the royal first salute, typically received by the Queen, at the Beating Retreat military pageant.[] In October , William and Catherine met President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and First Lady Olena Zelenska at Buckingham Palace, the first royal engagement held at the residence since the start of the COVID pandemic.[] The meeting was well received, with President Zelensky later expressing gratitude for the royal couple's solidarity with Ukraine and its people.[] In December that year, the couple embarked on a three-day tour of England, Scotland, and Wales via the British Royal Train "to pay tribute to the inspiring work of individuals, organisations and initiatives across the country" in [][]Boris Johnson expressed his support for the initiative, while First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon criticised the tour, citing travel restrictions; UK, Scottish and Welsh governments were consulted before planning the tour.[][] Catherine and William attended the G7 summit for the first time in June in Cornwall.[] She also met Jill Biden for the first time, marked by a warm welcome, as they toured Connor Downs Academy engaging with students and discussing early education initiatives in a roundtable discussion.[][]
In September , Catherine and William visited Anglesey and Swansea which marked their first visit to Wales since becoming Princess and Prince of Wales.[] In February , they visited Falmouth marking their first visit to the region since becoming Duke and Duchess of Cornwall, titles that are automatically bestowed upon the monarch's eldest son and his spouse.[]
Further information: List of official overseas trips made by William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales
Catherine and William's first royal tour of Canada took place in June–July [] The tour's two-day trip to California was also her first visit to the United States.[]Nicholas Witchell, writing for BBC News, noted that the tour to Canada had been an "unqualified success" for the couple as they engaged in various activities from tree planting to street hockey, with their warm interactions and thoughtful gestures enhancing their popularity and reinforcing positive sentiments towards the monarchy in Canada.[] In September , the couple embarked on a tour of Singapore, Malaysia, Tuvalu, and the Solomon Islands to commemorate Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee across the Commonwealth.[] During this overseas visit, she 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.[]
The couple and their son visited Australia and New Zealand in April [] The prime minister of Australia, Tony Abbott, referred to their tour as "one of the very best royal visits" Australia had experienced.[] In June, they visited France to attend an event commemorating 70 years since the Normandy landings at Gold Beach.[] The couple visited the United States in December that year.[] The tour was a success, featuring diplomatic engagements such as a visit to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, the couple's personal interests and attending an NBA match between the Brooklyn Nets and the Cleveland Cavaliers.[][]
In October , Catherine attended her first state banquet at Buckingham Palace, held to host Chinese president Xi Jinping.[][] In April , she and William undertook a tour to India and Bhutan.[] In October that year, Catherine made her first solo overseas trip to The Netherlands.[] Countries visited by the couple in include France, Poland, Germany, and Belgium.[][][] Their tour to Germany and Poland was successful, with author Katie Nicholl referring to it as a "P.R.
victory for Britain".[] She visited Luxembourg City in May for the Treaty of London commemorations.[] In January , the couple visited Sweden and Norway.[] In February , they carried out a two-day visit of Northern Ireland, visiting Belfast, Fermanagh, and Ballymena.[] The purpose of the visit was to celebrate the country's youth and acknowledge the progress made in overcoming the region's divisions over the past twenty years.[] The couple visited Pakistan in October ; it was the royal family's first visit to the country in 13 years.[] The tour was a success, helping promote diplomatic relations with Pakistan while also reflecting the couple's personal interests in climate change and the significance of quality education.[] In March , they carried out a three-day tour of Ireland, visiting three of the country's counties.[]
In February , Catherine visited Denmark to learn about the country's plans for the social and emotional development of young people and also to celebrate milestones of both countries' monarchs.[] In March that year, she and William embarked on a tour of Belize, The Bahamas and Jamaica to commemorate Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee.[]Reparations for slavery emerged as a major demand of public protesters during the couple's visit.[]
Charity work
Further information: Royal Foundation
Patronages
Catherine has been involved with charity work both before and after her marriage.
