Kate Middleton: Five Fun Facts

NAME Kate Middleton
DATE OF BIRTH January 09, 1982
BIRTH PLACE Berkshire, England

Royal insiders have called Kate Middleton, with her grace and sporty elegance, "a natural" as Prince William's wife.

The captivating brunette may not come from royalty, but she does have good breeding – her father is a self-made millionaire and she attended the prestigious and pricey private boarding school Marlborough College. After excelling at field hockey and cross-country running, Kate Middleton studied art history at University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where she took William off the market in 2002.

After an eight-year fairy tale romance, William proposed to Middleton with his late mother's engagement ring. The couple wed in London on April 29, 2011, ennobling Middleton as the Duchess of Cambridge.

Kate Middleton: Five Fun Facts

1. Kate Middleton, who worked as an accessories buyer for British fashion chain Jigsaw, once had her sights on launching her own kids' clothing line.
2. After months of grueling training, Kate Middleton was forced to drop out of a charity rowing race across the English Channel. "It's a safety thing," Emma Sayle, captain of Middleton's ex-team, told PEOPLE. "The boats aren't designed for the sea. It's dangerous enough as it is without the world's paparazzi [chasing] us."
3. In March 2002, Prince William paid $200 to sit front row and watch a bikini-clad Kate Middleton walk down the runway of a student-run charity fashion show at University of St. Andrews.
4. In 2006, Woolworths created commemorative plates and mugs with Kate Middleton and Prince William's likenesses, amid engagement rumors that turned out to be false at the time.
5. As Kate Middleton prepared to celebrate her 25th birthday in 2007, a group of Kate aficionados launched the Unofficial Kate Middleton Fan Club. Their first announced meeting was held outside one of Middleton's favorite nightclubs, Boujis. (original article from: people.com)