Princess Kate Once Had a Very Normal Job While a College Student—One She Admits She Was “Terrible” At Doing

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published 24 May 2024

It’s admittedly kind of hard to imagine Princess Kate not being good at anything—there seems to be nothing she can’t take on, from the piano to drawing to a million different types of sporting activities. It’s also a little bit hard to imagine Kate working a minimum wage job, but Kate—who, though she came from wealthy parents, was born a commoner—admitted that she once had a job that she was, in her words, “terrible” at, and it’s one that many of us have probably done, too.

The Mirror reports that the Princess of Wales “had a very normal job before marrying into the royal family, one she admits to being ‘terrible’ at,” the outlet reports. “She took the role to earn some extra money at university.” The publication adds “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 spending money while a student at the University of St. Andrews, where she met and eventually fell in love with her future husband, Prince William. (They met in 2001, began dating around 2003, and finally got engaged in 2010 before marrying the next year.)

Pippa Middleton and Kate Middleton — Kate and her younger sister, Pippa, in the mid-aughts.

During “A Berry Royal Christmas,” a BBC special released in 2019 with royally-beloved Mary Berry, Kate helped Berry make a tray of cranberry mocktails, “and the festive activity jogged her memory,” The Mirror writes.

“Reminds me of my university days, when I did a bit of waitressing,” Kate said. Berry quickly asked her how she did in the role, pondering “Were you good?” Kate dissolved into laughter and admitted “No, I was terrible.”

Kate Middleton in the 2000s — Kate and her father, Michael Middleton, in 2005, the same year she graduated from St. Andrews.

Kate didn’t elaborate on what restaurant she waitressed at, but the gig didn’t last long and, after graduating from college with a degree in art history, she moved to London and began a career in fashion, working at Jigsaw as an accessories buyer before her engagement to William happened and her career as a working royal began.

Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.

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