is Kate Middleton really "middle class"?

[hatwoman]

she seems lovely and I know, in theory, she's not gentry, but I strongly suspect that if I met her I'd think she was quite posh.

OMG I cannot believe that villa wall, I guess he will soon be putting up a coat of arms saying Purveyor of the Finest Peruvian Marching Powder to the House of Windsor. :)

I think class is more to do with how you perceive yourself than how others do. For instance, I have friends with university degrees who would utterly scorn the idea that they were middle class. They say, farmer's daughter = working class. I would class myself as middle class, but I think I picked this up from a very upwardly mobile grandmother (actual elocution lessons in her late teens to get rid of the Fife accent!). I work for a council, as does DH, Mum was a solicitor, Dad's a farmer (now. Was agricultural worker during my childhood, though), both grandfathers were dentists. I have read before that a doctor may come to the front door but a dentist is trade and goes round the back! You'd never persuade Granny of that, though.

A dentist is one of those jobs that has changed greatly over the years! Nothing is static. Farmer's daughter depends on the kind of farmer.

A farmer is a small business owner so middle class.

diddle - the sandwich thing is a brilliant idea if you cook at lunch time, but I hadn't heard of anyone doing it. I presume no-one works or goes to school though? What if this changes?

"how do you do?" Is really posh as far as I'm concerned. Sorry.

What do you get if you add two middle class professions together would that elevate you to upper class

KittyFoyle - but did you have a poster of Will i am on your wall in anticipation of meeting him in the flesh ?

I think all of those questions depend entirely on context, and also the geographical location in which you live/grew up.

For example, you'd greet someone differently if you knew them well than if you were meeting for the first time. You'd also greet them differently in a job interview situation than if you were in the pub with friends. I honestly didn't know how to answer the question at all, beyond hi/hello/hiya/(good) morning/afternoon/etc (depending on context).

I went to St Andrews too - but so long ago that women were still not supposed to walk back along the high bit of the pier!

As a citizen of 'The New World' (read ex-colony ). I find all this class business really intriguing (?sp). But it does seem to me that the only people it matters to are the middle-classes at either end of the spectrum.

The rest are pretty comfortable 'knowing their place'

FWIW I'm middle class but poor (very poor)

To my way of thinking the Middletons are to be admired for making their own money, so it doesn't matter tuppence whether they're middle class or whatever. If it's true that some of William's friends would whisper 'doors to manual' when Kate was around, I hope they feel stupid now. The air hostess's daughter will soon have a title of more significance than theirs, as hers will be royal, not simply aristocratic. I wonder how many of them could earn their living if they had to, rather than rely on daddy's money? Could they start a successful business without family money in the background to give them a cushion to fall back on if the business failed?

I have the greatest respect for the Middletons; they've worked hard and their business is a success, they've used some of the money earned to make sure their children had an excellent education. If by doing this they've climbed the social scale, well and good, it's not something they should be ashamed of. Kate is extremely well-spoken, IMO, but more importantly she seems to be a discreet, level-headed young woman, who will be an asset to the royal family.

As for the questions posed earlier, I've always said:

supper
loo
Hello/nice to meet you
Would you like a cup of coffee?
pudding

I believe from what has been said already that 4 out of the 5 are the 'correct' things to say, yet I can assure you I'm as working class as they come. I was lucky enough to have an excellent education, but I certainly wasn't taught the 'right' thing to say at school. All the working class people I knew used the words 'supper' 'loo' and 'pudding' and the all asked 'would you like a cup of coffee/tea?' It baffles me that these words are supposed to be indicative of someone higher up the social scale; personally, I think it may be more generational than anything else. Young people tend to ask 'Would you like a coffee?' and tend not to say words like 'pudding'. But it can't be emphasised too much - IT DOESN'T MATTER!

LoopyLoops

Husband works & eats a cooked meal at the canteen there.

We are in Germany so most days the children only have school in the morning so we have a cooked lunch together.

There is a canteen at the school for when they have a "long day" (until 4).

Obviously it´s not set in stone though & theres always soup, beans on toast, not just sandwiches iyswim.

But I don´t tend to cook in the evening if I have at lunch.

That doesn´t mean people can´t have anything hot, of course!

And sometimes holidays/weekends we have a lighter meal at lunch & cook in the evenings.

Oh I see diddl! That makes more sense. I'd love it that way round tbh, but it won't work for us.

Yes I much prefer my cooked meal at midday(ish).

I´m sure it won´t always work for us.

Daughter currently does a cookery class on her long day which they eat for lunch.

But when they atr both doing a couple of long days I´ll be cooking in the evening, I think.

oh me me me me me I hope I'm middle class

What do you call your evening meal? dinner
What do you call the thing you pee into? toilet
What do you say when you are introduced to someone? pleasure to meet you
Do you say "Would you like a cup of coffee? or "Would you like a coffee?" *would you like a coffee (SERVED IN A MUG, NO CUPS HERE)
What do you call the course in a meal where you eat something sweet?" AFTERS

and I\ll tell you whether you're middle class or not. It's nothing to do with money.

Our perception of being 'middle class' seems to be narrowing. If KM and D Cameron are middle class then perhaps the old pyramid class structure is still valid?

I heard that it was now a rugby ball, most of us middle class with a small % of working class and upper class at either end.

I would naturally give all the 'correct' answers to the middle class test, but if you go back a couple of generations then other family members might score less highly.

Take a highly educated banker who lives in a country estate, with an Oxbridge degree and an MBA from one of the best places. He has been to a minor public school but now sends his children to a top one. Most would say he was upper middle class I think?

I think we used to think middle class was a family who had a mum that worked in the china department at John Lewis, two kids in the local, well regarded comp and a husband who worked in middle management for the electricity board? Have they now been relegated to working class status?

I think if she is middle class, then lots of folk around the UK who think they are middle class may realise they are actually working class.

But I am sniggering at the establishment telling us she is just a normal girl with a normal upbringing. Ooh her family don't own a castle or anything, she must be normal.

T

Mamatomany - no. Did Kate Middleton do that? Cripes. What a nutter. I am far too old to have been aware of William's university choices. I had a picture of Lou Reed but I wouldn't have married him either.

Seeker - when were you there - roughly? I don't know if women were supposed to walk on the high bit of the pier. I did but on a windy day with one of those red blankets on it was a risky business. Not as bad as the top of the Pont du Gard in a mistral though.

What do you call your evening meal? Tea
What do you call the thing you pee into? Toilet
What do you say when you are introduced to someone? Pleased to meet you
Do you say "Would you like a cup of coffee? or "Would you like a coffee?" Do you want a coffee?
What do you call the course in a meal where you eat something sweet?" Pudding

Dinner
Loo or bathroom
Hello or nice nice to meet you
Coffee? In questioning tones
Pudding

Supper (for the children) Dinner for us
Loo
Pleased to meet you or Hello, I was hoping I'd meet you your highness
Fancy a glass of wine?
Pudding