[THREAD] In this thread, we talk about the line of brilliant women in the Middleton family from the Duchess of Cambridge herself to her great grandmother Olive Lupton Middleton

Olive Lupton (Great Grandmother of The Duchess) was born in 1881 and grew up at Rockland on the family's estate in Potternewton. She was educated at Roedean & was accepted to study at Cambridge University but remained at home with her father & studied locally at Yorkshire College

In 1909, Olive Lupton was a member of the executive committee of the Leeds Association of Girls' Clubs, and the Appeal Committee for the enlargement and improvement of Leeds General Infirmary Nurses' Home (Olive pictured - Far right)

In 1910, Olive was honorary secretary of the West Riding Ladies' Club.

1914, she married solicitor Richard Noel Middleton and during the First World War, she lived at Gledhow Hall, where she volunteered to work as a V.A.D. nurse and her husband was fighting on the Western Front

Newspapers from December 1933 record that Olive was a committee member of "The Infirmary Appeal" - an appeal in which the Princess Royal (at the time - Princess Mary) agreed to to become Patron of – supporting the fundraising for the Leeds Infirmary.

Valerie Glassborow (The Duchess’s Grandmother) was born in 1924 to bank manager Frederick Glassborow and Constance Robinson. She and her twin sister Mary grew up in France & were bilingual. Valerie worked at the Second World War Government Code & Cypher School in Bletchley Park

Valerie's team at Bletchley Park intercepted the message that Japan were going to surrender & had to keep it secret until Geneva had sent the message to London.

She also served as a Voluntary Aid Detachment Nurse with the @BritishRedCross in WW2 and at the age of 22 she married pilot instructor Peter Middleton, son of Olive Lupton

“I had an amazing granny who devoted a lot of time to us, playing with us, doing arts & crafts and going to the greenhouse to do gardening with us."- The Duchess

“I had a wonderful role model in Mike’s mother, who I tried to emulate."- Carole Middleton

(Pictured in the Middle)

Carole Goldsmith (The Duchess’s Mother) was born in 1955 in London to Dorothy Harrison & Ronald Goldsmith. She spent her early years in a small house attending the local state schools. Carole received 4 A-Levels but was unable to go to university as her parents couldn’t afford it

After her A-Levels she instead went and worked as a secretary and after brushing up her French, she got a job as ground staff at British Airways where she met flight dispatcher Michael Middleton (son of Valerie). At the time, Carole was recorded as working as a stewardess

The couple were married in 1980 and had 3 children, Catherine, Philippa and James. In 1986, they returned to Berkshire from Jordan where they had lived for 2.5 years and in 1987, Carole established Party Pieces, a company which began by making party bags

The company now sells party supplies and decorations by mail order. In 1995, Carole grew the firm and its popularity necessitated its headquarters be moved to a a larger building. Their popular company and Michaels trust fund inherited from his...

...grandmother Olive resulted in Carole & Michael being classed as millionaires.

Because of her hard work, Carole was able to send her children to private schools, give them the best education & buy beautiful homes for them to live in. Her business is now worth around £38m

Catherine Elizabeth Middleton was born at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading on 9th of January 1982. She went to various private schools before studying at the University of St Andrews.

(Baby Catherine pictured with her mother Carole)

Before university, she travelled to Chile to participate in a Raleigh International programme, and studied at the British Institute of Florence in Italy. She graduated in 2005 from the University of St Andrews in Scotland, with an undergraduate MA (2:1 Hons) in the history of art

Catherine then worked as an accessory buyer with the clothing chain Jigsaw, where she worked part-time until November 2007. She also worked until January 2011 at the family business in catalogue design and production, marketing, and photography.

Catherine was also very passionate about the early years and spent a lot of her free time fundraising and hosting events for different charitable causes. After marrying Prince William in 2011, she carried on championing projects for early years through her work and patronages

Over the years, she has created programmes, projects and initiatives which have helped transform so many lives. She is also a strong force in the mental health space and has been dubbed as the “Most Important Woman in the World” when it comes to Children’s Mental Health.

In the family tree below, we have highlighted the women in this thread so you’re able to trace the line from which these brilliant women came.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this thread and have learnt something new