Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, is one of the most famous women in the world today. Like her famous mother-in-law, she's followed everywhere by the paparazzi, with pictures taken of her, whether she wants them to be or not.

Given how she can't even step out to the grocery store without all eyes on her, she must hunger for some privacy. With two children already and a third on the way, that's a highly precious commodity. So, other than some alone-time in the bathroom so she can take a peaceful bath, she may also want to have her private life stay away from prying eyes.

After all, it's bad enough that her extreme morning sickness has been splashed all over the news (sorry, not sorry). Or the fact that she looked so slender so quickly after having George. The press even digs into her sister's private life!

Kate's early years are considered "fair game" for a certain sub-segment of the press. Even if she did something that embarrassed her, it is sure to be made public—no matter her wishes. So, that picture that a school friend took when she was playing the flute or just having innocent fun? The world finds out about it. That weekend when she partied with friends? The same thing happens. Here are some of those secrets:

15 Before She Became A Princess

Kate, loving fun, really enjoys making funny faces. She was younger, still in school and probably not yet dating William.

Of course, now that she has to be a little more serious at official events, she can't pull a funny face (although we're sure her adoring public would love to see her break out a grin and wide-eyed look). It is pretty clear that, when Kate's interacting with the little ones, she's pretty clearly having a lot of fun. Still, she has to remember time and place, so her goofier side has to stay buttoned away.

Maybe there's a chance that, behind the walls of their Kensington Palace apartments, Kate is truly letting her hair down, sitting on the floor with her kiddos, laughing, giggling and just having all kinds of silly fun.

14 She Loves To Party

No, not "that" kind of party. While she was at college, Kate took part in several on-campus events.

She's not one to shy away from letting her hair down and having fun, as you'll see. At one party, she had red paint on her cheeks. Her hair and face were festooned with whipped cream—she had been struck with the whipped cream by other students holding cans of the stuff. Whether she was already dating Prince William, we don't know.

What we do know is that Kate is one of us. She's not afraid to mix it up, all in the name of having some good, clean (?) fun. But, now that she's the Duchess of Cambridge and a mother, she has to be a little more serious. That doesn't mean she can't let her hair down so she can have a little fun now and then!

13 Kate's First Love

There's a reason those old boyfriends are called "past" or even "exes" They and the relationship are in the past, where they belong, right? Yet, magazines and internet publications would insist on publishing pictures of Kate with her ex-boyfriends.

That may not make William very happy. Even though he has nothing to worry about, Kate may not like her old relationships being dredged up like a pair of old sneakers from the lake floor. After all, she's been married to William for a few years now. They're the parents of two of the most adorable royals-in-training ever born, with a third on the way.

The reality is that long before marrying William, she was head over heels for Willem Marx, who is now a CNBC reporter in London -- she seems to love the W names doesn't she? He was her first love and after things didn't work out, she moved on to Henry Ropner, whose family owns a shipping management firm. There was also Rupert Finch, who Kate dated in her final year at St Andrews, but the relationship didn't even make it to the one-year span.

So, Kate would be perfectly justified in thinking, "Why bring up the past? Leave that where it belongs. And leave my old boyfriends there as well. After all, they may have gotten married, too!"

12 Their Time Apart

Being apart from someone she loves has to be hard. No matter who made this decision, both Kate and William had to have missed each other horribly.

To cope, Kate went traveling with friends throughout Europe. William? He was in the British Royal Military, along with his brother, Harry.

He had quite a bit on his mind. Specifically, he was worried about the time he would become King of England. That's a prospect that's daunting to everyone. William has had his whole life to get used to the idea. That said, he's still not eager for that day to come. After all, his father, Prince Charles, is in line ahead of him, which William must be grateful for. And his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, is still healthy and ruling England. Clearly, the time apart for Kate and William allowed them to realize they wanted to spend their lives together.