In she curated a photography exhibition to mark the book launch of Time to Reflect by Alistair Morrison to raise funds for the UNICEF.[] In she visited Naomi's House Hospice, where she spent time with children.[] Later that year, she organised a s-themed roller disco fundraiser which raised £,, split between Oxford Children's Hospital and the mental health charity Place2Be.[] While working for her parents' company, she began organising events for the Starlight Children's Foundation, which helps terminally ill youth.[] She also helped coordinate the Boodles Boxing Ball, which raised money for the charity.[]
Following her marriage, Catherine assumed royal duties and commitments in support of the British monarch.[] In March , she and William set up a gift fund held by The Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry to allow well-wishers who wanted 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.[][] In June , The Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry was renamed to reflect Catherine's contribution to the charity.[] It is now known as The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales.[]
Catherine's charity work primarily focuses on issues surrounding young children, mental health, sport, addiction and art.[] Her impact on charitable donations and project visibility has been called the "Kate effect".[][] She holds a number of charitable patronages.[c] Catherine, being an art history graduate, also takes an interest in art and handpicked The Art Room, which helped disadvantaged children access art therapy before its closure,[] as well as the National Portrait Gallery.[] She acquired patronage of the Lawn Tennis Association, the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Action for Children, and the Royal Photographic Society after they were passed down by Queen Elizabeth II.[][][] She became patron of the Foundling Museum, a museum to commemorate the Foundling Hospital, in [] Catherine was also a local volunteer leader with The Scout Association in north Wales,[] of which Queen Elizabeth II was patron, before being made co-president in September , alongside the Duke of Kent.[][]
Sport
Catherine is a keen sportswoman and attends Wimbledon annually.[][][] She has been patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club since [] Catherine, who enjoys sailing, has occasionally taken part in the sport to raise money for charity.[] In together with her husband and his brother Harry, Catherine launched Coach Core.
The programme was set up following the Olympics to provide apprenticeship opportunities for people who desire to pursue a career as a professional coach.[] In she and William were awarded Honorary Life Membership of the Marylebone Cricket Club.[] In July , she lent her support to Backyard Nature, a campaign created to inspire "children, families and communities to get outside and engage with nature".[] In February , she became patron of the Rugby Football Union and the Rugby Football League, both governing bodies that were previously supported by her brother-in-law Harry.[]
Military and armed forces
In Catherine wrote the foreword for Living in the Slipstream: Life as an RAF Wife, whose proceeds raised money for charity.[] In December , she assumed patronage of the Royal Air Force Air Cadets[] for youths 12–19 years of age.
The Duke of Edinburgh, who had been patron of the RAF Cadets for 63 years, formally handed over during an audience at Buckingham Palace.[] Since acquiring patronage of the RAF Cadets, she has made visits to their base in Cambridgeshire[] and celebrated their 75th anniversary in [] In October , she became patron to Preet Chandi, a British Army medical officer who aimed to complete a 1,mile solo expedition in the South Pole after finishing a mile journey in the continent earlier that year.[]
Health and medical initiatives
In her capacity as patron of Action on Addiction, Catherine has occasionally made visits to its centres, spending time with recovering addicts.[][][] In October , she, alongside Action on Addiction, launched the M-PACT programme (Moving Parents and Children Together), one of the only UK programmes to focus specifically on the impact of drug addiction on families.[] In June , Catherine was announced as patron of The Forward Trust after its merger with Action on Addiction.[] As patron, she launched a campaign titled "Taking Action on Addiction".[]
In January , locks of Catherine's hair were reportedly donated to the Little Princess Trust, a charity which made wigs for children diagnosed with cancer.[] In February that year, she became patron of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.[][] She also launched Nursing Now, a three-year worldwide campaign to raise awareness about the profile of nurses.[][] She has written of her family ties with nursing; her grandmother, Valerie Middleton, and her great-grandmother, Olive Middleton, were both VAD nurses for the British Red Cross.[][][] During the COVID pandemic, Catherine undertook many in-person and virtual engagements supporting National Health Service workers.[][] She discreetly volunteered with the Royal Voluntary Service during the same period.[]
