Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge GCVO (Catherine Elizabeth Middleton) is a member of the British royal family. Her husband, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, is second in the line of succession to the British throne, making Catherine a likely future queen consort.
Born in Reading, she grew up in the village of Bucklebury in the English county of 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 of Cambridge—are third, fourth, and fifth in the line of succession to the British throne, respectively.
Since her marriage, she has undertaken royal duties and engagements in support of the Queen. The Duchess of Cambridge 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, the Duchess envisioned the mental health awareness campaign "Heads Together", launched with the Duke and Prince Harry in April 2016. The media have called Catherine's impact on British and American fashion the "Kate Middleton effect". In 2012 and 2013, Time magazine selected her as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.
