The Royal Family

Middleton was born at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading. She is the eldest of three children born to Carole Elizabeth (née Goldsmith), a flight attendant, and Michael Francis Middleton, who also worked as a flight attendant prior to becoming a flight dispatcher for British Airways. Her parents married on 21 June 1980 at the Parish Church of Dorney, Buckinghamshire and in 1987 founded Party Pieces, a mail order company that sells party supplies and decorations.

Middleton's paternal family came from Leeds, West Yorkshire, and her great-grandmother Olivia was a member of the Lupton family, who were active for generations in Leeds in commercial and municipal work. Her ancestors include The Rev. Thomas Davis, a Church of England hymn-writer. Carole Middleton's maternal family, the Harrisons, were working class labourers and miners from Sunderland and County Durham. Middleton has two siblings, Philippa Charlotte, known as "Pippa" (born 1983), and James William (born 1987). Pippa Middleton, a graduate of the University of Edinburgh, has received press coverage since her sister became well-known.

Middleton's parents were based in Amman, Jordan, working for British Airways from May 1984 to September 1986, where Middleton went to an English language nursery school, before returning to their home in Berkshire. After her return from Amman, Middleton was educated at St. Andrew's School in the village of Pangbourne in Berkshire, then briefly at Downe House. She continued her studies at Marlborough College, a co-educational independent school in Wiltshire, followed by the University of St Andrews in Fife, where she met William. She graduated with a 2:1 (Hons) in the History of Art.