ROYAL FACTS
Kate Middleton is turning 40! Celebrate the Duchess’ birthday with these fun facts
Did you know the Duchess studied in Florence?
The Duchess of Cambridge is turning 40! In celebration of Kate’s milestone birthday on Jan. 9, HOLA! USA has rounded up fun facts about Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis’ mom. From her “naughty sense of humor” to her job during college, learn more about the future Queen consort...
1. Michael and Carole Middleton’s eldest child, Catherine Elizabeth Middleton, was born at the Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading, on January 9, 1982.
2. In 1984, Kate, then two, moved to Amman in Jordan, where her father worked for two and a half years. She attended a nursery school in Amman from the age of three.
3. Before attending the University of St. Andrews, the Duchess took a gap year during which she studied at the British Institute in Florence. She also undertook a Raleigh International program in Chile and crewed on Round the World Challenge boats in the Solent.
4. Kate first met Prince William while studying at the university in Fife, Scotland. “I actually think I went bright red when I met you and sort of scuttled off, feeling very shy about meeting you,” she recalled during their 2010 engagement interview.
4. Kate graduated from the University of St. Andrews in 2005 with a 2:1 in History of Art.
5. Prince Charles’ daughter-in-law had a job waitressing while in college. Kate made the revelation during 2019’s A Berry Royal Christmas. During the TV special, Mary Berry asked the royal to take drinks to guests. “Reminds me of my university days when I did a bit of waitressing,” the Duchess admitted. “Were you good?” Mary asked, to which Kate replied, “No, I was terrible!“
6. The Duchess, who stunned wearing the Cartier Halo tiara and an Alexander McQueen gown, reportedly did her own makeup for her 2011 royal wedding.
7. According to Prince William, the Duchess has a “really naughty sense of humor.” In their engagement interview he revealed, “She’s got a really naughty sense of humor, which kind of helps me because I’ve got a very dirty sense of humor, so it was good fun. We had a really good laugh and then things happened.”
8. While visiting the Radio 1 studios in 2017, Kate shared (via BBC) that her favorite takeout order is “curry, definitely.” Discussing curry in 2019, Kate revealed (via PEOPLE), “I quite like it hot.”
9. Per BBC, piano tutor Daniel Nicholls began teaching Kate piano when she was 11 up until she was 13. The Duchess gained her grade three piano and grade five theory. The royal mom of three showed off her piano skills in 2021 during Royal Carols: Together at Christmas.
10. The Duchess did not have a picture of Prince William on her wall when she was younger. Instead, she had one of the Levis guy. In her engagement interview, Kate said, “[William] wishes. No, I had the Levis guy on my wall, not a picture of William, sorry.”
11. The doting mom enjoys making her kids’ birthday cakes. “I love making the cake,” she shared on A Berry Royal Christmas. “It’s become a bit of a tradition that I sort of stay up until midnight with ridiculous amounts of cake mix and icing and I make far too much. But I love it.”
