By the turn of the century, the family was classified in the Leeds Register as ‘cloth merchants’. It was Frank who expanded the firm, buying an old cloth mill against his wife’s wishes. Kate is the first working-class woman to be accepted into the Royal Family. While Kate’s mother is descended from a line of impoverished Durham miners and builders, her father is the scion of an illustrious Yorkshire family, who rose to prominence as wool merchants in the 18th Century. In addition to Michael, Captain Peter Middleton had 3 more sons. But my months of genealogical research have revealed evidence that the family wealth is based not only on party hats and streamers, but almost certainly on the more substantial achievements of a Victorian mill owner who left the equivalent of £33million in his will. I remember Pippa and Kate being in them, wearing T-shirts with their ages on them and holding cupcakes.’. After years of working with his family party planning business, the youngest Middleton struck out on his own. She grew up in Bucklebury, Berkshire and was known as a bit of a tomboy. Growing up in Chapel Row, a village near Newbury, Berkshire, Catherine, Pippa and James lived a charmed life. That same year, she founded Party Pieces, a mail order party supply and decoration company. They have also financed gap years abroad and family holidays in the Caribbean. Trust funds which were established over 100 years ago have been passed down to Michael. The duchess suffered with Hyperemesis Gravidarum throughout all three of her pregnancies, which made the process difficult for her. Behind the sniggering of some Palace hangers-on lies the prejudice that the well educated, beautiful brunette is not just a commoner, but somehow ‘common’. Half-whispered references to trollies and ‘doors to manual’ betray the belief among a self-serving group of courtiers that it would be inherently unsatisfactory for the daughter of an air stewardess – Kate’s mother Carole once worked for British Airways – to become Queen of England. One of them was Michael’s great-grandfather Francis, a Cambridge graduate, who returned to Yorkshire to work in the family firm. Kate also worked up until her engagement at her family business Party Pieces where she helped with catalogue design and production, marketing, and photography. When James is not working, he pursues an interesting set of hobbies: He keeps bees, restores old tractors and Land Rovers, and breeds dogs. So now, for the family Middleton, the stage is finally set. I also discovered intriguing new information that casts light on where the Middletons got their money – a lot of money. Yvonne Cowdrey, who did the family’s housework at the time, recalled: ‘Carole was fed up making up bags full of little gifts for the kids to take away from parties, and she realised other mums must feel the same. We blog about hot male celebrities from their washboard abs, boxers or briefs underwear preferences, sculpted muscles, movies and TV shows, and sometimes their shenanigans. In total, her net worth with her husband Michael is estimated to be $67 million. In British terms, the description of her as middle class just about holds, in that she was not born into old, landed, patrician wealth. Kate went on to study art history in Scotland at the University of St. Andrews, which is where she met Prince William in 2001. Frank and Fanny lived in Beechwood, a sprawling Victorian mansion in the village of Roundhay, seven miles north of Leeds, which they bought from Sir George Goodman, who had served as the city’s mayor. The two sisters – snootily nicknamed the ‘wisteria sisters’ in society circles because they are ‘highly decorative and terribly fragrant with a ferocious ability to climb’ – had arrived in the world. Much has been made of Kate Middleton’s “middle class” background, but does she have any royal links? Carole met flight dispatcher Michael Middleton while working as a flight attendant for British Airways and they married on June 21, 1980, at the Church of St. James, in Buckinghamshire. Town & Country participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. However, Noel also had his own inheritance. Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, GCVO (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; 9 January 1982), is a member of the British royal family. Noel gave up his partnership in the legal firm of WH Clarke, Middleton & Co to join his wife’s family business. Both houses were crammed full of antiques, oil paintings, silver and crystal. She is now focused on charity work following her wedding to James Matthews, and gave birth to her first child, a boy, on October 15. Lesley Scutter, who lived opposite the Middletons in Bradfield Southend and works as a racecourse steward, spotted Carole in the owners’ paddock at Windsor on July 7 last year. Noel died of a heart attack at the age of 72 on July 2, 1951, leaving £19,560, or £1.3million in today’s money. He handled all the legal work for the Leeds Permanent Benefit Building Society, was president of Leeds Law Society and founder of the Leeds and County Conservative Club. She had her first child, Catherine, in 1982, followed by Pippa in 1984, and James in 1987. … Though life in the spotlight, thanks to Catherine’s marriage to Prince William, wasn’t part their plan, the Middletons have adjusted to their new royal adjacent roles. It is a family history that incorporates the timeless virtues of initiative, industry, responsibility and patriotic service in time of war. There is little evidence of any other source of income. Kate’s parents Carole and Michael triumphed in what was called a ‘fierce bidding war’ for the seven-bedroom property to buy their home in 2012. Kate's sister Pippa just gave birth to her first child, a baby boy. She was a commoner, and her family didn’t have a coat of arms until shortly before the Royal Wedding was scheduled. Her older brother, Gary Goldsmith, is also very successful. Following her graduation from the University of Edinburgh, Middleton briefly worked in 2008 at a public relations firm promoting luxury products and then had an events management job. Growing up in Chapel Row, a village near Newbury, Berkshire, Catherine, Pippa and James lived a charmed life. Kate Middleton’s Family Background Revealed: Excerpt of Book by Claudia Joseph. At the age of 13, Noel was sent to board at Clifton College, the boys’ public school in Bristol. It is also, the sneering courtiers should note, very far from ‘common’. Gradually, he began making a range of woollen fabrics and bought a finishing plant, which meant he was involved in every stage of cloth manufacturing. Prior to the royal nuptials, the Middleton family posted up at the Goring Hotel, located just behind Buckingham Palace. Looking back on it, the comparison was equally inaccurate for Kate Middleton. Although Michael and Carole Middleton are widely regarded as self-made millionaires, their business, Party Pieces, while successful, is unlikely to generate enough income to put three children through public school. Whitepages people search is the most trusted directory. Catherine Elizabeth Middleton is the eldest of three siblings. Edward IV made a love match with Elizabeth Woodville, the widow of a mere knight, while only two of Henry VIII’s six wives came from European ruling families. Eight staff now work in a 200-year-old barn, answering calls from customers and taking orders, while packers work in the ‘picking room’ – a converted cow shed – and ‘the warehouse’, a converted barn stacked to the roof with themed tableware, decorations and party bags. An excerpt from the book after the jump. Kate. Shortly before Kate's marriage to Prince William, Michael Middleton was granted a coat of arms featuring three … Revealed: Secrets of the Middletons’ money and how Kate’s ancestors made a fortune by Claudia Joseph via Daily Mail. They have even bought Kate a £780,000 flat in the heart of Chelsea. But the truth is that whatever the Palace flunkies say about the Middletons, the family lives an enviably comfortable and privileged upper-middle-class lifestyle that far predates Prince William’s courtship of their daughter. He then went to Leeds University before becoming an articled clerk, like his father and grandfather before him, qualifying in 1903 when he was 25. His family firm, William Lupton & Co, had been founded in 1773 by Arthur Lupton, the youngest son of yeoman farmer William Lupton, who combined cloth-making with farming. All four brothers became prominent figures in Leeds public life. MORE: Kate Middleton's 6 royal parenting struggles revealed George, seven, and Charlotte, five, appear to be sitting back-to-back with their heads turned to the camera in the never-before-seen photo. Where did she come from? They were wealthy enough to employ six servants, socialised with the great and good of Leeds, and involved themselves in the politics of the day. After attending Clifton College in Bristol, he worked for British Airways as a flight dispatcher, where he met married Carole Goldsmith. He’s now heavily invested in a new personalized gift business, Boomf, a marshmallow company which has expanded to offer a range of gifts. Michael moved his family to Amman, Jordan from May 1984 to September 1986 for his job. Party Pieces’ accounts remain secret. At this stage, the family was still surviving on Michael Middleton’s salary. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. Kate and his prince are reportedly planning their wedding so we expect public interest in the future princess and future queen to go sky high. Kate Middleton is a non-aristocratic English rose. His mother left £13,627 in her will – the equivalent of about £7million in today’s money. Michael and Carole Middleton live in a £1million detached house in rolling countryside in the Home Counties, where they play tennis, ride horses and walk their dog. I scrutinised the Middleton family fortunes for my new book Kate: Kate Middleton – Princess In Waiting, and uncovered a tale of hard work, canny investments, setbacks and success that dates back nearly 250 years and demolishes at a stroke the charge that Kate is in any way ‘common’. From Marie Claire. However, in American terms, if we judged the Duchess’s background purely on her family’s economic position, the picture shifts dramatically. His paternal grandmother, Olive Middleton, belonged to the Lupton family, a well-known political dynasty. The fallout from a recent cover story about Kate Middleton continues. KATE MIDDLETON's parents Carole and Michael have been noticeably absent from several royal events and a friend once suggested they were deliberately keeping their distance after a royal row. An untitled royal bride, she has a mix of middle and working class heritage, descended from a family of solicitors and landed gentry on her father's side and butchers, plasterers, road sweepers and domestic servants on her mother's. When Frank died of heart disease at the age of 70 on May 20, 1884, he left his four sons – a fifth died in childhood – a staggering £64,650, the equivalent of £33million in today’s money. Blue Java’s jockey Travis Block came fifth out of 14 in a six-furlong race. Is she rich? See Kate and Pippa Middleton as Young Bridesmaids. He became an RAF pilot during the Second World War, and later a commercial pilot, instilling a love of aviation in his son, Michael. Initially relying on catalogues, the business took off after Carole created a website. Michael’s salary as a flight dispatcher for British Airways at Heathrow – responsible for co-ordinating the airline’s fleet while on the ground – was enough for them to afford a modest semi-detached house in the village of Bradfield Southend, bought for £34,700 in 1979. She died at the age of 55 and left £52,031 in trust for her four children – the equivalent of £9million today. Thankfully, Claudia Joseph has an upcoming book, Kate: Kate Middleton – Princess In Waiting, which should provide some answers to the curious like us. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io, Prince Charles Congratulated Princess Eugenie, Eugenie Shares the First Photo of Her Baby Boy, Why Princess Eugenie's Baby Won't Have a Title, Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank Have A Son, Princess Eugenie Gives Birth to a Baby Boy. While Kate’s mother is descended from a line of impoverished Durham miners and builders, her father is the scion of an illustrious Yorkshire family, who rose to prominence as wool merchants in the 18th Century. According to some neighbours, they even own a stake in a successful racehorse. Kate is still an avid photographer who loves taking photos of her children. From the moment she first emerged five years ago as the student girlfriend of Prince William, there has been an unspoken snobbery in certain Royal circles about the social status of Kate Middleton. Every item on this page was chosen by a Town & Country editor. An aristocratic background.