Catherine has worked extensively in children's palliative care alongside East Anglia's Children's Hospices[] and undertakes private visits to children's hospices and their families.[][] She made her first public address at the opening of their Ipswich facility in after being announced as their patron in January that year.[] She has carried out engagements to raise awareness of Children's Hospice Week since [] In January , she was announced as the joint royal patron of the Royal Marsden Hospital alongside Prince William, who has been its president since []
Photography
Catherine has called herself an "enthusiastic amateur photographer"[] and has taken official portraits of her children, as well as other members of the royal family.[] In she supported workshops run by the Royal Photographic Society in partnership with Action for Children to highlight the effect of photography in expressing thoughts in young people.[] As patron of the Royal Photographic Society she and other photographers took part in an exhibition that marked 75 years since the end of the Holocaust.[] Photos taken by Catherine of the Holocaust survivors were later included in an exhibition at the Imperial War Museum.[] Catherine curated an exhibition of Victorian photography at the National Portrait Gallery with a thematic focus on childhood.[] In May , she launched "Hold Still", a project to capture people's life during lockdown, which garnered 31, submissions.[] In October , the selected portraits were displayed on public sites, including billboards, murals, and posters, across 80 towns and cities.[] The photographs were later published in a book titled Hold Still: A Portrait of Our Nation in , with a foreword written by Catherine, on 7 May []
Catherine has been hosting a Christmas carol concert called Together At Christmas annually at Westminster Abbey since December with the theme varying each year.[]
In March amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Catherine and William made a donation to help the refugees.[] In February , they donated to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) which was helping victims of the Turkey–Syria earthquake.[] In May , she hosted the first children's picnic at the Chelsea Flower Show for students from ten primary schools who were participating in the Royal Horticultural Society's Campaign for School Gardening.[][] In July , she and William made donations to help victims of Hurricane Beryl.[]
Mental health advocacy
Catherine has tackled issues surrounding mental health and disabilities and has previously made visits to charities and hospitals such as St Thomas' Hospital and the Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute to spend time with mothers and children who deal with these issues.[][] She has also been credited with raising national awareness of children's mental health; Benita Refson, president of Place2Be, has praised her work, saying that she would "shine the spotlight on child mental health", while Peter Fonagy, CEO of the Anna Freud Centre has called her one of the most important figures in the field, and stated that "to the millions of children who have been suffering in silence, she is their voice".[][] In recognition of their work with charities concerned with children's mental health, Catherine and William were awarded the Gold Blue Peter badge, an award previously granted to Queen Elizabeth II.[] To encourage people to open up about their mental health issues, Catherine, William and Harry initiated the mental health awareness campaign "Heads Together" in April [] She later voluntarily talked about her struggles as a mother, and admitted that she suffered a "lack of confidence" and "feelings of ignorance" during certain periods of time.[][]
Catherine has discussed her experiences with "mum guilt" in balancing work/life commitments, and described bringing her newborn home from the hospital for the first time as "terrifying".[] She has also highlighted the importance of "a happy home" and "a safe environment" for children, and described her "passion" for the outdoors, referencing it as an asset to building childhood wellbeing and developmental foundations.[] She launched the Mentally Healthy Schools website, which helps the students and staff with access "to reliable and practical resources to improve awareness, knowledge and confidence in supporting pupils' mental health".[] After two years of development, the website had over , visitors accessing its resources.[][] Catherine guest-edited HuffPost UK as part of an effort to raise awareness for children's mental health issues.[][]
In Catherine worked with the Royal Horticultural Society as one of the co-designers for a garden display at the Chelsea Flower Show.[] She designed the "Back to Nature Garden" together with Andree Davies and Adam White.[][] The garden was later expanded and moved to Hampton Court Palace as a part of the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show,[] before being shown at the Back to Nature Festival at RHS Garden Wisley.[] A playground, inspired by the "Back to Nature" garden, was built on the Sandringham Estate in [] In May , as a part of their "Heads Together" initiative, Catherine, her husband and her in-laws launched Shout, a text messaging service for those who have mental issues.[] In March , she and William started supporting a new mental health initiative by the Public Health England amidst the COVID pandemic in the United Kingdom.[] In April , the couple announced Our Frontline, an initiative providing mental health support to emergency medical workers.[]
