Kate Middleton's staggering net worth before marrying Prince William

Before she married Prince William in 2011, Kate Middleton was considered a “commoner”, as she didn’t come from a family with aristocratic heritage.

Since becoming the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate has snagged herself a piece of the massive AU$120.9 billion royal family fortune, according to Forbes.

However, what about before she was royal – how did she get by as a mere commoner?

Well, Kate didn’t exactly live an underprivileged life as her personal net worth, outside of the royal family, may be as high as AU$12.5 million (£7 million), according to Time.

Her staggering personal net worth is largely down to her parents’ business Party Pieces, which is said to be worth AU$53.9 million (£30 million).

Carol and Michael Middleton founded their party supply business in 1987, and since then their company has only gone from strength to strength.

Their three children – Kate, Pippa and James – “played a huge part” in the development of the business “from modelling for the catalogue to developing new categories for the brand”, the Party Pieces website states.

“James established our personalised cakes, Catherine started the 1st birthday side of the business, and Pippa developed the Party Pieces blog,” Carol says.

After graduating from St. Andrews University, Kate worked for her parents for a brief time and also as a buyer for British clothing brand Jigsaw.

Since then she has become a full-time royal and mum to Prince George, five, Princess Charlotte, three, and newborn Prince Louis.

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