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Kate: Kate Middleton. Claudia Joseph
With her glossy dark hair, classic looks, natural appearance and cut-glass accent, Kate Middleton displays all the poise and breeding expected from the wife-to-be of the heir to the throne. Sophisticated beyond her years, Kate has charmed William's louche circle of friends as well as the House of Windsor. Yet behind her polished veneer lies the extraordinary tale of an impoverished working-class family that overcame deprivation and adversity to rise to the upper echelons of society.
Claudia Joseph has spoken to members of Kate's family and friends, who have provided an intriguing insight into the extraordinary journey her family has made from the mining villages of Durham to the gates of Buckingham Palace.
Drawing on exclusive interviews and containing previously unpublished photographs, this is the authoritative account of Kate Middleton's life so far.
Claudia Joseph has spoken to members of Kate's family and friends, who have provided an intriguing insight into the extraordinary journey her family has made from the mining villages of Durham to the gates of Buckingham Palace.
Drawing on exclusive interviews and containing previously unpublished photographs, this is the authoritative account of Kate Middleton's life so far.
271 pages, Paperback
First published November 18, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
September 20, 2015
I'm getting tired of non-fiction books being titled NOTHING like what the book is actually about. I thought this book: THE MAKING OF A PRINCESS would be about how Kate's childhood, parents, schooling, activities prepared her for the role of princess. Maybe she earned awards for speech-making in school or came out of her shyness thru a special technique her mother thought of. Nope.
The second section of the book (about Kate) was all about the gossip. In fact it wasn't even new, or better gossip. The author was only looking at the gossip papers to get her story. She admits this by saying things like: the couple went here and here and did this, or maybe they just stayed in their rooms. I thought this was a book where the princess and her parents and other relatives were interviewed to tell funny, poignant or interesting stories about her life and how they will help her in her new role.
The first section of the book was a genealogy of Kate's family tree. It was interesting at the beginning to see where her family came from and how they were living at the time of Victoria, the Prince's royal grand parent. Unfortunately they put the family time line at the back of the book (where i didn't see it til half way thru, when i was flipping thru the book for some reason) instead of in the front where I could refer to it as needed. This genealogy part of the book was too long.
I thought maybe it would talk about some of Kate's views and ideas of what she thinks it's important for the royal family to do, how she plans to raise her children etc. Or at least WHY she would make a good princess/ queen.
I was not interested in what parties she went to, or where she spent her vacations ( i was interested in William's vacation to do volunteer work, tho) or what clothes she wore. That stuff is for the gossip pages, for people interested in it. Why would i care what she wore to a sporting event 3 years ago?
The second section of the book (about Kate) was all about the gossip. In fact it wasn't even new, or better gossip. The author was only looking at the gossip papers to get her story. She admits this by saying things like: the couple went here and here and did this, or maybe they just stayed in their rooms. I thought this was a book where the princess and her parents and other relatives were interviewed to tell funny, poignant or interesting stories about her life and how they will help her in her new role.
The first section of the book was a genealogy of Kate's family tree. It was interesting at the beginning to see where her family came from and how they were living at the time of Victoria, the Prince's royal grand parent. Unfortunately they put the family time line at the back of the book (where i didn't see it til half way thru, when i was flipping thru the book for some reason) instead of in the front where I could refer to it as needed. This genealogy part of the book was too long.
I thought maybe it would talk about some of Kate's views and ideas of what she thinks it's important for the royal family to do, how she plans to raise her children etc. Or at least WHY she would make a good princess/ queen.
I was not interested in what parties she went to, or where she spent her vacations ( i was interested in William's vacation to do volunteer work, tho) or what clothes she wore. That stuff is for the gossip pages, for people interested in it. Why would i care what she wore to a sporting event 3 years ago?