In February , Catherine recorded a video message about the importance of positive mental health during the pandemic.[] She made a surprise appearance on CBeebies Bedtime Stories, where she read The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark by Jill Tomlinson as part of the conclusion of Children's Mental Health Week in February [] In May that year, she became patron of the Maternal Mental Health Alliance.[] In October, to mark World Mental Health Day, she and William took over Newsbeat and interviewed four guests on topics related to mental health.[] The following year, the couple took part in a forum for young people in Birmingham, alongside BBC Radio 1 and a charity called The Mix, called Exploring our Emotional Worlds continuing their longstanding work to promote mental well-being.[] In December , she and William announced that they were jointly funding a pilot scheme with the charity Norfolk and Waveney Mind to offer extra support for rural and farming communities on the Sandringham estate.[]
Early years and childhood development
During the initial years of her charity work, Catherine became interested in the connection between the first five years of childhood and conditions such as homelessness, mental health, and addiction in later life.[] In March , she hosted a symposium with the Royal Society of Medicine, focusing on children's health, and launched the Early Years Intervention Support initiative.[] In May that year, she established the Early Years Steering Group.[][] In January , Catherine launched "5 Big Questions on the Under 5's", a nationwide survey on development during early years.[] The survey was conducted by Ipsos MORI and contained "further qualitative and ethnographic research" on the early years.[] It received over , responses.[] The results of the survey were released in November [] The findings outlined five key topics surrounding early childhood, including parental mental health and wider community health and support.[] In July , she supported and assisted in the development of BBC's "Tiny Happy People" initiative, providing free digital resources to parents with young children.[] In August , she headed a donation drive to benefit baby banks nationwide which spurred over 10, donations.[][] In June , Catherine launched the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood to conduct work, research, and campaigns with other organisations on issues surrounding the early years.[]
In February , Catherine visited Denmark on behalf of the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.[][][] In June that year, she hosted her first roundtable discussion with politicians on early childhood development.[] In January , Catherine launched the Shaping Us initiative through the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, a long-term campaign aimed at raising awareness about early childhood development and its importance.[] In November that year, she delivered the keynote speech at The Shaping Us National Symposium held at The Design Museum in London.[]
Public image
Fashion
Further information: Fashion of Catherine, Princess of Wales
Catherine, prominent for her fashion style, has been placed on numerous "best dressed" lists.[] She topped Tatler's best-dressed list in ,[] and was ranked first by the magazine on its list of the most glamorous European royals in [] Her style has evolved from more conservative choices in the early years of her public life to a sophisticated and elegant wardrobe, often featuring designs by Alexander McQueen, Jenny Packham, Catherine Walker and international designers such as Dolce & Gabbana and Gucci.[][][] The "Kate Middleton effect" is the trend that she is reported to have had in sales of particular products and brands.[][][] In it was reported that Catherine boosted the British fashion industry up to £1 billion within a year.[]
Public opinion and influence
Catherine's influence has made her a significant asset to the royal family's public image, enhancing their appeal and influence, a view echoed by the journalists Camilla Tominey, who described her as "the monarchy's greatest asset", and Petronella Wyatt, who called her "the jewel in the crown".[][][]Rhonda Garelick of The New York Times has also noted her ability to balance modernity with traditional royal norms.[] Speaking to The Times on Catherine's 40th birthday, her aides stated that she does not accept "advice on a PR basis" and will "never do something because she thinks the media will like it."[]Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, her and William's former private secretary, stated that "she has that almost old-fashioned, Queen Mother attitude to drama – she just doesn't do it."[]
Time magazine listed Catherine as one of the most influential people in the world in , , and [] In and , she was one of the runners-up for the magazine's Person of the Year award.[][] In and , The Independent included Catherine on its "Influence List".[][]