Kate Middleton's Transformation From Bullied School Pupil to Princess

Chief Royal Correspondent

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Kate Middleton's transformation into a future queen has been celebrated by fans after she was reportedly bullied as a school pupil.

The Princess of Wales left Downe House School in Berkshire, England, partway through her first year, in 1996, for $15,000-a-year Marlborough College, also in Berkshire, when she was 14.

The princess got on better at Marlborough and went on to study at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, where she met Prince William.

Kate Middleton waves on the Buckingham Palace balcony in London after King Charles III's coronation on May 6, 2023. The Princess of Wales was bullied at school but went on to become a royal. Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

Now, 27 years later, she is a princess and future queen, so fans chose to celebrate her success by creating a photo montage of her journey on TikTok.

The video, titled "Beautiful inside and out," has been viewed more than 527,000 times and liked over 54,000 times in four days.

One viewer posted: "Princess Catherine was bullied at school when she was younger. Now she's HRH Catherine Princess of Wales."

One reply read: "She played the long game and won."

@princessofwales_royalty Beautiful inside and out||#katemiddleton #princesskate #princesscatherine #fyp #foryou #fypシ #viral #trending ♬ original sound - kissounds

Gemma Williamson, a pupil at the college, told U.K. newspaper the Daily Mail in 2018: "Apparently she had been bullied very badly and she certainly looked thin and pale. She had very little confidence."

Kate's house tutor Joan Gall also told the newspaper that the princess' experience at Downe House had been so stressful that she had eczema when she arrived at Marlborough.

And Ingrid Seward, author of Prince Philip Revealed, previously told Newsweek: "Kate went to boarding school and she didn't like the first one but then really liked it when she was much older. She went to Downe House and she was bullied. Then she left for Marlborough College."

Kate is said to have blossomed at Marlborough aged around 16 and impressed her classmates on the sports field at hockey and cross-country running, U.K. newspaper The Mirror reported.

In 2010, the Daily Mail uncovered an old yearbook in which her classmates had written a glowing appraisal of the future royal: "Catherine has had a few hiccups through her time at school.

"Being a late starter her innocent honesty with Mrs P [a teacher] landed her in a couple of tricky situations: 'Where do I put my clothes Mrs Patching, they smell of smoke?'" the appraisal read.

"However it would be true to say that with all Catherine's mannerisms, life is definitely more interesting and fun with her around."

Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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