11 Dresses And Gusts Of Wind Don't Mix

Whoops! That's exactly what happened to Kate when she was in attendance at an official event. Of course, she was wearing a dress, heels and, likely, one of her beautiful hats. Up comes an unpredictable gust of wind—and up goes the dress!

On another occasion, Kate, William and George were getting out of a plane. It was windy on the tarmac. Again, Kate was wearing a dress (boy, she'd probably love to wear pants like William and George) and the dress and wind did their little dance. Only, this time, everyone saw all the way to France. (It's said that she doesn't care for panties.)

Because she likes wearing dresses with full skirts, the wind probably enjoys playing with the skirt. Maybe Kate should put bike shorts on under her dresses.

10 Mom Asked William About His Intentions

"Mooommnmm! Why did you do that! So embarrassing!" Along with the eye roll many teens perfect early on, Kate might have made her feelings well-known on this. "That" being how Carole Middleton approached Prince William and asked him what he intended to do about his long-standing relationship with Kate.

Did he just see her daughter as someone to have fun with? Was she no more than a "friend with benefits," if this was a part of their relationship? Or did he have more serious intentions—as in, popping THE question and putting a ring on her daughter's finger?

Well, the world knows what his intentions were. William wanted to marry Kate. At least, that's the assumption. Whatever was discussed, William did ask Kate to marry him. He even gave her his mother's old engagement ring, a beautiful sapphire and diamond creation that she wears to this day.

9 That Fall She Took

This was probably taken during the time that Kate and William were taking a break from seeing each other. Kate attended a fundraiser charity event organized by Sir Richard Branson's daughter, Holly Branson. Part of the event included roller skating.

Because Kate wasn't yet engaged to William, she didn't have to worry about checking in with any protocol officials, so she said she would attend.

She took to the skating rink and eventually took a tumble. She was in good company, with a few princesses, the Bransons and several celebrities in attendance. As Kate fell and landed on the floor, her friend, Sam Waley-Cohen helped her back up.

This is pretty innocent in the realm of "I don't want anyone seeing these!" photos. Kate could have been photographed tipsy beyond recognition, exiting a vehicle. Still, her kids will probably laugh as they ask her about what happened.

8 She Still Gets Really Nervous Before Public Appearances

Remember, Kate wasn't born to this life. She married into it. Her hands tremble, which betrays her nerves. This is why, when she walks into the public's eye at an event, she holds her clutch handbag in front of her waist with both hands, gripping it with everything she has in her.

She's trying to camouflage the trembling in her hands. Anyone would! Once she's gotten her bearings and she knows what's being talked about, she probably relaxes so she can fully take part in the event.

Once all the speeches have been given, it's time for her, William and other members of the Royal family to walk down the line of people in attendance, shaking hands. By then, hopefully, she has calmed down completely. And she begins to shake hands and make small talk with everyone in attendance. Once the event is over, she's able to relax.

7 The Royals Know How To Have Fun

This happened when William and Kate were dating. She looked happy and rather breathless. He looked happy and. . . maybe after a fun night out on the town.

Because the couple hadn't married yet, they didn't have little ones at home to worry about. They were in school together, at college. This outing took place during their summer break and yes, they did have their fun that night! Hey, even Prince William would get up to his mischief every now and then!

What does the royal couple do when they want to let their hair down, now that they are parents?

There's no rule that stops them from enjoying a few drinks now and then—except for Kate having to abstain during her pregnancies. More likely than not, they have liquor in their apartment so that, when the littles are safely asleep. . . mommy and daddy can enjoy a few drinks.

6 She's A Dancer

"I don't want any of my children seeing this picture! How did the press get their hands on it?" exclaimed Kate after seeing a particular picture. The image in question was taken when she was nightclubbing and dancing with a young man.

While she shows the Crown and royal traditions all due respect, Kate knows how to party. This image makes that clear. Even though it was taken before she married the prince, she wants the public to see her as the wife of the future King of England, the mother of his children. She is the Duchess of Cambridge, after all.

