25 July 2023 , 10:14
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As the new school year beckons, anxious students can take heart from the astonishing turnaround of a young Princess of Wales
When the Duchess of Cambridge, 39, joined £12,000-a-year Malborough College in 1996, she is said to have been low in confidence and even recovering from alleged bullying at her previous boarding school, Downe House.
However, after finding her feet playing sports, a sudden turnaround left her teachers stunned - and "every boy in the school" rather flustered.
School pal Gemma Williamson told the Daily Mail: “Apparently she had been bullied very badly and she certainly looked thin and pale. She had very little confidence.”
Over the years she's gained a reputation as a style icon (Getty Images)
Kate Middleton graduating at St Andrews in 2005 (PA)The turnaround, though, is said to have come when Kate returned from the summer break aged 16.
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Gemma revealed that, after impressing school pals playing hockey and going cross-country running, the future duchess became “an absolute beauty” and “every boy in the school fancied her rotten”.
Her former teacher, Denise Alford, also revealed that Kate was able to transform her look after losing one key thing - her childhood braces.
Kate shops at a Christmas festival in London in 2005 (Rex Features)“Pippa was a tomboy but Kate had lost her braces and looked stunning," she told the Mail.
“She was apparently top of the ‘Fit List’ which boys would sometimes pin on the walls."
She added: “Kate’s confidence grew.”
After she decided to attend St Andrews University, Kate's self-confidence famously won over Prince William when she wore an see-through dress at a fashion show.
In 2002 , the 19-year-old royal reportedly spent £200 for a front-row ticket for the charity fashion show his future wife featured in.
Here he saw Kate walking the catwalk in a see-through lace dress revealing her black underwear underneath.
The duchess is said to have made the transformation from William's friend to his love interest after he saw her in the fashion show and said: "Wow, Kate's hot."
The famous dress later sold at an auction for £78,000.
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Kate is now a leading member of the royal family and mother to three children with William (Dave Shopland/REX/Shutterstock)Kate has been credited for persuading William to continue with his studies after he found it difficult to settle and had thought about quitting in his first year.
During their second year at university, they shared a four-bedroom Edwardian townhouse with two other friends, despite Kate dating fellow student Rupert Finch at the time.
The following year the four roommates moved into a secluded rented cottage just outside of the town.