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February 12, 2015Synopsis from Borders.com: Kate Middleton is the girl everyone wants to be. Catherine Elizabeth 'Kate' Middleton is living a perfect Cinderella fairy tale. She is engaged to Britain's most desirable bachelor�and now she's the future queen of England!\nBased on exclusive and intimate interviews with Kate's closest friends and relatives, and illustrated throughout with photographs, many published here for the very first time, Claudia Joseph's Kate: The Making of a Princess is a fascinating portrait of the extraordinary young woman who will be queen�and the story of a family's remarkable journey from the mining villages of Durham to an apartment in the royal residence of Clarence House.\nMy disclaimer is that I read this as a digital book. So some of my issues with the book may or may not be a result of that.\nI was looking forward to reading this book (since I have a mild obsession with all things royal) but finished it feeling rather disappointed and unsatisfied. It says the book is based on exclusive and intimate interviews. I�m not sure how valid that is. There were a few quotes from friends and great aunts and second/third cousins, etc. But I don�t know how intimate those �interviews� were. And most of the material seemed like information you could have gathered from the society pages.\nAlso, the chronology of the book was not okay. It kept jumping back and forth and back again between generations and branches of the family tree. Now, this is one issue with it being in digital form: apparently there was a diagram of Kate�s family tree in the back of the book. That would have been more than helpful to reference throughout the reading. However, since it was digital I didn�t know it was there until I�d finished my reading.\nEven with Prince William and Kate�s relationship, the narrative would bounce around in time, often repeating events that had already been covered.\nThis is the first book I�ve read on the current Princess Catherine. My advice is to skip it and pick a different biography to get your royal info fix. There is a plethora of them to choose from.
April 8, 2012
Total trash reading. So unlike me! :-)
Everyone has their celebrity fixation, and I'll admit it: mine is the royal family.
The first half or so of the book is a relatively detailed history of Kate's lineage, tracing both sides of her family back into the 1600s. It reads kind of like an episode of "Who Do You Think You Are," pointing out random famous people who Kate is distantly related to (like Sir John Gielgud and the Spencer family). It felt like nearly all of the chapters ended with a dumb line like "and they never could have imagined that their great-great-great-great granddaughter would someday marry the heir to the throne!". The second part of the book is, basically, a long tabloid article, detailing (inasmuch as details are known) Kate and William's relationship, from the time they met at St. Andrews through their engagement. It seems like the book would have been well-served to at least wait until *after* their wedding to publish it (and get in all of that wedding-related gossip) but I suppose there was probably something to be said for getting out The First Biography Of The New Princess! In any case, because I do (she admits with some embarrassment) read royal gossip, there wasn't really anything in here I hadn't heard before.
It seems kind of besides the point to assign any stars to this book at all: it is what it is, you know?
Everyone has their celebrity fixation, and I'll admit it: mine is the royal family.
The first half or so of the book is a relatively detailed history of Kate's lineage, tracing both sides of her family back into the 1600s. It reads kind of like an episode of "Who Do You Think You Are," pointing out random famous people who Kate is distantly related to (like Sir John Gielgud and the Spencer family). It felt like nearly all of the chapters ended with a dumb line like "and they never could have imagined that their great-great-great-great granddaughter would someday marry the heir to the throne!". The second part of the book is, basically, a long tabloid article, detailing (inasmuch as details are known) Kate and William's relationship, from the time they met at St. Andrews through their engagement. It seems like the book would have been well-served to at least wait until *after* their wedding to publish it (and get in all of that wedding-related gossip) but I suppose there was probably something to be said for getting out The First Biography Of The New Princess! In any case, because I do (she admits with some embarrassment) read royal gossip, there wasn't really anything in here I hadn't heard before.
It seems kind of besides the point to assign any stars to this book at all: it is what it is, you know?
May 8, 2011
Kate: The Making of a Princess begins very much like a family history of Kate's early relatives dating back to the early 1800s. If you like genealogy, you will like reading this book as the beginning is nothing like any other royal biography. While I applaud the amount of research that had to go into this book, since there was not much written about her relatives it does tend to read more like a series of facts (name, date of birth, occupation, who they married... next person) than like a story. However, they do tie in a lot of historical detail to paint a descent picture of what life would have been like as a coal miner in 1840, for example. The second half of the book is more like a typical royal biography. While Joseph ties in events in Kate’s life that correspond to what William was experiencing around the same time the focus is still on Kate – which is more than can be said of other biographies that claim to be about Kate but end up retelling Diana’s final days.
