Kate Middleton: Style icon, royal mommy

Kate grew up in Chapel Row at Bucklebury, a village near Newbury, Berkshire, England.

Britain's Prince William and wife Catherine Middleton welcomed a baby boy at St Mary's Hospital in London. The child is destined to be the country's future monarch.

The couple, officially known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, married in April 2011.

As we wait to catch a glimpse of Kate and the royal baby, here is a look at her life.

She studied in Scotland at the University of St Andrews, where she met the then Prince William of Wales in 2001.

Kate and William broke up briefly in 2007. The two continued to remain friends and later rekindled their relationship.

Prince William and Kate Middleton were engaged after an eight-year courtship. The official announcement was made in November 2010, after William proposed to Kate on holiday in Kenya the previous month.

Kate walked the aisle on April 29, 2011 at the Westminster Abbey and stepped into the pages of royal and fashion history forever. Her new title was Duchess of Cambridge.

Ahead, we take a look at some of her most stylish appearances in 2012.

In February 2012, the Duchess of Cambridge paid a solo visit to a charity in Liverpool devoted to helping recovering addicts. Kate wore a coat over her black dress.

Later in March 2012, the Duchess smashed home a goal as she played a bit of field hockey while she visited the British Olympic women's team at Olympic Park.

The Duchess of Cambridge, who captained the hockey team at her high school Marlborough College, took the field in a morale-boosting mission ahead of the London Olympic Games last year.

In April 2012, Prince William and Kate were guests of honour at the UK premiere of Disneynature's African Cats.

Kate was stunning in a stone grey turquoise encrusted Matthew Williamson peplum dress.

In May 2012, the Duchess of Cambridge Catherine looked gorgeous in teal gown Jenny Packham, one of her favourite designers, at a gala to mark the countdown to the London Olympic Games. She wore Jimmy Choo 'Vamp' heels to go with her elegant dress.

In June 2012, Kate Middleton looked elegant in a green dress coat with a chocolate brown hat as she presented shamrocks to members of the First Battalion Irish Guards to mark St Patrick's Day in Aldershot. She also wore an Irish Guards brooch that belonged to the Queen Mother.

The Duchess of Cambridge, stole the show in June again as Queen Elizabeth II led a motley but majestic flotilla of more than 1,000 vessels in a waterborne pageant to mark her Diamond Jubilee on the River Thames in London.

Kate wore a vibrant red Alexander McQueen dress. She topped it off with a red maple leaf hat by Sylvia Fletcher.

Kate Middleton made a spectacular solo appearance at the UK Creative Industries reception hosted by the British Government in July 2012. She smiled serenely in an elegant pale grey dress by designer Roksanda Ilincic.

She was classic and understated, a side-chignon and earrings by Kiki McDonough completed her polished appearance.

In August 2012, the Duchess of Cambridge, attended the London Olympics closing ceremony wearing the same blue Whistles dress she wore to the Diamond Jubilee concert in June 2012.

This time, Kate ditched the black blazer she had added to the outfit the first time round.

In September 2012, Kate and William met Singapore's President Tony Tan and his wife Mary Chee at the Istana Presidential Palace in Singapore.

Kate looks simply stunning in a floral print dress.

Prince William and Kate swayed with the locals on the Tuvalu islands during the last leg of their Far East and South Pacific tour in September 2012. Dressed in a colourful skirt gifted by the locals, Kate looked very happy as she danced with her Prince Charming.

In November 2012, Kate Middleton looked stunning in a floor-length gown by British label Alice Temperley at the reception and dinner function in aid of the University of St. Andrews 600th anniversary appeal in London. A closer look at the gown reminded us that we had seen Kate in the same gown earlier in 2012.

For once, Kate Middleton's dress wasn't the focus of attention as she opened the new Treasures Gallery at the Natural History Museum in London in November 212. Lovely though the green silk dress from Mulberry was, all eyes were on the Duchess of Cambridge's new fringed hairdo, very similar to the loose curls made famous by Charlie's Angel Farrah Fawcett. Kate's silky locks were styled by her favourite hairdresser, Richard Ward.

After weeks of pregnancy rumours, in December last year it was finally made official that Prince William and Kate were expecting their first child.

In December 2012, a glowing and pregnant Kate Middleton attended the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year Awards in London.

She looked gorgeous in a green dress with a slit by Alexander McQueen.