Kate Middleton Parents: Meet Carole Middleton and Michael Middleton
Robert King
Updated on December 30, 2025
Kate Middleton Parents: Meet Carole Middleton and Michael Middleton – Kate Middleton began part-time work as an accessory buyer for the clothing retailer Jigsaw in November 2006.
In 2007, she organized a photography exhibition to coincide with the publication of Alistair Morrison’s book “Time to Reflect” in order to raise funds for UNICEF.
Middleton visited Naomi’s House Hospice several times in 2008, bringing gifts and reading to the children.
Later that year, she organized an ’80s-themed roller disco fundraiser that raised £100,000 for Oxford Children’s Hospital’s Tom’s Ward to treat pediatric cancer and Place2Be, an organization that provides mental health counseling to schoolchildren.
Middleton also worked at the family business in catalogue design and production, marketing, and photography until January 2011.
She launched the company’s junior brand for toddlers while working for it, and she began working with the Starlight Children’s Foundation, which helps terminally ill children by providing party supplies.
Middleton also assisted in the organization of the Boodles Boxing Ball, which raised funds for the charity.
Prior to her marriage, Middleton shared an apartment in Chelsea, London, with her sister that was estimated to be worth £1-1.4 million.
Catherine’s total net worth was estimated to be £5-7.3 million in 2018, the majority of which comes from her parents’ business.
Middleton met Prince William in 2001 while both were students at the University of St Andrews’ St Salvator’s Hall.
She reportedly caught William’s eye when she appeared on stage in a see-through lace gown at a charity fashion show at the university in 2002. The couple began dating in 2003, according to reports.
During their second year, Middleton shared a flat with William and two other friends.
From 2003 to 2005, they shared a room with two other people at Balgove House on the Strathtyrum estate. The couple split briefly in 2004, but quickly rekindled their relationship.
Middleton and her family were subjected to intense tabloid press scrutiny following her graduation. Throughout their relationship, she was frequently photographed by paparazzi outside her flat and workplace.
The Palace and Middleton’s lawyers issued numerous warnings as a result.
On December 15, 2006, she attended William’s Passing Out Parade at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
They ended their relationship in April 2007. In July 2007, she and her family attended the Diana Memorial Concert, where she and William sat two rows apart.
Kate Middleton Parents: Meet Carole Middleton, and Michael Middleton
Kate Middleton is the eldest of three children born to Michael Middleton and Carole, a former flight dispatcher and flight attendant, respectively, who founded Party Pieces, a privately held mail order company that sells party supplies and decorations, in 1987.
Who is Carole Middleton?
Carole Elizabeth Middleton is a businesswoman from the United Kingdom. Middleton was born in Perivale and raised in Southall, London, and attended state schools before working as a secretary. She worked as a flight attendant for British Airways until her marriage to Michael Middleton, a member of the Middleton family. In 1987, Middleton established Party Pieces, a mail-order party supply company.
She grew up in a small house in Southall, going to the local state schools. She dropped out of school when she was 16, but she quickly returned and earned four A Levels.
Who is Michael Middleton?
Michael Francis Middleton is a businessman from the United Kingdom. Middleton was born in Leeds and attended the University of Surrey. He went to work for British Airways as a flight dispatcher. He married Carole Goldsmith, the founder of Party Pieces, a mail-order party supply company, in 1980. Middleton joined his wife’s firm in 1989.
He spent his childhood in Moortown, Leeds. According to royal historian Robert Lacey, the Middleton family has aristocratic kinship, with Baroness Airedale being Middleton’s distant relative.
From the 1920s, the Middleton family, including Michael’s grandfather Richard Nol Middleton and his wife Olive, hosted members of the British royal family in Leeds.