February 25, 2012
Details at my blog
The first part of the book was Kate Middleton's ancestry, and though it was sometimes hard to keep all the names straight, it gave an interesting overview of English history from the point of view of ordinary people (coal mines, diseases, world wars, etc).
The second half was mostly Kate's life, and the last bit more about Kate's social life. I was surprised at how often it would mention Kate and William doing exactly the same thing (e.g. William's hanging out with his friends, Kate's hanging out with hers), but William's excursion would be framed as cutting loose and having a good time, while Kate's was framed as consoling herself by hanging out with her friends or positioning herself so that William would know she could have fun without him or whatever. That brought the book down to 2.5 stars for me. It just seemed so...unnecessary.
The first part of the book was Kate Middleton's ancestry, and though it was sometimes hard to keep all the names straight, it gave an interesting overview of English history from the point of view of ordinary people (coal mines, diseases, world wars, etc).
The second half was mostly Kate's life, and the last bit more about Kate's social life. I was surprised at how often it would mention Kate and William doing exactly the same thing (e.g. William's hanging out with his friends, Kate's hanging out with hers), but William's excursion would be framed as cutting loose and having a good time, while Kate's was framed as consoling herself by hanging out with her friends or positioning herself so that William would know she could have fun without him or whatever. That brought the book down to 2.5 stars for me. It just seemed so...unnecessary.
July 15, 2014
This is one of the books where the only reason why I continued to read it is because I was bored. Hence the reason why it took me long.
Anyway, this book in one word: boooooring. I skipped the first hundred pages, because honestly, who is really that interested to read about Kate's ancestors like a few hundred years ago. If I could care less about this woman, I could give no shit about where she came from.
What I found so hilarious with this book is that compared to the other Kate books I read, everything is sugarcoated to make it seem like this woman is perfect and that she has done nothing but everything right in her path to be a princess. Unlike other books, it showed that Kate is human, this one, much like a female robot forced to feel.
Two stars for my patience to finish this book.
Anyway, this book in one word: boooooring. I skipped the first hundred pages, because honestly, who is really that interested to read about Kate's ancestors like a few hundred years ago. If I could care less about this woman, I could give no shit about where she came from.
What I found so hilarious with this book is that compared to the other Kate books I read, everything is sugarcoated to make it seem like this woman is perfect and that she has done nothing but everything right in her path to be a princess. Unlike other books, it showed that Kate is human, this one, much like a female robot forced to feel.
Two stars for my patience to finish this book.
May 6, 2011
This felt like two seperate books. The first part was largely about Kate's more distant ancestors. It bounced between what was going on in their lives, as commoners, and what was going on in the royal family at the same time, which was a really neat historical perspective.
The second half of the book read like a long tabloid article on Kate's like - where she ate, who she hung out with, etc. I wouldn't call it a good biography but it considering I hadn't really kept up with the Kate/William story until they announced their engagement it was new to me and a fun read.
The second half of the book read like a long tabloid article on Kate's like - where she ate, who she hung out with, etc. I wouldn't call it a good biography but it considering I hadn't really kept up with the Kate/William story until they announced their engagement it was new to me and a fun read.
April 9, 2013
This book was semi-interesting. I think the general consensus in America is that she's sweet and innocent and well dressed. This book sheds some light on the Royal's consistent enjoyment of clubs and partying. I honestly don't respect her as much after reading this. Ignorance was bliss for me. Also, the first five chapters are tireless amounts of genealogy that I ended up skipping. Unless you're very curious about Kate up until being married, I wouldn't recommend this book.
August 31, 2015
Read my full thoughts over at Read.Write.Repeat.
Saccharine and practically giddy, this biography seemed more of a fan's ravings than a look at the real person and life behind the public eye; but, it was still about Kate, so I can't hate it completely.
