First Impressions
Middleton models on the catwalk at a student fashion show in 2002. The show was attended by Prince William, whose eye she certainly caught — he supposedly spent the best part of $400 on a front seat and saw this see-through lace dress. This image was very much the exception for Catherine Elizabeth Middleton, who was born into a middle-class family in Bucklebury, Berkshire, on Jan. 9, 1982. Her parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, continue to run a mail-order business selling toys and games for children's parties from a converted barn close to their home.

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