host to members of the British royal family in the 1920s through to the 1940s. Her mother's family are descended from coal miners, and have been described as working-class. She has a younger sister, Philippa, and a younger brother, James. The family moved from Bradfield Southend, Berkshire, to Amman, Jordan, in May 1984, where her father worked for British Airways. Middleton attended an English-language nursery school. When her family returned to Berkshire in September 1986, she was enrolled aged four at St Andrew's School, a private school near Pangbourne in Berkshire. She boarded part-weekly at St Andrew's in her later years. In 1995, the Middletons moved to the village of Bucklebury. She studied at Downe House School. She was a boarder at Marlborough College, a co-educational independent boarding school in Wiltshire; Middleton showed talent in sports and was captain of the women's field hockey team. While at Marlborough, she underwent an operation on the left side of her head, reportedly to remove a lump. She obtained three A-Levels in 2000, with an 'A' in mathematics, an 'A' in art, and a 'B' in English. Despite being offered a seat at the University of Edinburgh, she took a gap year, studying at the British Institute of Florence in Italy and travelling to Chile to participate in a Raleigh International programme. She worked as a deckhand at the Port of Southampton in the summer preceding university. Middleton subsequently enrolled at University of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland, studying history of art. She briefly studied psychology before focusing solely on art history. She worked part-time as a waitress during her studies. While attending university, she achieved a gold Duke of Edinburgh Award. Middleton was an active member of The Lumsden Club, which held fundraisers and community projects each year. In 2005, Middleton graduated from the University of St Andrews with an undergraduate MA (2:1 Hons) in the history of art. In November 2006, Middleton commenced part-time work for twelve months as an accessory buyer with the clothing chain Jigsaw. In 2007, she curated a photography exhibition to mark the book launch of "Time to Reflect", by Alistair Morrison, to raise funds for UNICEF. In 2008, Middleton made several trips to Naomi's House Hospice, where she brought gifts and read to children. Later that year, she organised an '80s-themed roller disco fundraiser which raised £100,000, split between Oxford Children's Hospital, for the construction of