Known for being the wife of Prince William, Kate Middleton was not the first in her family to spend time with the British royal family. Some of her ancestors, the Luptons, also frequented the monarchy.
Her name is now forever associated with the British Royal Family. Since Kate Middleton's wedding on 29 April 2011, she has become one of the most important figures in the monarchy, carrying out frequent royal engagements with her husband, Prince William. But contrary to what many might believe, her link with royalty is not recent. As the specialist website “Histoires Royales" reports, Kate Middleton's ancestors, the Lupton family, from which she descends, had connections with the Windsors.
In a photograph recently released to the public by Australian historian Michael Reed, which “Histoires Royales” has posted, three members of Kate Middleton's family can be seen walking alongside Queen Elizabeth II's aunt, Princess Mary, at a 1927 cricket match in Headingley, a suburb of Leeds. We can recognise Olive Lupton, Kate Middleton's great-grandmother. She became Olive Middleton when she married Richard Middleton in 1914. Also present are Hugh Lupton, Mayor of Leeds, as well as Olive Lupton's uncle, and his wife Isabella Lupton.
The Lupton family, a “dynasty of dignitaries, politicians and businessmen”
At the time, the Luptons were an important British family, present in the business world as well as in politics and the church. Some documents of the time describe the family as a “dynasty of dignitaries, politicians and businessmen”. In short, she had prestigious ancestors! And as a reference to this glorious past, a wolf — the emblem of the Lupton family — can be found on the Duchess of Cambridge's royal coat of arms, as a discreet tribute to those who walked a few steps behind Princess Mary.
