Who is Carole Middleton?
Carole is the mother of Princess Kate, Pippa Middleton and James Middleton.
The mother of the most famous sisters in the land was born Carole Elizabeth Goldsmith on 31 January 1955. She was the daughter of a builder named Ronald and his wife Dorothy and also had a brother named Gary, ten years her junior.
The family initially lived in a council flat in Southall, London, before buying their own home in nearby Norwood Green, a more prosperous area. Fresh-faced, hardworking and pleasant, Carole was taken on as an air hostess by British airways.
Who is she married to?
During her time at British Airways, Carole met Michael Middleton, a steward who was later promoted to be a flight dispatcher. They tied the knot in 1980 at St James Church in Dorney, Buckinghamshire, followed by a reception in Dorney Court, a sumptuous Tudor mansion.
According to the Telegraph her cousin Ann said: "She had everything it was possible to have… They even had a horse and carriage."
Carole and Michael welcomed their first child Catherine Elizabeth in 1982. "I remember when she phoned to say she was expecting a baby. The whole house just erupted," said her little brother Gary. Kate was followed by Philippa Charlotte in 1983 and James in 1987.
What is their family business?
Mum-of-three Carole launched her business Party Pieces with her husband Michael Middleton after planning eldest daughter Kate's fifth birthday party and finding the partyware on the market lacking.
Juggling school runs and ferrying the girls to Brownies, she realised many a harassed mum would welcome pre-filled party bags for children's celebrations.
By 1995, the firm was being run by both parents and was moved into a range of farm buildings. The couple did so well they could afford a £800,000 flat in Chelsea, holidays in Mustique and a share in a racehorse. Nearly two decades, later the self-made businesswoman was poised to take a new role – that of grandma to the world's most famous baby.
