This is Kate Middleton's first ever modelling photo aged seven

And we just can't handle it

This weekend saw the Middletons celebrating the 30th anniversary of their family business, Party Pieces, marking the occasion by sharing a series of old snaps from the business’ archives.

Among the photos, were a few of their very first advertising shots, featuring none other than the Duchess of Cambridge, aged 7, and her two siblings, posing alongside their mother, Carole, for their first modelling job.

The photos of the young Kate Middleton unsurprisingly went viral - yes, that's her next to Carole with the party hat and the party blower.

Carole Middleton, a former flight attendant before launching Party Pieces, also marked the date by uploading a blog post to the company website, describing the Party Pieces journey and explaining how much her children: Kate, Pippa and James, have supported her and helped to expand the business.

‘Party Pieces was born the same year as my son James, 1987’, explained Carole, going on to outline how she started a business from scratch.

‘From the small beginnings in my garden shed, we now employ more than 40 people and are able to send out 4,000 orders a week in busy times. It is still very much a family business today, and over the years all my children have played a huge part in it from modelling for the catalogue to developing new categories for the brand. James established our personalised cakes, Catherine started the 1st birthday side of the business, and Pippa developed the Party Pieces blog.’

‘They grew up with me working and appreciate the demands of a busy business and a working mum, and although now they are not involved day to day in the business, I still value their ideas and opinions. It’s been a hardworking 30 years but I’ve loved every minute of it and would like to thank all the wonderful people I’ve met along the way, and all the dedicated staff who have helped me achieve this. I hope my story inspires other mums out there who have a good idea to take the plunge and give it a try!’

Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. After working at Marie Claire UK for seven years - rising from intern to Features Editor - she is now a freelance contributor to the News and Features section.

In 2021, Jenny was named as a winner on the PPA's '30 under 30' list, and was also listed as a rising star in journalism.