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Looks like Britain's next princess-in-waiting has arrived

Prince William's steady girlfriend turns 25 amid media speculation

Kate Middleton

LONDON: She makes headlines for getting a parking ticket, newspapers comment on her fashion choices, and her 25th birthday on Tuesday generated a media storm. Prince William's girlfriend, Kate Middleton, may one day become Queen of England. Before that, she is undergoing the ordeal seemingly demanded of royal wannabes since Lady Diana began dating Prince Charles more than a quarter-century ago.

On her 25th birthday a frenzy was building around the young woman — fuelled, perhaps, by a large dose of wishful thinking from the media and public. Pictures of the brunette fashion buyer, who has dated William since both were university students, fetch thousands of pounds from the tabloid press. Paparazzi follow her on her way to work, on shopping trips and on nights out with the prince. One recent, widely published, snapshot showed Ms. Middleton receiving a ticket from a parking warden outside her London home.

The retail chain Woolworths has already commissioned Wills-and-Kate engagement memorabilia, despite the absence of any firm evidence that a betrothal announcement is imminent.

"It would be more of a surprise now if they split than if they marry," said Robert Jobson, author of the new book William's Princess. "I think it's only a matter of time before this role of princess-in-waiting is changed to being a real princess and maybe one day queen consort."

British bookmaking firm William Hill says it is so certain the prince will pop the question that it has stopped taking bets on whether the pair will get engaged: it now does that only on the date. William Hill says it is a 4-5 probability the pair will announce their engagement in 2007, and is offering 3-1 odds they will marry this year.

The two have dated since they were both students at St. Andrews University in Scotland. They were first photographed together on a skiing holiday shortly before their graduation in 2005.

There have been persistent reports recently that they may announce their engagement. Born in the commuter town of Reading, west of London, Ms. Middleton is a quintessentially middle-class Englishwoman. Her father worked for an airline and her mother was a flight attendant; they now run a business specialising in children's parties. She attended Marlborough College, an elite private school, where she played tennis and field hockey, before studying art history at St. Andrews. She and Prince William shared a student house in the university town. — AP

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