Kate, a suggestion. Your life is pretty much an open book, even though you don't like that. The press and paparazzi are going to dig up the pictures and stories about your past. You'll have pictures taken that make you cringe. Just try to ignore them and live life the best you can.

5 ... And Even Modeled

By now, Kate was at university and had met William, though they hadn't begun to date. She agreed to model for a charity fashion show and she got down to her bare essentials on the runway. And this is where William probably really noticed her.

William was in the audience for the fashion show. Kate was dressed pretty great. And photos were taken. Again, she'd have a good reason to ask that this particular image be taken out of circulation—for good and forever!

Just imagine the conversation, should one of her children find the picture. "Mummy, why are you in that picture like that?" Kate responds, "Because I was modeling for a charity. We wanted the charity to get money it needed." Her kids look at each other. And she prays that her motivation in helping the charity will help them to understand why that picture still exists.

4 The Paparazzi Invaded Her Privacy

There's some pretty painful history here for the Royal family. Princess Diana lost her life as the result of paparazzi chasing the car she was in after dining in that Paris restaurant. So, when that French photographer took a picture of William and Kate at their vacation villa, Kate had removed her bikini top, expecting that she was protected by distance, foliage and high walls.

When that cheesy photographer sold his picture of a topless Kate to the French magazine, Closer, William and Kate learned about what had happened.

Kate has to maintain a certain image and she does well with that, thankyouverymuch.

So, when that photo was splashed all over the Continent, she and William (along with the Queen and Prince Phillip) were pretty incensed. The Royals sued for breach of William's and Kate's privacy. They won and the photos have pretty much been scrubbed clean from the internet.

3 When The Queen Elizabeth Saved The Wedding

When Kate married into the Royal family, she learned pretty quickly that duty, tradition and honor must be respected. This means inviting people you don't know to your wedding. Heck, these people are heads of state!

William and Kate wanted their special day to be special for them as well. Which meant that they wanted to invite some of their own friends as well. But. . . those heads of state? William went to his grandmother, the queen, and pleaded their case. He probably said, "Grandmum, we want to be able to invite our friends from school. Talk, interact and dance with them. Please?"

Queen Elizabeth looks buttoned up, but she loves her family. She told William to put their friends on the guest list. Whew! Now, he and Kate could anticipate having a day they would really enjoy and remember.

2 Pre-Royal Fashion

Kate has a gorgeous set of legs. This picture was probably taken (again by the paparazzi) before she married William. Again, these are probabilities, but she was likely on her way to an event she was supposed to attend—and, possibly, she was yelling at herself for choosing that particular outfit.

Fortunately, she had a large purse with her, which she utilized as a sort of obstacle to people seeing her beautiful legs. Still, one of the photographers rushing her taxi was fast enough to get a picture of her before she lowered her purse enough to hide her legs. Now, how was she going to enter the cab, then exit it when she got to her destination? Without showing everything the good Lord gave her? Now, she was probably really yelling at herself by now. But not as much as when the image was published!

1 The Time She Was Out In Public

By the time this photo was taken, Kate had begun to date William. This meant the paparazzi were out in full force, looking for a good pic of one of the royals—an image that would net the lucky photographer a goodly sum of money.

So, there's Kate, trying to enunciate clearly so she could tell them to "get out of her face."

Painful embarrassment ensues. Especially when poor Kate thinks of the time when her children, old enough to recognize intoxication, would ask questions she'd just rather not answer. Maybe she can make a good example of her night on the town instead. She can tell them that, "When you drink too much, you can't think or speak clearly. Nor can you drive very safely."

References: Therichest.com, Babygaga.com, TheTalko.com, Womansown.co.uk, Daily Mail, Hello Magazine, Pinterest, Daily Mirror, metro.co.uk, hyperactivz.com, popsugar.com, 10goneviral.com, heart.co.uk, blognews.com, gawker.com, Elle, The Inquisitr, pinterest.com.