Fans of the royals are wondering where Kate Middleton grew up. As we look at everything we know about her childhood.
Kate Middleton is mum of three to Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis with husband Prince William who is next in line to the throne in royal succession. She led a normal life growing up with her family, her parents Carole and Michael Middleton, sister Pippa, and younger brother James, and even had a few part-time jobs before she married royalty.
And with the return of the final sixth season of Netflix show The Crown, their relationship is portrayed from the very start of their love story so it comes as no surprise that fans are keen to find out more about the Princess's life before...
Where did Kate Middleton grow up?
Kate Middleton grew up in the village of Bucklebury, in Berkshire – according to the Domesday book it appears as Borgeldeberie, which means "Burghild's fortified place or borough" ("Burghild" is a woman's name). But she spent her early years living at West View in Bradfield Southend, Berkshire. Kate's parents Carole and Michael Middleton are said to have bought the two-bedroom semi-detached home for £34,700 before living temporarily overseas in Amman, Jordan between 1984 and 1986, when her dad Michael had to relocate for work.
The Middletons returned to the UK in 1986 and a year later the youngest member of the family, James Middleton, was born making them a family of five with older sister Pippa Middleton. Kate attended Bradfield Church of England primary school which happened to be located just next door and she also went to Brownies at the village church hall nearby.
Kate and Pippa would regularly play sports and do needlework and were described as "quite easygoing" by Brownie pack leader June Scutter: "They were just ordinary children, nothing different from any others," and People released exclusive photos of Kate as an eight-year-old Brownie.
In 1995, they moved to a five-bedroom home called Oak Acre, located at The Avenue, Bucklebury, Berkshire. This home is shown in The Crown and has an English-style red brick exterior and Georgian-style windows and sits within one-and-a-half acre grounds.
During Kate's university years at St Andrew's, she would have returned home here during the holidays and it is the family home she is likely to have brought Prince William home to when they were dating. CNN reported that Prince William landed a Chinook helicopter next door to Oak Acre and reported that it was "normally used for transporting troops",
Not long after Prince William and Kate Middleton got married in 2012, the Middleton family moved to a home called Bucklebury Manor, a grade II listed manor house that reportedly cost £4.7 million and since then it has been the home of Michael and Carole Middleton, the parents of the Princess of Wales as they sought more privacy after being welcomed into the Royal Family.
General views of the Oak Acre house where the parents of Kate Middleton, Michael and Carole Middleton lived in on November 24, 2010
Kate Middleton's childhood home
The childhood home of Kate Middleton was called West View and is pictured in the village of Bradfield Southend, Berkshire. Kate's parents Michael and Carole bought the red-bricked, four-bedroomed property in the village of Bradfield Southend, southeast England, in 1979 and raised their three children in the property. She lived there until she was 13. But in 2011 Kate's childhood home went up for sale for almost £500,000, just weeks before her wedding to Prince William. At the time an estate agent told The Express, "It looks a bit lopsided, doesn’t it? There’s a lovely back garden – properly dog-proofed and very mature, though not quite big enough for landing a Chinook helicopter."
On a special episode of Giovanna Fletcher's podcast Happy Mum, Happy Baby, Kate said: "I had a very happy childhood. It was great fun – I’m very lucky, I’ve come from a very strong family – my parents were hugely dedicated to us – my siblings. I really appreciate now as a parent how much they sacrificed for us.
She continued, "They would come to every sports match — I was very keen on sport — they’d be the ones on the side-line shouting and we’d always have our family holidays together.”
"But I think the things that really resonate with me most are the simple things and actually I see that now with my own children, life now is so busy, so distracting and actually sometimes the simple things like watching a fire on a really rainy day provides such enjoyment."
The childhood home of Kate Middleton pictured in the village of Bradfield Southend, Berkshire
Was Kate Middleton rich before marriage?
Kate Middleton was technically a commoner before she married Prince William and while it's not known if she was rich, she comes from a wealthy family. Up until 2023, the Middletons owned a popular party supply business called Party Pieces and earlier that year their shared net worth was estimated at £39.5 million.
Kate worked in the fashion industry, having worked in a fashion retailer from 2006-2007 as a procurer of jewellery and later for her family's party supply business.
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