Saccharine and practically giddy, this biography seemed more of a fan's ravings than a look at the real person and life behind the public eye; but, it was still about Kate, so I can't hate it completely.
May 8, 2011
Enjoyed this! The first half is basically a "Who Do You Think You Are" of Kate Middleton and the second a potted history of her courtship with Prince William (or, at least, the bits the author could get hold of)!
Glimpses into many different worlds!
Glimpses into many different worlds!
January 28, 2015
I skipped the first part about her ancestors and the rest was ok but not great. Lots of stories about her with exact dates and times that she did this or drank that. Wouldn't want her life, that's for sure!
January 18, 2016
interesting read about the world of royalty. it's so unreal it feels like fiction! I skipped much of the history befoe william and kate started dating. way too in-depth history of their ancestry for me.
August 28, 2012
this is a good start if you want to know more about Kate Middleton, bit boring in the middle but slightly entertaining! :)
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September 28, 2013VERY interesting book with much info about Kate's ancestors, as well as her romance with Prince William.
December 21, 2014
For the most part an enjoyable read.
Loved reading the family lineage of Kate, but the name-dropping at the end got a little tedious.
Loved reading the family lineage of Kate, but the name-dropping at the end got a little tedious.
October 12, 2019
An enjoyable quick read! At only 267 pages, I was able to finish it in one afternoon. The author makes a point of contrasting Kate’s family and Prince William’s. At every generation, they write about both families and the similarities and differences between them.
That said, this book wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be. The first 100 pages or so are about Kate’s lineage, going several generations back into the 1800s. Kate only makes an appearance about 100 pages before the end of the book, and most of it is about her relationship with Prince William. I was expecting to learn more about her upbringing. It was still a delightful and insightful read and something new for me. 3 stars.
That said, this book wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be. The first 100 pages or so are about Kate’s lineage, going several generations back into the 1800s. Kate only makes an appearance about 100 pages before the end of the book, and most of it is about her relationship with Prince William. I was expecting to learn more about her upbringing. It was still a delightful and insightful read and something new for me. 3 stars.
September 26, 2020
I thought this was going to an interesting backstory to Kate's pre-William life but it ended up being an extensive genealogy of her ancestors from multiple generations back (they lived, they married, they had heartaches and troubles, they died) for most of the book. When it finally got to the Kate part of it all, it read more like a collection of gossip column excerpts. Also, there were multiple occasions of any capital "o" word (oliver, olivia, etc) where the O was not capitalized. An odd but recurrent error that stuck out.
November 6, 2025
2.5 stars. The only reason I finished this book is because it filled a slot for my reading challenge for the year. This book felt like reading a big collection of tabloid articles about the life of Kate Middleton before she became engaged to Prince William. It was published in 2010 so obviously a lot has happened since then too. The one redeeming quality was the that it traced her ancestors back into the 1800s in detail and really gave a picture of her humble roots.
February 13, 2017
I debated giving this book only 2 stars, but the first half that explains Kate's lineage was well researched and interesting to me. The second half seemed less polished and more like a giant tabloid. I enjoyed it for what it was, but that's about it.
July 15, 2021
i read this for a school project and found it pretty interesting, though it started with her great-great-great-great-grandmother. i learned quite a bit about the royal family, however a lot of the information seemed to be “gossipy” or just not very factual.
May 13, 2023
Although the content was of enormous interest to me, and kept me reading eagerly, the style of writing was quite lacking and especially in the early sections it was difficult to follow.
April 1, 2011
an awsome book
i love it
i love it
May 15, 2011
Trashy but very entertaining
June 6, 2011
Very interesting.
September 4, 2011
Enjoyed reading about Kate's families history.
February 12, 2012
Too much about her great great great whatever long ago family. I would rather have heard about her generation and maybe up to her grandparents. Still interesting.
October 2, 2012
I don't know what I was expecting, but, this was not good.
November 15, 2022
Ok. Wouldn't go mad over it
October 2, 2017
Too much irrelevant detail
January 9, 2015
Interesting to read about her family genealogy and royal genealogy but no talking about Kate really. Okay book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews