What you can learn from Kate Middleton

How thin is too thin? Not even Kate Middleton has escaped the thorny debate.

The future Princess evoked quite a debate on her recent visit to Northern Ireland, flaunting her slimmer than usual figure (see the image on the right). While Middleton appeared to be in good health, many commented that she looked gaunt. Old pics of Kate flaunting a white bikini during a 2006 holiday in Spain with Prince William have resurfaced online.

Whether or not Prince William's fiancée is trying to lose weight before the big day, we advise her to not lose anymore. She looked perfect this way!
Here's a peek into the Duchess of Cambridge's life.

Early years: Born on January 9, 1982, Catherine Elizabeth Middleton comes from new money. The rise of the Middleton family has been hailed by many in the British Press as the triumph of social mobility. Kate's parents were working and middle-class, mother Carole a flight attendant and father Michael a pilot. The family mail order business, Party Pieces, launched by Carole Middleton from their home in Berkshire, founded the family's wealth and gave their daughter entry into higher social circles.

Kate has a younger sister, Pippa, and brother, James and theirs was an affluent upbringing- private schools, luxury holidays. The early life of the soon-to-be royal is closely guarded but rare insights show a largely level life with few hiccups.

Goody-two-shoes: Through her school years, Kate gained the reputation of a kind, down-to-earth girl with a quiet seriousness about her. Never the one to touch a smoke, Kate, unlike her contemporaries, liked late-night partying but was seldom drunk. You would never see her falling out of a club. She was a future public figure in the making.

The ‘pushy' mom: When it was time to choose a university, Kate's mother (often dubbed by the tabloid press and Royal watchers as the ‘pushy Mrs Middleton') convinced her to attend St. Andrew's College in Scotland, where incidentally Prince William was due too.

Study buddies: A young and attractive Kate soon struck up a friendship with the prince. Their mutual love for sports and shared accommodation (both placed in St Salvator's residence) gave them ample opportunity to spend a lot of time together.

In his second year of study (2002), Kate and William, along with two other friends, moved into a flat together and this was the first time she was identified by the media. At that time, she was rumoured to be dating someone else.

The mother and the lover: Mature and calm, it was Kate's solemn exterior that drew William towards her first. Just five months older than him, she was indeed the one who persuaded him to stay at the university when he considered quitting in the first year. But it was her girly charm that he really fell for. Recalling how she and William first met, she said: “I actually think I went bright red when I met you and sort of scuttled off, feeling very shy about meeting you.”

The sheer black dress plays its part in history: In an event touted by many as the royal starting to the romance, William paid 200 pounds for a front-row charity ticket to watch his roommate model a see-through dress over black underwear. Suddenly, the young prince was seeing his friend in a whole new light, “Wow, Kate's hot,” was the comment he reportedly made then. The dress, made by a fellow student for 30 pounds, later sold at an auction for a staggering 78,000 pounds.

BFFs: Not yet dating, in April 2002, William and Kate moved into a student house with two other friends. Kate is dating another student. In May 2003, William and Kate are pictured deep in conversation at a rugby match. In June the same year, Kate attended William's 21st birthday party at Windsor Castle. In September, the third year of university, William, Kate and their two flatmates moved into a cottage and around Christmas 2003, William and Kate began dating.

Romance goes public: The couple managed to keep the romance under wraps for long. But in 2004, the media got its juicy bit when they were snapped skiing on the slopes of Klosters, Switzerland. There is no denying a romance now!

African safari: The party continued for William and Kate well after their graduation from St Andrews University when in July 2005, they took the now famous romantic break at the Lewa Downs game reserve in Kenya. The holiday set off media frenzy and in October 2005, Kate's lawyers told photographers to back off, and stop‘hounding' her.

Throw caution to the winds: Despite the warning, William is photographed kissing Kate in public for the first time during a skiing break in Switzerland in January 2006. In March, Kate found a place in the Royal Box at the Cheltenham Gold Cup horse race. The couple were off for another holiday next month to the Caribbean hideaway island of Mustique. They are photographed on a yacht together.

After attending the wedding of the Prince's stepsister, Laura Parker Bowles, the daughter of Camilla, the wife of Prince Charles, William and Kate were off on another holiday to Ibiza, ahead of William's final term at Sandhurst.

In December that year Kate capped her year with William with her most significant appearance yet -William's passing-out parade at Sandhurst, along with her parents.

Temporary split: With William starting Army training at Dorset and Kate living in London, the couple confirmed a split in April 2007, with his move to the army camp given as a reason for the 'mutual' decision. Some say this brief split was more to give Kate a chance to adjust to the limelight, in a way to protect her from the media frenzy his mother Princess Di was thrust in, without proper training.

Making up: In June 2007 William and Kate were spotted kissing and dancing at an Army party. Her presence at a memorial concert in honour of his mother, the late Princess Diana, confirmed that all was well in William-Kate's paradise. In April 2008, as Kate appeared at William's side at his graduation ceremony from the Royal Air Force, it was clear that the couple's relationship was now permanent and that she had gained the approval of senior royals. Author of the book "William and Harry", Katie Nicholl says the couple made a secret pact when they reconciled in 2007 to eventually get married, after Middleton let it be known that she needed some assurance they had a future together. William swore his undying love for her and promised her marriage.

Serious love: In June 2008, Kate appeared at the Order of the Garter service at Windsor Castle in which William took part. It is the first time she has appeared at a formal and official royal public occasion. That year Prince William marked his 26th birthday by playing in a charity polo match, with his brother, Harry, and Kate watching. The couple ended the year with a holiday at the royal retreat of Birkhall, on the queen's Balmoral estate in Scotland. In May 2009 the couple are pictured together for the first time in five months at a polo match. In December that year the Queen's lawyers warn newspapers against publishing paparazzi photos of the royal family, fueling speculation that William and Kate would announce their plans to marry.

In 2010, Kate Middleton finally wins the waiting game. First with a New Year break to Birkhall and two weeks later, Kate attends William's graduation as a helicopter pilot. In March the couple holiday with Kate's family on the slopes of Courchevel, France. In October 2010 - Kate and William are photographed attending the wedding of a friend.

Princess-in-waiting: The last laugh is hers as the royal engagement is announced. A week later, the wedding date is set for April 29, 2011 and the girl-next-door's future is now set, entrenched in history.