Catherine, Princess of Wales GCVO (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; 9 January 1982) 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. She was educated at St Andrew's School and Marlborough College before studying art history at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, where she met William in 2001. She held jobs in retail and marketing and pursued charity work before their engagement was announced in November 2010. They married on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey. The couple's children—Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis—are second, third, and fourth respectively in the line of succession to the British throne.
Catherine holds patronage within over 20 charitable and military organisations, including Action for Children, SportsAid, and the National Portrait Gallery. She undertakes projects through The Royal Foundation, with her charity work focusing on issues surrounding young children, addiction, and art. To encourage people to open up about their mental health issues, Catherine envisioned the mental health awareness campaign "Heads Together", launched with princes William and Harry in April 2016. The media have called Catherine's impact on British and American fashion the "Kate Middleton effect". Time magazine selected her as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2011, 2012 and 2013 and as a finalist in 2018. On 9 September 2022, she became Princess of Wales when her husband was created Prince of Wales by his father, King Charles III.