15 Things We Did Not Know About Kate Middleton's Not So Royal Past

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Who is Kate Middleton? You may already know that she is the lovely and beautiful wife of His Royal Highness Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, who is second in line of succession to the throne after his father, Charles, the Prince of Wales. This makes Kate Middleton the Duchess of Cambridge, the Countess of Strathearn, and the Baroness of Carrickfergus. She is also the mother of Prince George and Princess Charlotte of Cambridge and is currently pregnant with the couple's third child.

However, aside from the Duchess' royal life, how much do you know Kate Middleton? Her complete and full name is Catherine Elizabeth Middleton, a commoner known by the public who got married to a royalty. Despite the fact that she is not born royal, Kate Middleton came from a privileged and wealthy family. Yes, she may be a commoner but the Middletons are also rich.

The Duchess, her parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, and her siblings, Pippa and James, were once a private family. Since Kate is now the wife of the Prince, the Middletons have become less private. Their fortune and lifestyle are watched by many people because they are eager to know more about Kate and her family.

Since they are commoners, you may not know how rich the Middletons actually are. The Middletons may not have the same luxurious life as the Royals but Michael and Carole Middleton, once a flight dispatcher and stewardess for British Airways, established roots through entrepreneurship and businesses, which led them to their financial success. They were able to provide a privileged life to their children Kate, James, and Pippa.

Now, let us take a look at the Middleton's fortune and how they spend it. Here are the things that you probably didn't know about how rich the Middletons really are.

Middletons' Net Worth

While Kate's net worth is estimated to be £7.5 million or $10.52 million, her parents, Michael and Carole, have an estimated net worth of £37.21 million or $52.2 million. This can be a real shocker for most people since the family is considered to be commoners but people who know them well know how hardworking and successful the Middletons are.

Michael was a flight dispatcher at British Airways when he met his wife, Carole, who was a flight attendant back then. However, when Carole was pregnant with Kate, she needed to quit her job and decided to start a business instead. Since then, the couple managed their businesses and other sources of profit to make a prosperous living, making them self-made millionaires.

Family Inheritance Of Wealth

In 2011, Daily Mail reported that the Middletons are related to the wealthy Yorkshire wool merchant, Francis Martineau Lupton. In fact, Lupton was Kate's paternal great-great-grandfather. As a wealthy wool merchant, Lupton left an estate amounting to £70,000 or $98,200 back in the year 1921, which is now worth $2.10 million. The generations before Michael set up series of trusts and inheritance to trickle down to their next generations. Lupton was very specific that the money should be used for the education of his descendants.

Aside from this inheritance dating back in 1921, Michael also received modest inheritances. The first one was in 2006 when he received $140,000 from his mother Valerie's estate. Michael also received $136,490 after the death of his father Peter, an airplane pilot.

Family Ties With The First President Of The United States

Middletons' ancestry is very rich. Aside from their close family ties to the late Yorkshire wool merchant Lupton, the Middleton family is also related to the late George Washington, the first ever president of the United States. Fret not, because Kate and her family are still Brits by blood and by heart. They only have a little blood related to Washington running through their bloodlines. Kate is an eighth cousin eight times removed from Washington.

As mentioned above, their ancestry is rich because aside from Washington, they are also related to the Lewis and Clark expedition's, Meriwether Lewis and U.S. Army General George S. Patton. Famous American names are not just the roots of the Middletons, they are also connected to the British filmmaker Guy Ritchie. Surprise!

Cars And Cars

They are not necessarily in love with cars but the Middletons do own quite a few cars. In 2010, pictures circulated online that they owned a Land Rover. In 2011, the same Land Rover was pictured driven by Kate with mother Carole in the passenger seat, leaving their home in Bucklebury. So yes, that is definitely their Land Rover. In addition, James is also fond of cars and was spotted driving a Range Rover with his family on the way to his nephew, Prince George's, Christening.

Pippa, on the other hand, showed love towards a getaway car during their wedding. Let's set aside the fact that her getaway car looked exactly like Kate's getaway car at her wedding. Pippa and James Matthew used a convertible Jaguar E-type sports car, which is one of most famous sports cars in the world.

