Princess Kate had a very normal job before marrying into the Royal Family, one she admits to being ‘terrible’ at. She took the role to earn some extra money at university
Princess Kate’s journey into the royal fold was a landmark moment in the monarchy’s history, but life looked rather different before she married Prince William.
While Kate enjoyed a privileged upbringing – attending exclusive private schools and growing up in the picturesque Berkshire village of Bucklebury – her parent’s fortune was entirely self-made, which meant that the now-Princess of Wales was the first ‘commoner’ from outside the aristocracy to marry into the Firm for centuries.
You might not imagine that the future Queen and an everyday minimum-wage job go hand in hand, and Kate may well be the first future Queen to have this type of role on her CV – even if by her own admission, her skills in the job left quite a lot to be desired.
Kate once worked as a waitress to earn some extra cash while at university. She revealed this briefly held gig to Mary Berry, admitting it didn’t go so well.
During A Berry Royal Christmas – a BBC special released in 2019 – Kate helped Mary make a tray of cranberry mocktails and the festive activity jogged her memory.
“Reminds me of my university days when I did a bit of waitressing,” Kate revealed, and Mary quickly asked her how her skills had matched up in role: “Were you good?”
Kate quickly dissolved into laughter and admitted, “No, I was terrible.” While the senior royal didn’t divulge which restaurant is lucky enough to boast the future Queen as its former employee, she attended the University of St Andrews in Scotland, which is where she met William her future husband.
She graduated with a 2:1 (Hons) in Art History, before moving back down south and living in London with her sister Pippa, where she began a career in fashion, working at high-street retailer Jigsaw as a part-time accessories buyer.
When it was announced in 2010 that she would be officially joining the Royal Family and was engaged to Prince William, Kate had to put her previous career aspirations aside, but now dedicates a lot of time to charity work.
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