Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (Catherine Elizabeth “Kate”; née Middleton; born 9 January 1982), is the wife of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. Following his father Charles, Prince of Wales, William is second in line to succeed his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, as monarch of the United Kingdom and 15 other Commonwealth realms. Middleton grew up in Chapel Row, a village near Newbury, Berkshire, England.

She studied art history in Scotland at the University of St Andrews, where she met William in 2001. Their engagement was announced on 16 November 2010, and she attended many high-profile royal events before they married on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey. She has had a major impact upon British and American fashion which has been termed the “Kate Middleton effect”, and in 2012 was selected as one of the “Most Influential People in the World” by Time magazine. On 22 July 2013, she gave birth to a boy, Prince George of Cambridge, who is now third in the line of succession to the British throne.