Tennis Is Love!

The Middleton family is a very, very huge fan of tennis. There are no words to describe their fascination with the sport. More than just the love for the sport, they love the social aspect of it as well. In fact, they are members of Queen's Club in London. The annual membership costs a hefty $14,000. That is how much they love tennis!

The Queens's Club in London is a private club that exclusively hosts the annual tennis tournament, Queen's Club Championships. It is also so incredibly huge that it houses 28 outdoor courts and eight indoor courts. Given that the Queen's Club in London is definitely a tennis haven, it is not really a big shocker that the Middleton family considered a membership in the tennis club.

Holidays And Vacations

Just like any millionaires and well-to-do families, the Middleton family also loves holidays and vacations! While it is true that they focus on their business and their sources of incomes and profits, they still know how to take a break. They are not the typical "work hard, no play" businessmen and businesswomen. Instead, they are a "work hard, play hard" kind of family. They know how to relax and enjoy some quality time to bond with each other.

They are very fond of taking lavish and luxurious vacations. Do you want to know what their favorite holiday retreats are? They love to spend vacations at a five-bedroom villa in Mustique which costs $26,000 per week. Their other favorite destination is in Scotland, where they spend $64,000 per week for a homestay.

Adventurous Lifestyle

The Middletons may love tennis but they also love a variety of other sports and physical activities. Aside from having a lavish, relaxing vacation, the Middleton siblings are known for having the best active and adventurous holidays. For starters, they love skiing! Do you remember when Kate and the Prince were spotted during one of their ski journeys? But the most passionate skier is actually Pippa. She even had a secret skiing hen do party. Imagine how much would that cost!

Aside from skiing, Pippa and her brother James are avid cyclists. They spend time and effort traveling on their bicycles. They also invested quite a bit of money into their bicycles. It was reported that Pippa owns a $2,900 custom-built road bike. The siblings found a way to give back with their bicycle hobby, joining a charity cycle in 2014.

Education Is Important

Who could forget that Kate and Prince William met when they were still students in St. Andrew's Prep School? Kate may be a commoner but her parents decided to send her and her siblings to prestigious schools. With the help of the inheritance from the late Yorkshire wealthy wool merchant, Lupton, Michael and Carole were able to send their children to prestigious schools. They spent thousands to tens of thousands of dollar just to give the best education.

The tuition fee alone at St. Andrew's Prep School is $13,000 per year for one child. After prep school, the Middleton siblings moved up into the high circles of society by attending a respectable college. Their parents sent them to the famous and prestigious Marlborough College. They spent $41,000 yearly of each child's tuition fee.

Part Owners Of Sohraab

Aside from their interests in tennis and love for outdoor and active activities, the Middleton family also spends some of their fortunes getting involved with the Queen's hobby— horse racing. Michael and Carole bought a share in Sohraab, which is a racehorse, in 2006. Buying a share in a racehorse is shockingly expensive. Their enthusiasm towards horseracing became deeper when they bought a share in another racehorse, Blue Java.

Their racehorses bring the Middleton family hundreds of thousands of pounds every race. Luckily, Sohraab and Blue Java are fine racehorses who win a lot of the time. More than just money and wealth, the art of horseracing introduced new friends to the Middletons. These friends invite them to glamorous celebrations and balls. The Middletons love to attend their horseraces, earning hundreds and thousands of Great British Pounds every time. They invest only $560 on a monthly trainer fee, so you can see what good businessmen they really are.

They Are In The Party Business

Partying is in their blood but the Middletons are not party animals. Instead, partying is their business. It was when Carole was pregnant with Kate that she needed to stay home and leave her job at British Airways. Staying at home, she humbly began her small business back then called Party Pieces. She started making party bags for children's parties. She later expanded this into an online business specializing in novelty party goods. Party Pieces now brings in hundreds of thousands of customers each month.

