7 Surprising Similarities Between Kate Middleton and Princess Diana

Princess Diana gained popularity for her willingness to devote herself to charity work, often taking on causes that weren't glamorous or were hot-button topics, such as leprosy and AIDS. Kate has followed in her footsteps, working with causes such as addiction and mental health, including art therapy for children.

Although Diana's family is larger than Kate's, both women grew up with a younger brother. Diana's brother Charles is currently Earl Spencer, while James Middleton (pictured here) is a businessman who's recently made headlines for opening up about his battles with depression. Both men, however, have had close relationships with their sisters and the royal family.

Upon their respective marriages to Prince Charles and Prince William, both Diana and Kate automatically became the future queens consort of the United Kingdom. Because of their husbands' different ranks at the time, however, they held different titles: Diana became the Princess of Wales, since Charles is first in line to the throne, while Kate became the Duchess of Cambridge when Prince William was given a ducal title on his wedding day.

Prior to marrying princes and becoming full-time senior members of the royal family, both Kate and Diana had jobs in the real world. Diana worked as a nanny and as a teacher's aide for preschool and kindergarten students for a few years. In 2006 and 2007, Kate worked with the clothing company Jigsaw as an accessory buyer, and she also worked on marketing and photography for her family's party supply company until early 2011.

When Kate married Prince William, much was made of the fact that she was a "commoner" without a royal or noble title. Although her parents were fairly well-off, she did lead a pretty normal life, going to a normal school (where she played field hockey, sitting center in this team photo) and growing up around a wide variety of people. Diana was from an aristocratic family, but her upbringing consisted of typical schooling and she did not gain the title of "lady" until she was 14, when her father inherited the Spencer earldom.

Both Diana and Kate met their royal future husbands at a young age. William and Kate met when she was around 18 or 19, while they were both at the University of St. Andrews, and they began dating a year or two later in 2003. Diana met Prince Charles when she was even younger: she was only 16 when she first met him in 1977 — when he was her sister Sarah's boyfriend!

Although Diana never got to be queen, she became the mother of a future king, since her son William will eventually succeed to the throne after his grandmother and father. Likewise, Kate's eldest son, Prince George, will follow his father and become king one day in the future.