Kate Middleton
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, watches the Women's Teams Synchronised Swimming Technical Routine on Day 13 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre on August 9, 2012, in London, England. Adam Pretty/Getty Images

Kate Middleton is always looked at as elegant, confident, prim and proper lady, but it was revealed that she wasn’t always like this, especially when she was still a student. Prior to meeting and marrying Prince William, she was said to be unpopular in middle school and was bullied at some point that she had to transfer.

As per The Sun, Kate was a victim of bullying when she was 14, and this happened when she was still attending an all-girls private school, the Downe House. Later on, she moved to another school to escape from the torment.

And by the time she left, her former classmate, Jessica Hay, told the publication that Kate was an emotional wreck. She explained that the now duchess was picked on because she was perfect and beautiful.

The Duchess of Cambridge transferred to another boarding school and settled at Marlborough College. When she arrived at the academy, students found Kate pretty but very shy. The house tutor, Joan Gall, said that they knew that the teener suffered from severe bullying at her former school because she even developed eczema due to stress.

“Apparently, she had been bullied very badly and she certainly looked thin and pale,” Gemma Williamson, a former classmate at Marlborough, told Daily Mail. “She had very little confidence.”

At Malborough College, Kate joined the hockey A-team, after which she started to fit in school. It was in this institution that she turned from a reserved to a self-confident and athletic young woman. She excelled in sports and became one of the most beautiful teens of her year that most of the male students fancied her.

It turned out that after gaining self-confidence, the Duchess of Cambridge also became very mischievous. She’s the picture of elegance today, but back then, she was a cheeky college girl with many antics.

Claudia Joseph, a royal expert, said that Kate used to flash her bottom at boys out of the window, and she kind of got addicted to this amusing behavior. She was so famous for this that she was nicknamed “Kate Middlebum.”

Kate wasn’t at all majestic or a diva when she was still in school. Former Marlborough student Clarissa Sebag-Montefiore said via The Guardian that the future Queen of England was never queenly. Rather, she was just another ordinary, easygoing, hardworking and athletic gal on the campus.

Kate Middleton
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, visits the Scouts’ headquarters at Gilwell Park to learn more about the organisation’s new pilot to bring Scouting to younger children. Getty Images/Eddie Mulholland - WPA Pool

© 2025 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.