Party Pieces is considered a family business. Carole established Party Pieces as a business where her children could play their part – James' personalized cakes, Kate's first birthday side, and Pippa's Party Pieces blogs. For more than 30 years now, Party Pieces is a successful business that the Middleton family can be proud of. Although it wasn’t clear how much the Middletons earn from the party company, it has paved their way to becoming the successful people that they are today.

James' Different Businesses

Just like his parents, James dropped out of the university to start a business. He also loves parties and he loves cakes! In the year 2011, James registered three new business names -- Nice Cakes Ltd., Nice Wine Ltd., and Nice Group London Ltd. at Companies House. He also started the Cake Kit Company as part of Party Pieces to help kids learn how to bake. These businesses failed to see success but James is full of hope.

In 2013, James started another business and this time, it was a hit! He founded Boomf, a company offering marshmallows with personalized messages and delivers personalized gifts through the letterbox. Does it sound odd? The British community thinks it's not. In fact, he garnered approximately $1.3 million from investors. This low-profile millionaire buys mansions worth $27.3 million and soon, he will be named as Laird of Glen Affric in Scotland. Now, this is James' success.

Pippa's Business Ventures

Pippa is such an intelligent woman and a business-minded person, just like her mother. You may know that Pippa loves writing and party planning but you may not know that she was the most successful Middleton between the years 2013 and 2014, where she earned over $257,000. She worked as a PR and Marketing Coordinator at Table Talk, the events company with elite clients like Tiffany & Co. Aside from her talents as a marketing coordinator, Pippa loves journalism! She has even published some books. However, rumor has it that her publishing company is on the brink of closing because Prince William allegedly told her that it could embarrass the royals.

Just like her mother, Pippa established a successful business. She registered PXM Enterprises in 2013, where she is the sole director. As registered, PXM Enterprises is specializing in publishing activities. The business has already garnered $272,000 upon its establishment.

Real Estate Is The Real Deal

Home sweet home! If you are earning tons of money, of course, you would like to live in a place where you can feel comfortable and safe. The Middletons did more than that. They invested in lands and real estate with security. As the reports said, Carole does not like building up big debts and that means they have little to no mortgage on their homes.

Both Michael and Carole are self-made millionaires. The Middletons are the owners of the Bucklebury Manor. This is an 18-acre land that roughly cost $6 million when the Michael and Carole bought the estate. More than that, they also bought acres of land near their Bucklebury home in 2005, which is estimated to be worth $380,000. That is not all! They bought a Chelsea home for their children, amounting to $1 million without a mortgage today. The Middleton’s were also the hosts of Pippa and James’ lavish wedding ceremony.

All About Fashion

Kate, Pippa, and their mother, Carole, scream that fashion is running in their veins whenever they dress up. Aside from their passion for planning parties and weddings, they are an inspiration for fashion. For instance, Kate just set another trend in 2018 when she wore a retro, vintage hairnet to keep her glamorous updos in place. The U.K. community just started buying these hairnets, boosting its sales by almost 40 percent. That is how influential Kate and her family are in terms of fashion.

The Middleton girls are always spotted wearing designer brands complete with jewelry, classy shoes, and sophisticated handbags. Just like Kate, the other Middleton girls know their own sense of style and spend a great deal of their money on fashionable items. One of Kate's outfits can cost up to $30,000!

Weddings: Royal Or Not?

Of course, the Middletons are known for weddings! The fairytale-like royal wedding of Kate and His Royal Highness Prince William is one of the most-talked weddings of all time. It was a wonderful and magical wedding! Of course, it was a very expensive wedding that cost around $12.9 million. Yes, the Royal Family was the one in-charge of covering the cost of the grand wedding but the Middletons made their own contribution. They chipped in $125,000 for their eldest daughter's wedding.

Pippa is not the hottest British bachelorette anymore because she recently married Eden Rock Management Group CEO, James Matthews. She tied the knot in May 20, 2017. Although her sister's royal wedding was far more expensive, Pippa's wedding was also grand and was estimated to cost at around $321,000. Just like in the royal wedding, the Middletons made their own contributions to the wedding.